By Paul Moran
Louisville, Ky.
In the subdued regrouping that is for the
vanquished the morning after the Kentucky Derby, the death of Eight Belles
darkened the mood far beyond Churchill Downs. Hearts were heavy on Sunday
morning and tears were shed everywhere.
The filly’s death after a
courageous performance when cast in a role for which she was never meant will
renew the debates that follow every racing fatality.
It is unusual, but
certainly not unheard of for humans to race females against males. Three have
won the Derby, the last, Winning Colors, 20 years ago. A filly, Rags to Riches,
won the Belmont Stakes last June. It is, however, unnecessary and almost always
costly in real flesh and blood terms. There is little to be gained that does not
serve the human ego. Fillies do not become appreciably more valuable in the
breeding market. A mare will produce no more than about 10 offspring in the
course of her lifetime. Calculated risk is based on potential reward, but the
reward in sending a female into competition with males is reserved for the human
connections and the risk born entirely by the animal.
Until Barbaro
broke a hind leg, the ultimate result of which was death, the most celebrated
thoroughbred ever to suffer a fatal injury in a race was Ruffian, the undefeated
three-year-old of 1975 who shattered a leg in a match race with Foolish Pleasure
at Belmont Park. Ruffian is widely remembered as the best filly ever to race in
the United States. Her unforgettable career is overshadowed in history by the
circumstances surrounding her death, which are at the bottom line not unlike
those that sent Eight Belles into the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
Thirty
years ago, there were no discussions about the safety of racetrack or the
fragile produce of the American breeding industry. There were no alternative
synthetic surfaces, no steroids. There were, however, humans with egos and
agendas.
Ruffian was owned by one of the bedrock families in American
racing but asking her to run in a match race with a male of Foolish Pleasure’s
stature was a grievous error in human judgment. Eight Belles’ owner, Rick
Porter, having been infected with Derby fever a year before, when Hard Spun
finished second to Street Sense, made the decision to send the filly into the
Derby rather than the Kentucky Oaks on Friday. His filly responded with a
tremendous effort, giving – literally – everything she had while facing a horse,
Big Brown, who was far superior to every horse in the Derby on Saturday. If she
had a flaw, it was that her heart was too big for her legs. That, she shared
with Ruffian.
For other great fillies who have competed successfully
against males, the damage is more subtle.
Genuine Risk, who in 1980,
became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, ran in all three Triple Crown
races. Once retired, she was a dismal failure as a broodmare. Winning Colors,
the last female Derby winner, never gave birth to a horse of note. Rags to
Riches, the Belmont winner last year, was never the same, raced only once again,
was defeated and was recently retired. Even those fillies capable of historic
accomplishment in competition with males have paid a price.
Horses are
injured in races under the best of circumstances, but misguided, reckless human
decision does not qualify as best of circumstance. The finger of blame,
in this case, as in that of Ruffian, points toward the owner, a bloated ego and
an arrogant disregard to the welfare of a remarkable filly.