Tuesday Afternoon Notes
– Although several of my conversations since Saturday have been about the Kentucky Derby, impressive Big Brown and his connections, Eight Belles and her sad end, I’ve barely posted anything in this space. I tend to shut up when everyone else is shouting, which I suppose makes me a lousy blogger, but it seems so unnecessary to jump in when so many other sensible people are making the same points I would: Gender had nothing to do with Eight Belles’ breakdown, jockey Gabriel Saez is not to blame (regardless of what uninformed spokespeople for fringe groups say), racing is not in itself brutal or cruel but reforms across the board are needed to improve safety and the breed. As an industry, it’s time to take stock and figure out how to protect horses, whether they’re running in claiming races or the Kentucky Derby. Now, where’s the racing commissioner who’s going to make all this happen? Even Eight Belles’ owner Rick Porter is calling for one in the wake of the Derby.
– King Kaufman’s account of watching the Derby with his young daughter made me a little misty:
– If there’s a silver lining in Saturday’s tragic events for anyone, it’s trainer Rick Dutrow, whose colorful character and checkered past aren’t getting as much attention as they might have. At Woodbine, though, where Dutrow won the Queen’s Plate with Wild Desert after prepping the horse in secret, people haven’t forgotten his record.
– From claiming races to the Derby in five years. Easy.
– “The inmates officially are running the asylum.”
– Big Brown has been insured for $50 million.
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