It is what we owners and breeders fear the most. A call from a farm employee, trainer, or vet with that oddly familiar, awkward tone foretelling the bad news we have lost one of our horses. Or, perhaps even worse, in the moment of excitement and anticipation of competition, one of our horses goes down on the track or falls over a jump. The end result is the same. It is as if one’s heart is ripped from within, leaves this earth, or falls in tandem to the ground with it. The loss of a horse to injury, accident, illness, or to the ravages of old age is tough on all horse people. That persistent question comes back to taunt us: Why do we continue to breed, raise, and compete these fragile creatures?  

Eight Belles’ unfortunate and untimely death in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) has led to enormous criticism of our sport. It has also reminded many of us in the Thoroughbred business of our own significant losses and the pain those losses bring. On the heels of other tragedies in racing (Ruffian, Go for Wand, and Barbaro immediately come to mind) and eventing (the Rolex three-day event at the Kentucky Horse Park the weekend before the Derby was marred by the death of two horses and the serious injury of one rider), there is growing concern for the future of equine sports. Some of us feel compelled to defend equestrian sports in general and horse racing in particular. Our critics ask: How can these losses be justified?

Many close to Larry Jones have described him as a sincere, hard-working, honest trainer who puts his horses first. Not unlike many hands-on trainers in the business, Jones gets personally involved with the day-to-day care and management of the horses in his stable. I am told he often galloped Eight Belles himself. His friends assure me he would not lead a horse to the paddock, as he personally did with Eight Belles on Derby day, unless she was fit for the demands of racing. No one needs to defend him for the decision to run her against the males in the Derby. Eight Belles earned the right, by objective standards, to participate in one of the greatest spectacles in sport.

And no one should criticize equestrian sport without understanding that losing a horse unexpectedly, in or out of competition, changes a horse person’s perspective forever. Those who criticize equestrian sport posit that, if we cannot make the sport absolutely safe, we should stop forcing horses to compete against their will. (One does not even need to address the "against their will" argument; just ask them to explain how a human is going to force a horse to do anything it does not want to do, such as run faster, jump higher, or leave a burning building. If they have the answer, they will have a new vocation with a huge following.)  

We continue breeding, raising, and competing our horses because it gives us purpose and pleasure, despite the inevitable risks. It is hard to explain how rewarding it is when our horses do well and even harder to match the sense of accomplishment in any other endeavor. It gives us connection to something greater than the sum of all parts. With our involvement come enormous challenges and responsibilities, some character-building, some exceedingly joyful (watching an awkward foal turned out in a field of green grass for the first time immediately comes to mind), and some painful to the core.  

We must continue to take meaningful new steps to try to make equestrian sports safer. New surfaces have been designed and installed. More restrictive race-day medication, more sophisticated drug testing and pre-race detention policies have been implemented.  

Perhaps we should also consider and act upon some of the suggestions from those expressing legitimate and well-reasoned concern. It may make sense, and it may appease some of the critics, for instance, to decrease the economic incentives to breed horses primarily capable of racing short, early, and often, and increase incentives to breed horses with stamina and soundness that will be able to race well beyond a 3-year-old campaign.  Even as we continue with and expand these earnest efforts to care for our equine athletes and make competition safer,  injuries, some fatal to horses and riders, will happen, and we will feel the pain again. It is as inevitable as tomorrow, even with our very best efforts today. It just is.

Joel B. Turner is a breeder, owner, trainer, three-day event rider, and attorney from Louisville, Ky.

Cold lies the heart of Thoroughbred racing following Eight Belles’ untimely end after Kentucky Derby 134. The dark side of the toughest game in town showed itself once again on the national stage, this time in the nation’s biggest race.

Even prior to her tragic ending as the shadows began to lengthen May 3, there seemed to be a chilly vibe to this year’s Run for the Roses in Louisville. And by chill, we don’t mean a hip coolness desired by either Churchill Downs or NBC.

Two of the better story lines to this year’s Derby were both veteran performers. The tale of 70-year-old Bennie Stutts Jr. bringing Smooth Air—his first horse to the Derby—was a gem, as was the return of the New Orleans saints—Louie Roussel III and Ronnie Lamarque, back 20 years after taking two-thirds of the Triple Crown with Risen Star. While both delivered the goods to the media, sharing with us their great stories, they are closer to hip-replacement surgery than to playing to a targeted younger audience.

The weather was a major factor to the week, as on the Tuesday before the Derby, the temperature was a bone-chilling 38 degrees as a crowd gathered on the backstretch. Standing on a wooden stand by the main gap, IEAH Stables’ principals Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo took in the scene at the Downs for the first time as owners. They watched as Court Vision, the colt they co-own with WinStar Farm, galloped past, Iavarone in a borrowed coat, Schiavo trying to keep warm in a windbreaker.

While Schiavo told us, “we came here unprepared for the cold,” they did come prepared for the Derby with the right horse, Big Brown, who was in Barn 22, cordoned off behind a roll of yellow police tape.

The downpour midway through the race program on Oaks day—which was expected to come at midnight—threw a wet blanket on the six-figure crowd, most of whom had dispersed by the time Proud Spell ran off with the main prize. Leaving the friendly confines following the Oaks saw traffic that could be considered normal for a Friday afternoon. The wet conditions the next morning kept the usual call to the post to the infield until much later in the afternoon. Throughout the main facility, it seemed to take a long time for the crowd to get caught up in the Derby mood.

However, it may have been much more than the weather that kept a few people from visiting the Twin Spires or the Derby city last weekend. A downturn in many sectors of the nation’s economy—call it what you will—and unprecedented fuel prices taking a chunk out of people’s discretionary income may be to blame. More than a few people noted area hotel rooms weren’t as scarce as before and local restaurants seemed a little more accessible than in years past.

Away from Churchill Downs, many online players were forced to sit chilly with their advance deposit wagering accounts, which didn’t help matters either. The fans are finding it tough to play…and perhaps tougher to watch.

With Barbaro’s breakdown in the 2006 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), followed by his eight-month agonizing struggle for life, and George Washington’s tragic demise in the middle of the stretch at Monmouth Park at last fall’s Breeders’ Cup, racing faces thousands of disenfranchised fans and stares down yet another “code red” in the public relations department. The fact the organization PETA is joining in the fray is cause for major concern.

The Cold War of synthetic surfaces versus dirt tracks continues to rage. Last year’s Derby exacta of Street Sense and Hard Spun was filled out by horses that had made their previous start on Polytrack. This year was a reversal of 180 degrees, as the superfecta was void of a horse that had ever even started on a synthetic track.

One last chilling thought on the Derby is the closest a colt could get to this year’s winner at the finish was 8 1⁄4  lengths. About 48 hours after the Run for the Roses, none of them was likely to head to Baltimore to take him on again in the May 17 Preakness.

Could an undefeated Triple Crown winner help break the ice?