Published: May 14, 2008 05:18 pm            

DeKAY: The chance of a lifetime

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times ... ”

— “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

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Eight Belles was the only filly in the race that day. Race she did. At the start she was riding high, in fifth position from the rail, and still she ran. At the first turn, she still held fifth place behind Bob Black Jack, Cowboy Cal, Cool Coal Man and Recapturetheglory, and still she ran. As she nears the backstretch, she gains speed, passing Cool Coal Man and still she ran. Now the lady is running fourth among the field of 20; and still she runs. Into the stretch she has only three horses in front of her, Recapturetheglory, who is in the lead, followed by the powerhouse Big Brown, and Cowboy Cal, and still she runs.

Near the finish, she noses out Denis of Cork, and still the lady runs. The race is nearly run and it is time to pull out the stops, and through sheer heart and determination, the lady puts 3 3/4 lengths between herself and the number three finisher, Denis of Cork. Now there is only one to catch, the big guy, Big Brown. As she crosses the finish line, 4 3/4 lengths behind Big Brown, the lady is still running strong. She has won second, the only filly, in a field of 20. She has won second in the most prestigious horse race on the planet, the Kentucky Derby. She had won second with an effort that in other years would have been a winning finish.

It is nearly a quarter of a mile down the track, after she has crossed the finish line, a time when both the horse and the jockey can begin to relax, and enjoy the fruit of their efforts, when something goes wrong, when something goes terribly wrong. Suddenly the lady is down; Eight Belles lies prone on the dirt track.

After all is said and done, Jockey Gabriel Saez will recall that something didn’t “feel” right just after she galloped across the finish line. But now, Saez must quickly dismount after she breaks down; and standing near her, dusty and dejected he watches helplessly, as the on-call vet, Dr. Larry Bramlage, examines the filly. Eight Belles has suffered two fractures, breaking both front ankles. “She didn’t have a leg to stand on.” said Bramlage. Eight Belles was put down where she lay in front of a capacity crowd. “She ran great, she was trying the whole time,” said her jockey.

Now that another horse has broken down, there will be the inevitable questions. How can we make it safer? Who is at fault? What did the jockey do wrong? There will be lots of finger pointing, and lots of denials and recriminations. The blame game will begin. But I for one am with Huffman-Branham in her sports column on Saturday, “When things go wrong with horses — like with Eight Belles — it breaks people’s hearts and in an instant, someone’s dream is gone.”

I think we feel so strongly about Eight Belles and Barbaro before her, because they symbolize the best in us. She ran because she could. She was born and bred to run. She gave us all she had. For me, she is a hero, as is every horse and jockey who steps out onto that track, faces the danger, and races for yet another day.

We are drawn to horse racing for many of the same reasons we are drawn to all types of sports ... the heroes. These horses teach us how we ought to run our race; and how we ought to strive for excellence. And so Eight Belles, we will remember you, for the race you ran with heart and courage, and I am sure with joy.

We will let those more knowledgeable than ourselves in the sport examine the evidence, calculate the statistics and study the feasibility of covering the tracks with synthetic material, or changing breeding practices. All of those things are necessary and reasonable courses of action to be contemplated. Positive changes will be as welcome in horse racing as they are in any sport. Today, I want to remember a beautiful horse that ran the race of her life, with courage, grace and determination.

Every year before the Kentucky Derby is run, and before they play “My Old Kentucky Home,” they play another song, Dan Fogelberg’s “Run for the Roses.” I think Dan said it best, and for all us:

“And it’s run for the roses As fast as you can

Your fate is delivered

Your moment’s at hand

It’s the chance of a lifetime

In a lifetime of chance

And it’s high time you joined

in the dance

it’s high time you joined

in the dance.”

We will miss you Eight Belles.



“Thoughts from the Hungry Side of Daybreak” are written by Peggy DeKay, a business and freelance writer and Clark County resident. She can be reached at DKcommunications@insightbb.com.

        

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