PETA Races In
Yeah … I was wondering how long it would take them to stick their nose into yesterday’s Kenducky Derby Race tragedy …
NORFOLK, Va. - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles’ jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.
PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the filly was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles’ death is investigated.
“What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. “If he didn’t then we can probably blame the fact that they’re allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.”
Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones said the filly was clearly happy when she crossed the finish line.
“I don’t know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that,” Jones told The Associated Press on Sunday. “She has her ears up, clearly galloping out.”
Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second- place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.
Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Jones.
A call to the jockeys’ room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.
Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.
The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.
(AP)
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I got a better idea. Why not euthanize PETA.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:07 pmGood Idea.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:30 pmJockey Saez has been through enough devastation without having his behavior (which was impeccable) during and after the Ky. Derby maligned by PETA. This is a group which claims to love animals but goes to dog shows and lets pampered (and beloved) show dogs out of their crates - they actually do not believe in ownership of domestic animals by people, but they are very careful not to advertise that fact while they are fundraising and garnering publicity. Poor Mr. Saez is already devastated. PETA (a listed terrorist group due to their past actions) owes him a huge apology. Don’t make the tragedy of the great filly’s death even more of a tragedy for the young man who pulled her up immediately as soon as he felt that her gait was not right. Doing that is exactly what Barbaro’s jocky, Edgar Prado, did a couple of years ago in the Preakness. No jockey who felt a horse under him or her alter its gait would not pull the horse up immediatey - for the jockey’s own sake, and because any jockey who didn’t do that for the sake of the horse would never get to ride any races ever again.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:07 pmThe PETA chicks should get naked, lose the underwear babe, then we’d pay more attention.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:37 pmIf I’m not mistaken wasn’t the track made of traditional dirt and they train on the new synthetic ground up turf that is easier on the horses legs? if so why do they continue to race on dirt?
May 4th, 2008 at 10:00 pmThey’ll wail and gnash their teeth over a poor rhesus monkey having lipstick tested on him, but they’ll be the first one’s through the door for an abortion if a sudden pregnancy is to inconvenience them.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:18 pmI’m a member of PETA. And you all should be too! Doesn’t it mean People Eating Tasty Animals?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:18 pmShould I have steak or chicken tonight? Everytime PETA opens it’s collective piehole I make it a point to support my local butcher. Immature? No less than wrapping oneself in celophane pretending to be dinner. That is my form of protest against PETA. I wonder if they are bright enough to put in air holes? I hope not.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:42 amFor every animal you don’t eat I will eat five!!
May 5th, 2008 at 5:03 am
How about her, can I eat her? 
May 5th, 2008 at 7:54 am