Clipmarks | Eight belles Clips

Horse Racing - 3 deaths per day in 2007

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:22:27 GMT

clipped by: ruralart
clipper's remarks: Hearings are being held on ways to improve safety, and who should oversee this.

Clip Source: canadianpress.google.com

U.S. Congress to hold hearing on horse racing safety without Big Brown trainer

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection had been looking forward to hearing from the trainer known for his candour and for methods that were brought into question after his star horse's stunning last-place finish at this month's Belmont Stakes.

Dutrow said he used a legal steroid on Big Brown - although the last dose was given in April - and the horse also ran the race on a quarter crack in the left front hoof in a failed attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years.

The hearing will go on, with much to discuss. An Associated Press survey last week found that thoroughbred racetracks reported more than three horse deaths a day in 2007 and 5,000 since 2003. The impetus for the hearing came when Eight Belles broke down at the Kentucky Derby last month and was euthanized on the track, well before the travails of Big Brown at the Belmont.

Tags: horse, racing, equine, big brown

Molly, the Horse that Could

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:09:00 GMT

clipped by: Kelika
clipper's remarks: Wish this could have been done for Eight Belles.

Clip Source: www.greenexpander.com

She is Molly. The young pony was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit Southern Louisiana. After spending several weeks wondering, she was found and taken to an animal shelter. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull, her front leg becoming infected and needing amputation.

Doctors were impressed how cooperative the pony was during surgery: she allowed people to handle her and shifted her body weight as to protect her leg, almost as she understood what is happening. She recovered amazingly and now serves as an example in shelters, hospitals or anywhere where people need hope. A book featuring Molly has been published to set the example for many other people. The little pony survived the hurricane, an amputation and now she is giving hope to many more.

Kelly Brook is World’s Sexiest Bikini Body

Thu, 29 May 2008 17:56:18 GMT

clipped by: Homonculus
clipper's remarks: Kelly Brook's voluptuous curves has beaten some of the world's most glamorous women to be named the queen of the bikini belles of all times.

Clip Source: www.thehotmag.com

Just after I made the story about the Hottest Bikini Babes of All Times, another one has showed up!

In this list, twenty-eight year old model and actress Kelly Brook has been voted as having the best bikini body ever in a poll in which 2,000 men participated.

Is she worthy for this title? Well, you be the judge by this collection of bikini photos.

Kelly, who played Lex Luther's girlfriend in the series "Smallville", topped the list of a poll conducted by UK department store Debenham's which ironically makes no mention of the survey on its website.

Tags: celebrity, celebrities, sexy, hot, bikini, summer

No Evidence Found Eight Belles Was Injured During Derby

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:45:14 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The Jockey Club has formed a panel to examine the issues, and its members participated in a conference call Wednesday. Stuart Janney, a thoroughbred owner and breeder who will chair the committee, said breeding practices, track surfaces and medication are among the subjects to be discussed.

"We're going to use this committee as a bully pulpit to be persuasive on certain matters, and go to other people in the industry and say, 'This is how we feel, how are you going to help us?'" Janney said.

Clip Source: www.baltimoresun.com

No evidence found filly was injured during Derby; drug test will also be performed

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eight Belles had no pre-existing bone abnormalities that caused the filly to break down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.

Autopsy results reviewed by The Associated Press today confirm compound fractures of both front legs at the fetlock joints. They also describe lacerated skin on both legs, an absence of joint fluid in the damaged areas, congested lungs and hemorrhaging in the left thyroid gland. The filly's head also was bruised.

Eight Belles was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs after collapsing while jogging about a quarter-mile past the finish line. Stewards found no evidence she was injured during the race.

Also today, the racing industry was proceeding with plans to ramp up horse safety following the deaths of Eight Belles and 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, among others

Nothing is more important to the racing industry than the safety of the competitors

Tags: eight belles, autopsy report, churchill downs, horse safety, jockey club panel

CSU Research Aims To Reduce Injuries To Race Horses

Mon, 12 May 2008 01:47:29 GMT

clipped by: MorganLvr

Clip Source: www.examiner.com

Sports

SPORTS: CSU research aims to reduce injuries to race horses

By MIKE HOOKER, The Associated Press
2008-05-10 06:00:38.0
Current rank: # 900 of 7,332

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -

The death of a top race horse in the Kentucky Derby is something researchers at Colorado State University hope to help prevent in the future.

Eight Belles, a filly, fractured both front ankles after placing second at the race last weekend. Veterinarians euthanized her at the track, prompting a nationwide discussion about the risks the animals face from aggressive training and breeding.

At CSU's Equine Orthopedic Research Center, one veterinarian is a pioneer in bone and joint surgery that is saving race horses. Another has tissue samples from 150 different horses, hoping to find an answer to the common injury that Eight Belles suffered May 3.

Horse Racing for or against

Sat, 10 May 2008 13:09:54 GMT

clipped by: danielbeatty
clipper's remarks: Horse Racing is under the gun. What do you think should happen?

