PETA has gotta cut this out.
What happened to Eight Belles was a horrible, tragic accident that could not have been avoided.
The horse's trainer even said he'd put the same jockey on one of his horses if the derby were tomorrow. PETA has no right to include themselves in this type of situation. The only argument they could make is if all of the horses in the race or all of the horses that Saez rode had to be put down. He expertly rode Eight Belles to a second-place finish.
Even if Saez knew Eight Belles was badly injured and kept riding her, it is because if he pulled up, he risked injuring the other riders and horses. And had he done that, would PETA be on his case?
These people disgust me, it's simple as that. I understand their causes when actual cruelty is involved. But this is ridiculous. And now they're making demands that if an investigation finds Saez was aware of the horse's injury, that the 400,000 dollar prize that Eight Belles bloody WON should be given back.
It's never a problem until something happens for these folks. People have known for years exactly what these horses go through for these races, the problems with breeding, age restrictions, but why start now? And why target Eight Belles and her owners/trainer/jockey?
Disgusting.
