Dutrow knew it. He’s been spouting about it for weeks. Hopefully this win will set his life straight. Too bad for the filly though…sad. Both front ankles. You don’t see that very often, at least not at that level.

Wasn’t that filly Hillary’s pick?

I hope she doesn’t pick the Bills in the Super Bowl

What a terrible thing to happen at the Derby. And to have to euthanize her right on the track. What a sad event it turned out to be.

It’s done because 3500 or more pounds balanced on an ankle the same size as yours won’t ever heal. The bones in a horses leg are everything, and without them they can’t exist.

It’s not inbreeding that causes defect. The Thoroughbred Registry tracks the breeding and won’t certify a horse as a thoroughbred without the breeding being carefully tracked. Usually a thoroughbred will die either from a heart related anuerism or bleed out incident related to the heart or respiratory system, or from a break in the bones in the leg or ankle.

The use of drugs continues to be a problem, but moreso when the state of New York lifted the ban on Lasix. For years the ban was in place claiming that by administration of Lasix, it gave horsemen an advantage in racing, and testing was done regularly on those who participate in racing to make certain they were lasix free. Once the ban was removed about 10 years ago, horsemen rushed to use it. Lasix performs the same function it does it humans, as a diuretic, removing fluid from the body in excess. Given to cardiac patients routinely, the purpose of the fluid removal is to make it easier on the heart to pump body fluids while assisting the heart in removal of excess fluid that can congest in the lungs and chest cavity, creating a domino effect that would otherwise put stress on the kidneys, heart and lungs, ultimately causing death.

The horses given Lasix do not have cardiac problems. It’s being used solely to “lighten” the horse by the weight of the fluids, hoping the horse will run faster and that the horses cardiopulminary and respiratory systems will not be stressed during the race. Given the fact that the epidemiology of the horse points to the fragility of these part of the horse, they are bypassing or “faking” the animals own limitations. To further “dump” fluids from the horses body, it’s common to “tap” the joints of the animal prior to racing to further eliminate any excessive fluid around the joints that may cause pain or slow downs during racing. When you withdraw fluids and food prior to the start of the race, you’ve pretty much got a depleted horse. The horse doesn’t realize it, nor is it cognizant of the fact, so it pushes itself to it’s natural drawn ambition - to run fast and hard, and compete. Racehorses truly love to compete. It’s mans desire to win that hampers the natural selection of the end result, including tragedies such as what happened in yesterday’s Derby.

When you extract fluids from joints, remove body fluids by artificial means, and place false expectation upon them, it’s no wonder that the one thing man can’t control (which would be the composition of the bone mass and density +/- effected by the use of diuretics, steroids, and other standard medications) weakens and ultimately fails.

Winnowing of any breed by natural selection is nature’s way of removing “defects” - the same way the human body performs in a way. Of course we have more medications and procedures and are able to speak or have people speak for us that make medical intervention a method of extending lives in people.

In the equine world, those who have the knowledge are dwindling, and being replaced with regulators whose knowledge is based on lobbyists and wealthy horsemen looking for the quick fix that continues to bring them profit.

I personally believe that it was WRONG for New York to lift the Lasix ban. On a hot summer day you can really see the toll it takes on racehorses suffering with heat stroke and dehydration and being sometimes scratched for the same reason. It’s too bad the Governor doesn’t revisit the decision enacted under Pataki that granted this travesty and let thoroughbreds do what they do and love to do best - compete as the true atheletes they are, in an arena that is free of drugs like Lasix and steroids.

The hero that crossed the finish line yesterday will be protected and vet’d well. The filly that broke down but claimed second, will be an investigation who’s ending should be followed and thoroughly reviewed. If we just turn our heads and do nothing, eventually, we will stop caring even about our own. But 2 broken ankles is NOT the norm, and it would be interesting as well to look into her past performance on artificial surfaces as well as the use of drugs in her past.