horse racing

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Owner Haunted by Derby Filly's 'Horrible' Death

Wishes 'talented, mild-mannered' horse was back in the barn

(Newser) - Eight Belles' owner is still shocked and saddened by the death of his filly, put down at the end of the Kentucky Derby—but believes she belonged in the race, reports the Palm Beach Post. Rick Porter switched from celebrating his horse's thrilling second-place finish to mourning her death within...

Eight Belles' Trainer Defends Jockey's Conduct

(Newser) - 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 Belles from crashing into the rail.

PETA Cries Foul Over Filly's Death
PETA Cries
Foul Over
Filly's Death

PETA Cries Foul Over Filly's Death

Activists want changes in horse racing, jockey suspended

(Newser) - PETA is calling for broad reforms in horse racing after the second-place finisher in Saturday's Kentucky Derby broke her two front legs and was immediately euthanized, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader. PETA is calling for horses to begin training at their third birthdays, rather than their second, and also for synthetic...

'Moral Crisis' Plagues Horse Racing
 'Moral Crisis'
 Plagues
 Horse Racing 
analysis

'Moral Crisis' Plagues Horse Racing

Eight Belles, Barbaro indicative of huge hearts, too-fragile bodies

(Newser) - NBC cut away from Eight Belles’ devastating breakdown and euthanasia at Churchill Downs yesterday, but we need to take a good hard look at the very real cost of the sport of kings, writes Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post. Eight Belles is a primetime example of the average two...

Filly Euthanized at Derby
 Filly Euthanized at Derby 

Filly Euthanized at Derby

(Newser) - Eight Belles, the filly who crossed the wire 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Big Brown to take second in the Kentucky Derby today, collapsed with two broken front ankles and was euthanized on the track. The first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby appeared to be fine as...

Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby
 Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby 
Event of the Day

Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby

Race tarnished by fatal injury to second-place filly

(Newser) - Favorite Big Brown outran a 20-horse field today and claimed the Kentucky Derby by a solid 5 lengths, NBC Sports reports. But tragedy struck at the finish line for runner-up Eight Belles, which broke two ankles and had to be euthanized on the track. For unbeaten Derby runner Big Brown,...

For Racing's Blue Bloods, It's Thin Blood

Most of today's top horses are descendants of Native Dancer

(Newser) - The only race Native Dancer ever lost was the 1953 Kentucky Derby, but in industry circles he is best known as the most valuable sire ever. All 20 horses in this year's Derby are descendants of Native Dancer, as is about 75% of the thoroughbred population. But with those champion...

Derby Fave Big Brown Saddled With Outside Post

Meet the favorite in Saturday's Run for the Roses

(Newser) - Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. is positive his colt Big Brown will win the Kentucky Derby, and the odds-makers agree, pegging Big Brown as a 3-1 morning-line favorite. Never mind that the colt is starting from the deadly 20th position, has had front hoof problems, and has, in Dutrow, a controversial...

You Can Lead a Horse to Mares, But You Can't Make Him Sire

Champion War Emblem isn't so studly

(Newser) - War Emblem was a champion on the track, winning the 2002 Kentucky Derby, but as a sire, the racehorse is nowhere near as surefooted. Though surrounded by mares, War Emblem hasn't produced a live foal since 2005, and in more than five years at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan has...

Monba, Cowboy Cal Run 1-2 in Blue Grass

Trainer Pletcher has two horses make Kentucky Derby field

(Newser) - Todd's squad came through in the nick of time at Keeneland. Down to perhaps his last chance to return to the Kentucky Derby, trainer Todd Pletcher now has two contenders after Monba beat stablemate Cowboy Cal by a neck in the Blue Grass Stakes today. "I was hoping for...

Kentucky Derby Has Full Field, Few Contenders

Pyro, Big Brown and Colonel John current favorites

(Newser) - When the gates open at Churchill Downs on May 3 a full field will start out hoping to win the Kentucky Derby, but only a small handful are considered to have a realistic shot at victory. Pyro, Big Brown and Colonel John are the only horses of the 20 3-year-olds...

Barbaro's Ashes to Rest at Churchill Downs

Horse's remains will be enshrined at site of his greatest victory

(Newser) - Churchill Downs, the site of Barbaro’s greatest triumph, will also be his final resting place. The 2006 Kentucky Derby winner’s ashes will be occupy a space outside the racetrack gates, beside a bronze statue. “When we think about Barbaro, we think about him running around the track...

Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72
Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72

Winningest Horse Trainer Dead at 72

Baird racked up more than 9,400 victories

(Newser) - Dale Baird, the trainer with the most wins in the history of horse racing, died Sunday in a car accident at age 72. Baird racked up 9,445 wins—no other trainer even has 7,000—in a storied career at the West Virginia racetrack now known as Mountaineer. Despite...

Big Stud Fees &ne; Great Racers
Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers

Big Stud Fees ≠ Great Racers

Genetics less important than environment, study finds

(Newser) - In horse racing, nurture trumps nature, a study finds. Just 10% of a horse’s winnings can be chalked up to lineage, the BBC reports; offspring of high-priced stallions do perform better overall, but not because of genetics. “People who can afford to pay high stud fees can also...

Curlin Wins Muddy Classic
Curlin Wins Muddy Classic

Curlin Wins Muddy Classic

Horse caps great year by taking sixth victory in nine starts

(Newser) - Curlin capped a grand year by winning the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic today, the AP reports. He blew by Hard Spun and Lawyer Ron in the home stretch and ran the 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.59 on a sloppy track, claiming his sixth win in nine starts....

Lawyer Ron the Favorite at Breeder's Cup

Heads for turf trial against Street Smart and Curlin

(Newser) - Whitney Handicapp and Woodward Stakes winner Lawyer Ron was made the slight favorite over Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and Preakness winner Curlin yesterday for Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park.

From Nag to Riches: Horse Legend John Henry Dies

Unbridled Hall of Famer buys the farm at 32

(Newser) - Two-time North American Horse of the Year John Henry has been euthanized in Kentucky after declining health.  A lifetime long shot, John Henry was born ugly, undersized and with a deformed knee. He bounced around for years and was sold from place to place before landing in 1980 in...

No Horseplay Allowed When Naming One

The Jockey Club screens names for vulgarity, offensiveness

(Newser) - Good luck giving your racehorse a racy name. Horse racing's governing body goes to great lengths to squash obscene monikers; censors check proposed thoroughbred name requests against a slang dictionary, and phonetics software weeds out ones that might be, or sound, offensive. Of the 60,000 names submitted to the...

$16M Horse Makes Shaky Debut
$16M Horse Makes Shaky Debut

$16M Horse Makes Shaky Debut

The Green Monkey finishes third in maiden run

(Newser) - The world's most expensive racehorse finished third in his rookie race at Belmont Park yesterday. The Green Monkey, really a horse that sold for $16 million at Saratoga's auction last year, had been kept off the track for months by a series of injuries, the AP reports. "In a...

Street Sense Captures Travers
Street Sense Captures Travers

Street Sense Captures Travers

Derby winner adds 'Midsummer Derby' to trophy case

(Newser) - Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense triumphed in the "Midsummer Derby" today at Saratoga, holding off longshot Grasshopper to capture the $1 million Travers Stakes by a half-length. The superstar 3-year-old, under regular rider Calvin Borel, paid $2.70 to win after the crowd at the sweltering Spa sent him...

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