What happened at the Kentucky Derby?
The racing world is mourning the death of Eight Belles, the filly that broke two ankles after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. Animal rights groups are protesting. Scott Jagow asks commentator Diana Nyad why it happened.
Big Brown, left, leads Eight Belles, as he crosses the finish line. Minutes later, Eight Belles collapsed, breaking both legs and was euthanized. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Scott Jagow: All week, the sports world has been buzzing about the Kentucky Derby. And not in a good way. The death of Eight Belles after the race has prompted protests from animal rights groups. It has people within the industry searching for answers. They know casual fans might stop watching if horses keep dying at the track. Our Business of Sports commentator Diana Nyad is here. Diana, a lot of issues have come up regarding track surfaces, the age of racehorses, medication. What do you think this boils down to?
Diana Nyad: You know, what it really comes down to, I don't care what subject we discuss, it comes down to the inbreeding. That's what's caused the horse to be so fragile. Every single horse, 20 of them, this past weekend at the Kentucky Derby came down the exact same bloodlines. You know, you can trace back to the very same bloodlines only a grandfather away. So, you know, we know what's happened with humans in this case. We know what happens with canines, with dogs, in this case. You develop genetic weaknesses. And now the horse has the ankle bones and the lower legs are incredibly susceptible to injury. And so, to my mind, the one thing that could be done is a central agency that really overlooks, and we could say that you've got to go, unless a horse goes through six generations staying away from that bloodline, you know, then maybe they can go to the grand grand grand grand granddaughter of War Emblem, not the direct descendants can't be inbred.
Jagow: Do you think the industry is in such danger here that they need to take this upon themselves to do something or do you see Congress getting involved, something like what happened with baseball?
Nyad: You know, I don't. I think that it would be different if we saw a lot of callous people in the racing world who came out, you know, after Saturday's tragedy and said, "Hey, it's just part of the sport. Don't bother us about it." That's not how they feel. They are devastated. It hurts them deeply. And I think that the Racing Association, regardless of how much money they want to make, they are definitely looking into every nook and cranny to see what can make these horse safer, including changing breeding rules.
All right. Diana Nyad, our business of sports commentator. Thank you.
Scott, it's a pleasure.
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