Clip Source: www.horsekinetics.com

Horse Racing in the media spotlight

With the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby following on the heels of Barbaros death last year and here locally about the deaths happening at Arlington Park two years ago, horse racing is in the media spotlight and not in a favorable light. Three years of bad publicity may just force some changes in the industry.

What do you think? Leave a comment let us know your opinion.

Tags: horse racing, horse health, horses

Eight Belles

Fri, 09 May 2008 15:42:39 GMT

clipped by: MorganLvr
clipper's remarks: What can be done to prevent catastrophic breakdowns?

Clip Source: www.thehorse.com

Eight Belles' Injury Raises Questions About Racing Industry

by: The Associated Press
May 05 2008, Article # 11807

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A day after Big Brown blazed across the finish line, the snapshot of Eight Belles down on the dirt set off a raging debate that extended far beyond the Kentucky Derby: Is horse racing now facing an image crisis?

With the memory of Barbaro still fresh, Eight Belles' catastrophic injury Saturday put increasing focus on a sport already trying to overcome a decline in popularity.

Her death has raised thorny issues about the whole Thoroughbred industry, including track safety, whether fillies should be allowed to run against colts, and whether horses are bred too much for speed and not for soundness.

Tags: horses, breakdown, horse racing, kentucky derby

Why Broken Bones are Lethal for Horses

Tue, 06 May 2008 20:39:25 GMT

clipped by: katknit
clipper's remarks: one explanation as to why that beautiful horse had to be "put down".

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Why are Broken Bones Lethal to Horses?

After a four-race winning streak, Eight Belles galloped past the Kentucky Derby's finish line to snag second place. The glory was shattered as the racehorse collapsed on the track. She had broken bones in both front ankles - a lethal injury for a horse.

Hermanson describes the pain from such laminitis as comparable to a human ripping a fingernail off with a wrench. "When you have a horse with laminitis, you're dealing with that magnitude of pain." That leads to myriad health issues, one of which is the inability to stand up.

PETA Wants Eight Belles Jockey Suspended

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:34:05 GMT

clipped by: Skipper61

Clip Source: www.charlotte.com

Track personnel try to hold down Eight Belles after the 134th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Eight Belles was euthanized after breaking both front ankles following a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

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.

The Kentucky Derby Tragedy

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:44:40 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Third, we should ban the racing of 2- and 3-year-olds so popular on the U.S. track. In Europe, horses are typically raced later, when their "growth plates" (leg bones) are fully formed and they are less prone to injury. Greedy Americans don't want to spend the money to keep the horse "hanging around" (to wit, not earning money) until they are 4 or 5 years old, and so we race them before their legs are strong enough to handle injury.

Many horses are forced to live 23-7 in their stalls, except for the hour or so per day when they are exercised. The human equivalent would be tying someone to his or her bed for 23 hours per day, only letting them out to run for an hour. Wouldn't you go crazy under those circumstances?

I hope Eight Belles's death serves as something more than a one-day news story. I hope her sacrifice causes every fan of horse racing to stop patronizing the sport or betting on the mounts until major reforms take place.

Clip Source: www.usnews.com

I've been writing these past few weeks about horrendous and fatal equine accidents in the sport of three-day eventing. I own seven hunter/jumper show horses and maintain my own 40-acre horse farm.

There are several things that must be done immediately to spare further equine abuse and death. Mr. Squires touched on some of them, but not all. Yes, new forms of artificial track footing, which have been mandated in California, should be mandated nationwide.

Second, the trend toward breeding thinner-boned thoroughbreds should be banned immediately. Horses are bred for speed, which often means thin-boned legs. The thinner the bone, the more easily it breaks. Horses with broken or fractured legs don't always have to be "euthanized" (I prefer the term slaughter, since that's what it really is). They're often killed when owners decline the alternatives: huge veterinary or board bills to keep injured horses standing in hoists for a year or more to allow their bones to heal.

Tags: barbaro, eight belles, thoroughbred, horse racing, polytrack mandate, bred for speed, age requirement

You can't make this up

Mon, 05 May 2008 03:00:45 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners
clipper's remarks: I thought it was a joke when I first read it, but anything you could make up wouldn't be nearly as ironic as this.

Clip Source: thepage.time.com

Hillary Clinton enthusiastically picked a filly named Eight Belles to win the Kentucky Derby and compared herself to the horse. Eight Belles finished second. The winner was the favorite, Big Brown.

Eight Belles collapsed immediately after crossing the finish line, and was euthanized shortly thereafter.

Tags: hillary, obama, politics, horse, race, irony

Sad ending for Eight Belles

Sun, 04 May 2008 01:42:06 GMT

clipped by: cdobbs
clipper's remarks: How sad can a story get. Here is an animal that give its all for her jockey.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Running away from 19 rivals, Big Brown dominated Saturday’s 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, winning by four and three-quarters lengths in a race that was marred by the death of Eight Belles, who finished second.

After the race, the filly Eight Belles collapsed after pulling up. According to Dr. Larry Bramlage, among the on-call veterinarians Saturday at Churchill Downs, she broke both of her front ankles and was euthanized on the track. Eight Belles is trained by Larry Jones, who won the Oaks with Proud Spell.

Clip Source: search.us.reuters.com