Nothing is more illustrative of the clash between ecstasy and agony than in the final seconds of Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
There's still that gnawing, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
It was fun watching Big Brown turn on the accelerator at the finish. It was sickening to learn that second-place finishers and the filly, Eight Belles, had to be euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles shortly after crossing the finish line.
No doubt the fate Eight Belles, combined with the breakdown of Barbaro a couple of years earlier in the Preakness, will sound an alarm for racing.
Let's dismiss a couple of things right away.
PETA's proposal to sue Eight Belles' jockey, Gabreal Saez, for whipping the filly down the stretch is ridiculous and ill-conceived. One of the beauties of horse racing is the bond between man and beast formed by the relationship of jockey and thoroughbred. Horses, a like children to jockeys. They spend hours with them. They sleep with them. They have almost a magical sense of how they feel. There's no case there. It's an extreme stretch to deduce that Eight Belles' injury was the result of a jockey using the whip, something not uncommon in this case because Eight Belles had a history of lagging in stretch runs.
I remember spending a couple of days in Lexington, Ky., last year for the University of Central Arkansas' basketball game against Kentucky. I saw a couple of the horse farms. These animals are magnificently cared for, they live in better facilities than many people and they are considered part of the family for owners. There are statues to many of them. From the experience I've had with horsemen, there's a caring, feeling and appreciation for these great animals that transcend the business end that a good horse can bring in millions of dollars in winnings and breeding costs.
The issue doesn't seem to be lack of care or concern.
The bottom line: Thoroughbred horses are one of the most delicate of creatures. The creatures must be able to stand. A broken leg or ankle, not only from the physical standpoint but from the danger of infection during treatment, is so many times a death sentence. It's difficult for many of us to conceive a broken bone can be life-threatening. A horse has to have at least three, good functional legs and treatment is daunting enough then.
That's why every horse race can turn into Russian roulette.
The issue with Eight Belles is complicated by three issues:
It's the first time in the 133-year history of the Kentucky Derby that one of the horses had to be euthanized. That gives the grief and sadness a national spotlight. If a person is going to watch one horse race a year, it'll be the Kentucky Derby.
The injury occurred to a filly, a likeable horse, a loveable underdog and easily a sentimental favorite. And that filly finished second with a strong effort behind what appears to be a great horse, Big Brown.
The high-profile thoroughbred tragedy occurred too soon after many of us animal lovers were still working through the death of Barbaro, the thoroughbred who touched millions around the world with an "Everyman" experience of the roller-coaster struggle and the delicate balance between life and death.
Just like a death in boxing, what happened Saturday will raise some legitimate questions:
What happened? Was it just a freak thing or could it have been prevented?
Larry Jones, Eight Belles' trainer, said that the thoroughbred did not appear in distress either during the race or at the finish. At race's end, her ears were up and she was galloping out, normally two clear signs that the horse is feeling good. When Eight Belles' collapsed, Jones had quit watching, was high-fiving with fellow horsemen over a successful weekend. When informed of the sudden fall and euthanization, he became angry and distraught, caught the ambulance on the run, where veterinary officials clearly convinced him there was no real alternative.
Horse racing officials also claim that having a horse have such a catastrophic development that far from the finish line is almost unprecedented in the history of the sport. Jones compared it to the quarterback of the winning team in the Super Bowl collapsing and dying in the tunnel on the way to the locker room.
What about track surfaces? Should they be more forgiving?
From the bottom line standout, are these horses being raced too much? The Triple Crown requires three major races in six weeks and a few before that as prep races or qualifiers.
Is it dangerous for 3-year-old horses to face such a grueling race schedule? Some experts will argue that a horse's legs and leg muscles are not fully developed until age 5. Others will counter that the skeletal structure and growth plates are in place by age 2 and that age 2, thoroughbreds need to run on a carefully monitored, graduating schedule. In recent years, however, breeding practices among thoroughbreds have been geared toward speed, which has often resulted in smaller and narrower bones.
Racing officials also have noted that in the last 40 years of horse racing, the ratio of fatalities to races (1.5 per 1,000) has remained remarkably stable.
The filly question? Anyone who saw Eight Belles noticed immediately she was a stout, well-built horse, larger than several of the horses in the race.
And the evolving universal question: Is the essence of the sport of horse racing the magnificent, beauty and grace of a creature that is easy for most of us to fall in love with or is it the challenge or hook that one can win or lose a lot of money betting on such creatures?
Proper questions should result in soul-searching.
The reality is that as long as there are horses, people are going to race them. And it's best for all and the safety of the animals that they be raced under the sternest regulations. And it's a reality that horses of all kinds are going to break down (thoroughbreds being the most fragile because of the shape and structure of their legs ankles and the danger of a misstep for many reasons).
But this is not a Michael Vick scenario.
It's been an alternately invigorating and melancholy weekend.
The weather has been beautiful and the Toad Suck Daze festival was again a lot of fun.
But ... I'm emotionally sick for the loss of Eight Belles and what that means for its owners, trainers and the thoroughbred community.
But ... I am also sad for the families of seven people known dead in Arkansas and for the hundreds who sustained damage or lost their homes and almost everything else to recent tornadoes.
But ... it's also horrific and hard to imagine at least 10,000 people in Burma (about as far from the spotlight and under the radar screen as one can get) have been killed by a cyclone.
Just three quick reminders of what a gift life is, animal or human.
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)
