Even though the Kentucky Derby is a month away, the spotlight is shining brightly on safety issues relating to Thoroughbred racing. Recent media accounts provide ample evidence that over the next two months, and perhaps for a much longer period, we are going to be under the microscope like in no other time as we near the one-year anniversary of Eight Belles' tragic accident.

"You know, Doc, that filly you scratched the other day? We X-rayed that ankle, and she had the beginnings of a condylar fracture..." I hear these words a few times each year when a trainer or private veterinarian is kind enough to give me an update.