Eight Belles Leave More Questions Than Answers

he Eight Belles tragedy raises several questions about the conduct of thoroughbred racing and breeding, some of which I discussed in my pre-Derby post, but will get into in a little more complete way today. The horse racing and breeding industry is going to have to do some serious soul searching and take a good hard look at the way it has been doing business if it is to restore the public's confidence and regain the public's interest in the sport.

There is no quick fix to a rash of breakdowns, if there is even a rash occurring. We may think there is as a result of Eight Belles and Barbaro in just three years, but Eight Belles is the first fatal injury in the Derby in at least 80 years and perhaps ever, although records and history are a little sketchy. It just so happens that the two horses were injured in the only races that most of the country seems to care about.

Three factors stand out in addressing fatal injuries. One is the condition of the racing surface. Churchill Downs is a dirt track. Whether synthetic surfaces reduce the rate of injuries is something that is too early to tell, but is being studied by vets and race tracks. The results will determine the course of tracks in the future. With the history of the Derby, and the care taken with the track, it's only natural for Churchill Downs to be one of the last track to switch away from dirt. I should point out that there is no indication that track conditions had anything to do with Eight Belles' injury.

The two major factors I believe are breeding and medication. Over the last twenty years, there has been a radical shift in the breeding industry as breeders have bred almost exclusively for the sales market rather than for racing themselves. As a result, importance is placed on how the animal looks in the show ring (conformation)and the pedigree line, rather than the ultimate track performance. This has led to inbreeding to successful sire lines and the unwillingness to try and inject new blood into the breed since buyers are reluctant to take chances. Sellers will often have surgery performed on young animals to correct conformation defects at a very early age thereby hiding problems which will be passed on to later offspring or will arise once the horse is placed into training. As Jon Weinbach showed in his Wall Street Journal article every horse in this year's Derby could be traced back to Native Dancer. That inbreeding is bound to produce problems.