The Kentucky Derby was marred by a terrible injury and death. Fox Hill Farms' Eight Belles had been chosen to run in the Derby, and the previous day, her trainer, Larry Jones, had success with Proud Spell in the Oaks, so everyone was hopeful that this big grey filly out of Unbridled's Song and Away by Dixieland Band would do well in the Derby against the boys. She had previously had a record of 9: 5-2-1, and in 2008 had won all four of her races leading into the Derby. She was a big gal who people said was even larger than Winning Colors who was the last filly to win the Derby.
She held a steady 5th out of 20 throughout the race, and then in the final turn, powered her way to a solid challenging powerful second place finish. But on the faraway, as she was galloping down, her jockey said that she pulled funny and then went down. She broke both her front ankles, and one ankle broke through.
This injury is painful and fatal. So, she was euthanized on the track yesterday. She was born on 2/23/05 and passed on 5/3/05. During her short life, she raced at Delaware Park, the Fairgrounds, Oaklawn Park, and then last at Churchill Downs where she showed her fierce powerful nature.I am happy to say that at her last race at the fairgrounds, on January 21, 2008, she won by 15 lengths and was written into history as "simply much the best."