Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Politics and the Actual Horse Race

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Politics and the Actual Horse Race

AP photo / Brian Bohannon

Track personnel try to hold down Eight Belles after the 134th Kentucky Derby.

File this under just plain weird: Hillary Clinton picked Eight Belles, the only filly in the race, to win the Kentucky Derby. She came in second, behind Big Brown, and, sadly, had to be euthanized on the track because she broke two ankles after crossing the finish line.

AP via Google:

The day began with hope and pomp. Bolstered by the sentimental support from 157,770 fans and endorsed by presidential contender Hillary Clinton and cheered by daughter Chelsea, the filly finished second in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

She crossed the wire 4 3/4 lengths behind favorite Big Brown. Then, with the second-largest crowd in Derby history still whooping it up, Eight Belles collapsed with two broken front ankles.

The magnitude of what happened was slow to reach the fans at Churchill Downs. Not only was a horse down, but it was the filly. And horse racing—with the memory of Barbaro still fresh and a severe injury to a horse coming only a day earlier on Kentucky Oaks Day—had to confront grief one more time.

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TAGS: chelsea clinton derby eight belles horse injury politics race

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By Jo Taylor, May 5 at 11:12 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

How dare you

You think there is something funny here? This is the day I stop visiting your site and cancel my newsletter.

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By Dale, May 5 at 10:14 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

For all here that are trashing racing - you haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. These animals get better medical attention than most humans, they eat top quality grains and alfalfa and are treated well. Thoroughbreds are bred to race and, believe it or not, almost all of them love to race. I know - I train them myself.

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By Maani, May 4 at 8:34 pm #
(1271 comments total)

An excellent article on the issue that seems to be one many people’s minds:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/sports/othersports/0 4rhoden.html?_r=1&sq=rhoden&st=nyt&oref=login&a mp;scp=2&pagewanted=print

Peace.

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By Maezeppa, May 4 at 7:05 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Not Weird

Of couse she’d pick the filly. The fact that it broke down in second place might be a little ironic but statistically it isn’t such a huge coincidence or omen or anything like that.

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By Maani, May 4 at 1:04 pm #
(1271 comments total)

This seems as good a place as any to post this. Even as a Hillary supporter, I found this absolutely brilliant and hysterical!

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/84276/

Peace.

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By Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, May 4 at 12:15 pm #
(566 comments total)

Horse races, dog shows, any of that. Breeding animals for profit. Immorally wrong. Eight Belles is collateral damage in the war against animals and, I’m sure, heavily, heavily insured.

Can you imagine????? Breeding and breeding and breeding animals in order to get the perfect one. Wasn’t there a quest for the perfect race not too long ago?

The world is overrun with stray dogs and cats that live horrendous lives while idiots continue to breed and breed and breed pure-breds or hybrids in order to make money or, as they say, to keep the strain pure. Goddamn the AKC! And Goddamn the horse people. (I don’t know what they call themselves but I’m sure it’s a club and a high falutin’ one at that!")

If you have a pet and haven’t yet done it, please have it neutered. If you want a pet, please avoid pet stores and go to your local humane society. Before you make a decision to bring a pet into your home, please educate yourself about the long-term custodial and financial responsibility connected with it. There are a million pets out there needing a good home. The rewards can be huge.

This is a personal plea. I have nothing to do with any society with animal interests, except to support them when I can.

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By Conservative Yankee, May 5 at 4:11 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Ypu must not have cats!

By Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD

“Before you make a decision to bring a pet into your home, please educate yourself about the long-term custodial and financial responsibility connected with it.”

I have three cats, BUT they made “the decision. they just walked in, and said “feed me please” Great little animals, and loyal to a fault.

one is sitting on top of my computer as I write…

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By antispin, May 4 at 11:48 am #
(89 comments total)

betting

So HRC bet on a filly to win? Does that make her more of an “ordinary person?” Wapo describes the kind of people who bet on horses as “sheiks, oilmen, entrepreneurs, old money from the thousand-acre farms, the handicappers, men in bad sport coats with crumpled sheets full of betting hieroglyphics, the julep-swillers and the ladies in hats the size of boats.” That’s HRC’s crowd, alright - despite her pandering in peoples pantries and gassing on about the price of gas.

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By bert, May 4 at 10:42 am #
(686 comments total)

This is a story about the state of horse racing in this country and the horrible conditions most of these horses have to live with. Linking it to politics, especially Hillary is base, misogynist and sexist, as well as just plain cruel.

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By Conservative Yankee, May 4 at 11:47 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Agreement

Bert we agree on at least two things. horse racing is cruel, and this story should not be “linked” to the business shill and her campaign. After all, the horse is a noble animal.

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By bert, May 5 at 6:26 am #
(686 comments total)

Horse's Patoots

Both Conservative Yankee and cyrena prove yet again with their most recent posts here that while they are horse’s patoots, neither of them is noble.

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By cyrena, May 4 at 11:48 pm #
(4172 comments total)

Re: Agreement

I think this is real intelligent. Horses are nobel animals, and horse racing is cruel.

HRC is NOT a noble animal, or a nobel person.

But, she IS cruel, and thereby dangerous to other living beings.

Report this

By bert, May 4 at 7:12 pm #
(686 comments total)

Re: Agreement

Keep talking, someday maybe you’ll say something intelligent!

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By Tim Kelly, May 4 at 6:21 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

I think horse racing would be much more interesting if the horse owners and trainers faced criminal charges in the event the animals are injured or killed. How different is horse racing from dog fighting? Surely no one thinks that a horse loves running so much it will break its own legs to do so. Horse racing is considered legal because of the income levels of the horse racers.

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By Margaret Currey, May 4 at 6:16 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Race horses don’t have strong legs, the ankles shame they had to kill her on the spot.

Also a shame that Hillary’s horse came in second and had to be put down, I wonder if Hillary will be in second place when this is all over.

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By Tom Doff, May 4 at 5:03 am #
(52 comments total)

Has anyone asked?

Was Hillary satisfied with coming in second?

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By Tom Doff, May 4 at 4:24 am #
(52 comments total)

Portents, portents. Not only Eight Belles, but;

I looked at my green tea leaves this morning, and saw Hillary going under and shouting for ‘Help’ off a beach on Guam.

During Chelsea’s morning jog, she reportedly stepped on a sidewalk crack.

And to top it off, Hillary’s STD checkup came back positive. Bill’s was negative. Who’s gonna catch hell?

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