The hardest thing I've ever covered: Eight Belles
Note: This is a continuation of "Covering the Kentucky Derby red carpet...then Eight Belles"
Immediately following the Kentucky Derby, it was my job to get back to Churchill Downs's barn area and speak with the connections of the 19 losing connections with the help of my co-worker, Mike. This year, it was different, because the filly Eight Belles had broken down and was humanely euthanized on the track.
Like I said in the previous post, I covered the same "post race aftermath" last year, and it was great. This year, not so much. Walking on the track last year, I could hear the loud roar of the crowd from the grandstands. This year, people stood in disbelief of what had happened moments earlier. A great silence hung overhead.
As Mike and I walked to the barn area, we hung our heads and kept saying, "I can't believe this," or "what a shame," or "how, why did this happen," or "this is a huge blow." I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. I mean, horses break down every single day--on and off the track, in training or on the farms. I have seen numerous horses breakdown while watching races on television or in replays but never experienced it in person, first hand.
And, with Eight Belles breaking down, it could not have happened to a nicer trainer than Larry Jones. He became one of my favorite trainers last year while training last year's Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun, who I became a huge fan of and look forward to his career at stud.
Last year, Jones was tickled and beaming with proudness after Hard Spun's runner-up finish. I could only imagine what he would have said of Eight Belles had the circumstances been different. I mean, the 20 three-year-olds in the Derby are the best in their crop of 35,000 and each earned and proved they were the best by racing in the 1 1/4-mile classic.
Standing outside Barn 43, where Jones and owner Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms was left with an empty stall was tough. I stood there in disbelief and was saddened. When Jones finally came out of his barn office, he simply shook Porter's hand before pulling him in for a hug. Jones paced up and down the shedrow, his head hung and only the top of his white cowboy hat visible.
After being shooed off by police and security guards, I continued to talk to the other connections, but the sadness and loss of Eight Belles was felt throughout the barn area. Other trainers, including Barbaro's trainer Michael Matz, had nothing but encouraging words and sympathy for Jones, Porter, and anyone who worked with Eight Belles.
It has taken me a few days to accept what happened with Eight Belles and the Thoroughbred industry in the national spotlight, it's going to take me some time to get past. But, life goes on and so will Thoroughbred racing. I will continue to attend the races, cover this sport, and move on, knowing Eight Belles will not be the last horse I see, or hear of, breaking down.