PETA Requests That Eight Belles Jockey Gabriel Saez Be Suspended

[bigboydan]

While I can respect PETA's views to a certain degree, I totally disagree with this particular request. This was clearly in the best interest of the horse, because there was no way that horse could recover successfully from that without having massive pain levels throughout it's lifetime.

PETA Requests That Eight Belles Jockey Gabriel Saez Be Suspended

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.

PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish" and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated.

"What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?" PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. "If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly."

Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones said the filly was clearly happy when she crossed the finish line.

"I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that," Jones told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She has her ears up, clearly galloping out."

Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second-place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.

Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Jones.

A call to the jockeys' room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.

Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.

The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.

[r2d2]

PETA needs to get out of this situation. if the jockey thought/knew she had broken an ankle (or two), he would of pulled her up and out of the race. think about it, if she in fact broke both ankles during the race itself (not after), and the jokey knew it, that horse has a HUGE chance of going down on the track..............with 18 horses behind it. the jockey gets killed (Trampled from oncoming traffic) if the horse goes down in the middle of all that. no way he takes that chance. he wasn't going to risk killing the horse or himself for 2nd place money.......peta has no clue.

also, what about all of the working/regular horses that are shot/put down every day in farms accross the country? what about equistrian horses? i have seen plenty of those horses put down.

[Sportsgirl]

Even though Edgar Prado is the more veteran jockey, when Barbaro broke down, it was obviously his immediate reaction to pull up. I don't think in those situations that you actually "think" about what to do, you just do it. This jockey should not be condemned - that just furthers the tradgedy of an already horrible incident.

[pico]

i think they have horse meat peta in france with cucumber sauce...yum yum.

[BrentCrude]

Both the horse and rider were in high gear on adrenaline rush

So you have 18 horses behind you heading toward the finish line and you feel a wee bit of a hitch in the transmission of the horse.Both you as a rider and the horse are charged full of adrenaline.What are you going to do,ease up and go where?It's ok to ease up and bore out on a sweeping turn when there are 2 horses behind you but it was an impossible situation to deal with doing that under the circumstances.

Sure,you can blame 100's of years of breeding where t-breds legs are too thin for their body size and you can say racing surfaces are too fast.Polytrack is helping with that situation.

What does PETA think,it's the ballad of Ricky Bobby where you stop in the home stretch and go in reverse to the finish line.hehe!

It would be like trying to tell Tiger Woods to quit his follow through as soon as he makes contact with the ball and still hit it 325 yards.

[UltimateSelector]

This is total absurdity on Petas behalf, they are just trying to get some attention & publicity by using one of the biggest horse racing events of the year. Let alone to try to destroy a jockey's reputation & livelihood of making a living. It is clearly not fault on anyones behalf. There were no bad or pre-meditated plans of this happening by anyone. It is just a sad part of the business that happens & it happens in all of sports & in all of business! I frown on how Peta is just trying to capitalize on this! Shame on them!

[MrX]

I've been vegetarian for 17 years and a former animal-rights activist and I still find PETA ridiculous. They have long been committed to publicity at all costs. They don't care in the least how stupid it makes them look as long as they get on the news wires.

Depending on your beliefs, it's not hard to make a case against thoroughbred racing, but to go after an individual jockey in a case like this is ludicrous. But of course simply making a case for the cruelty in the sport is not interesting enough for PETA, they have to make everyone sympathetic to animal issues look like an idiot.

[BuddyBear]

I've been vegetarian for 17 years and a former animal-rights activist and I still find PETA ridiculous. They have long been committed to publicity at all costs. They don't care in the least how stupid it makes them look as long as they get on the news wires.

Depending on your beliefs, it's not hard to make a case against thoroughbred racing, but to go after an individual jockey in a case like this is ludicrous. But of course simply making a case for the cruelty in the sport is not interesting enough for PETA, they have to make everyone sympathetic to animal issues look like an idiot.

No, PETA is not ridiculous it's the corporate media that is ridiculous. Unfortunately, the only way that PETA can even make the news is to have some sort of "publicity stunt" or "outrageous statement" that forces the corporate news media to cover it.

Sadly, animal rights issue are never inherently "newsworthy" enough on their own to make the news unless of course you find something so out of the ordinary like a deer that ends up lost on a busy road or an alligator that ends up in a pool or a school prank where students put a mule in a building. Or of course a high profile multi-million dollar athlete who finances dog fighting. The corporate news media is much more concerned about what celebirties are wearing and the latest fashions and other celebirty gossip that seem to dominate the current corporate news agenda.

The only way that PETA can even remotely get their issues on air is to say something sensational that causes "controversy." Like any issue advocacy group they are trying to get their issues covered. Perhaps their recommendation is not realistic, but at least you are talking about it, thinking about it, and are now aware of it. If they had just issued a standard press release nobody would care. Just the way it works unforutunately.

And it's not like PETA is any more ridiculous or outragrous than say the religious right.

[MrX]

No, PETA is not ridiculous it's the corporate media that is ridiculous. Unfortunately, the only way that PETA can even make the news is to have some sort of "publicity stunt" or "outrageous statement" that forces the corporate news media to cover it.

Sadly, animal rights issue are never inherently "newsworthy" enough on their own to make the news unless of course you find something so out of the ordinary like a deer that ends up lost on a busy road or an alligator that ends up in a pool or a school prank where students put a mule in a building. Or of course a high profile multi-million dollar athlete who finances dog fighting. The corporate news media is much more concerned about what celebirties are wearing and the latest fashions and other celebirty gossip that seem to dominate the current corporate news agenda.

The only way that PETA can even remotely get their issues on air is to say something sensational that causes "controversy." Like any issue advocacy group they are trying to get their issues covered. Perhaps their recommendation is not realistic, but at least you are talking about it, thinking about it, and are now aware of it. If they had just issued a standard press release nobody would care. Just the way it works unforutunately.

And it's not like PETA is any more ridiculous or outragrous than say the religious right.

I agree.

It just falls outside of my personal preferences to make illogical arguments just to be heard.

[BuddyBear]

I agree.

It just falls outside of my personal preferences to make illogical arguments just to be heard.

There is a reason everyone knows about PETA. If they don't make "outrageous" statements they will never get covered in the media. There is only so much space availabe in the media. If you are a group like PETA, you have to find a way to get your issues on there.

[pico]

There is a reason everyone knows about PETA. If they don't make "outrageous" statements they will never get covered in the media. There is only so much space availabe in the media. If you are a group like PETA, you have to find a way to get your issues on there.

they should just stick to naked allicia silverstone.

[MrX]

There is a reason everyone knows about PETA. If they don't make "outrageous" statements they will never get covered in the media. There is only so much space availabe in the media. If you are a group like PETA, you have to find a way to get your issues on there.

I understand. I agree.

I just don't know if it's best in the long run to reach millions and look like an idiot, or to reach hundreds and come across as sane people with sound arguments.

[jon101]

It was a freak accident

PETA is out of line, it was a freak accident that the horse fractured both legs and was unable to be splinted and placed in the equine ambulance. RIP EIGHT BELLES.

[purecarnagge]

I seriously am waiting for a terrorist organization to seriously attack PETA...

[imgv94]

I respect some of the things PETA stands for, but not this.

[Panic]

And they want the 400K revoked? LOL. What a joke.

[purecarnagge]

There money hungry bitches. They spend more money/time on stupid shit than actually saving animals.