A petition urging Churchill Downs to honor Fox Hill Farms’ deceased filly Eight Belles by ringing eight bells, a nautical euphemism for “finished,” prior to the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), is gaining
The death of a top racehorse in the Kentucky Derby is something researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) hope to help prevent in the future, according to an Associated Press article at
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association continues to coordinate equine health and safety initiatives in response to the death of the filly Eight Belles, and on May 9 called for “urgency” and an end to the “status quo.”
The NTRA board o
On the morning of April 30, as the eyes of the nation turned to Churchill Downs for the upcoming running of the 134th Kentucky Derby, a Brook Ledge horse van arrived at Stephens Thoroughbreds in Ocala, Fla. While trainer Michael Matz supervised the
In the wake of the fatal injury sustained by filly Eight Belles in the May 3 Kentucky Derby, The Jockey Club has commissioned a seven-member Thoroughbred Safety Committee, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) board of directors
Six days after Eight Belles’ catastrophic injury in the Kentucky Derby Presented, owner Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farms approved a wristband manufactured in memory of the gallant filly, with proceeds to benefit Midlantic Horse Rescue.
According
With the May 17 Preakness Stakes days away, the field set to test Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown continues to change as the connections of some of the top 3-year-olds weigh a start in the middle jewel of racing’s Triple Crown at Pimlico Race
In the wake of the death of the filly Eight Belles as she galloped out after the May 3 Kentucky Derby, animal rights organizations are publicly calling for changes–some of them drastic–for the horseracing industry.
The group People for th
The Blood-Horse, sister publication to The Horse, has set up an open blog so that readers can share their thoughts on and memories of Eight Belles. It can be accessed through
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
The trainer of euthanized filly Eight Belles adamantly defended the way jockey Gabriel Saez handled the Kentucky Derby runner-up. In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Larry Jones said Saez applied the whip only to prevent Eight
A tearful Larry Jones said Eight Belles, who suffered a catastrophic injury in the gallop-out after finishing second in the Run for the Roses, said there would be no second-guessing in what he called an “unfortunate” outcome that couldn’t be
Speaking to reporters on the Churchill Downs backside the day after Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was cautiously optimistic regarding his starter’s chances in the Preakness Stakes.
“I really liked him in (the
Two years after Barbaro’s catastrophic breakdown, trainer Michael Matz watched another one of his colts break down in a race at Churchill Downs on Friday.
Chelokee, a 4-year-old colt, took a misstep on the sloppy track and fractured his
Updated: 7:36 p.m. EDT
Big Brown backed up his trainer’s boasts with an explosive finishing kick and won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, a commanding victory turned somber by the fatal breakdown of the filly Eight Belles on hors
Nearly two years after Barbaro took the Kentucky Derby, and a year and a half following his death, the colt’s memory continued to prevail as dozens of fans and media gathered for a special announcement regarding a memorial statue of him at
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