'Moral Crisis' Plagues Horse Racing

Wishes 'talented, mild-mannered' horse was back in the barn

(NEWSER) - Eight Belles' owner is still shocked and saddened by the death of his filly, put down at the end of the Kentucky Derby—but believes she belonged in the race, reports the Palm Beach Post. Rick Porter switched from celebrating his horse's thrilling second-place finish to mourning her death within minutes. "It's the bottom of the barrel," he said yesterday. "It's just a horrible feeling." More»

(NEWSER) - A year after second-place finisher Eight Belles had to be euthanized following the Kentucky Derby, safety has improved—but the inherent dangers of horse racing remain immutable, MSNBC reports. The industry has altered the rules regarding steroids, whips, and horseshoes, "but the bottom line is, not a lot of change," said a congressman critical of the sport's decentralized structure. More»

Dead male found just 4 barns away from I'll Have Another

(NEWSER) - The day after I'll Have Another broke from the field to win the first leg of the Triple Crown, Kentucky police are investigating a man's body that was found at Churchill Downs this morning. The body was found in Barn 8, just four barns away from where the new Derby winner is stabled, though police tell the AP that he had no connection to I'll Have Another or Churchill Downs. Police are treating the death as a homicide. It's not the vaunted track's first brush with death: Jockey Michael Baze died of an apparent overdose near the stables about a week after last year's Derby. More»

Comma To The Top is the people's champion

(NEWSER) - Looking for a rooting interest at Sunday’s Kentucky Derby? Well, you should be cheering for Comma To The Top, argues Edward McClelland of Slate , for one simple reason: "He can’t produce sperm." Which means he’ll be able to race for another three years. “If early favorite Dialed In wins, he’ll retire at the end of the summer, and follow in the hoofprints of 2010 winner Super Saver, who is currently servicing mares for $20,000 a spasm.” More»

Diet, prayer, breathing, going to a shrink didn't do the trick for Tom Durkin

(NEWSER) - "The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports" turned out to be the most hellish for the man who has been tasked with calling the race 13 times. Tom Durkin's annual preparation went well beyond poring over photos of horses and flash cards and toting around a notebook containing more than 2,000 colorful adjectives and phrases. It has also consisted of medication, prayer, breathing exercises, time on a psychiatrist's couch, diet, exercises, and anything else he could think of, as the anxiety over describing the pandemonium creating by 20 horses blazing down the track began to build months in advance. More»