Horse Racing - On the Road for the Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is around the corner. It is programmed to be next May the 2nd, and the horses and their respective owners and jockeys are getting prepared for what is going to be the first event of the year for the Triple Crown. However, in order to make it enjoyable and safe for the animals as well, there are several aspects that need to be revised and taken with more attention.

The last couple of years the Triple Crown events have been kind of tragic since two horses had died because of multiple fractures on their legs. The first one was Barbaro, who had a break down at the Preakness Stakes in 2006, and then in last’s year Kentucky Derby the filly Eight Belles had to be euthanized in the track after broking both ankles. With these past events, there have been a lot of questions in regards the measures that some trainers and owners are taking to maintain the horses running despite they are having problems before they get into the race.

In an interview with the Hall of fame trainer Bob Baffert, he talked about the questions that many people have and some other interesting facts about the horses he has, especially the one he is training right now which has an entry to the Derby, Pioneer of the Nile. Baffert has been competing with horses for a long time, but it wasn’t until 1997 that he won the Derby and Preakness with Silver Charm. He repeated this accomplishment in 1998 with Real Quiet and in 2002 with War Emblem; however, each time he failed to gather the Triple Crown at Belmont Stakes. The last couple of years he has not participated in the Triple Crown since he didn’t have a horse good enough to win, but this year he will be back with the Pioneer of the Nile.

“Maybe it’s a case that you just appreciate things when you get older,” Baffert said. “When you’re younger, you get on a roll and start taking it for granted you’ll just keep coming back. You forget how many things have to go right.”

Just this past Sunday and Monday, there were two hearings about other two trainers that have been charged for torturing or injuring animals. The first one was Ernie Paragallo who has 22 counts on those charges after at his upstate New York farm, the police found around 200 horses suffering from neglect and malnutrition. The second one was Jeff Mullins, who is training the top horse I Want Revenge, and was finned with $2500 and a seven days suspension after giving a ”medication” to a horse previous to a race at Aqueduct three weeks ago. 

This is just a sample of how some trainers are doing everything to maintain good horses running despite of the means used and the animals’ conditions. Moreover, another subject on the table for discussion is whether the tracks need to be resurfaced, since some jockeys have stated that some surfaces may be affecting horses as they compete on races.

At this moment, what Baffert and some other trainers are praying for is for a clean race; especially to accomplish what every horse trainer dreams of, the Triple Crown title, since the last horse on winning the three races was Affirmed, back in 1978.