Collins: PETA off the mark accusing Eight Belles’ jockey of wrongdoing

As a horseracing columnist, and more importantly a fan, I was devastated to see the courageous Eight Belles break down after running second in the Kentucky Derby.No matter how many times I see a horse break down, and ultimately be euthanized, I still get that sick feeling in my stomach and feel terrible for the horse, owners, trainer and the jockey ? especially the jockey who is going to be second-guessed forever.Gabriel Saez had just ridden Eight Belles magnificently to finish behind runaway winner Big Brown at Churchill Downs Saturday when everything went wrong.As Eight Belles was pulling up around the far turn, she broke both her ankles in her front legs and was immediately euthanized on the track.Saez is a 20-year-old kid who had just finished second in America’s greatest horse race. He should have been celebrating his accomplishments. Instead, he was sitting next to Eight Belles after she broke down. The jockey, who was born in Panama, is so grief-stricken over the events that he has not been able to face the media.In a statement Monday, Saez said Eight Belles never indicated anything was wrong.”All I could sense under me was how eager she was to race,” Saez said. “I was so proud of her performance, and of the opportunity to ride her in my first Kentucky Derby, all of which adds to my sadness.”PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), of course, jumps at the opportunity, and it unjustly calls for Saez’ suspension.In a release on the PETA Web site, it says, “Just after crossing the finish line in the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2008, a young filly named Eight Belles collapsed when both of her front ankles snapped. She was euthanized in the dirt where she lay, the latest victim of the dirty business of thoroughbred racing.”PETA is calling on the racing industry to suspend the jockey and trainer, to bar the owner from racing at the track, and, at the very least, to stop using young horses who are so susceptible to these types of horrific injuries. We’re also demanding that the industry stop racing horses on hard tracks and switch to softer, synthetic surfaces, which would spare horses’ bones and joints, in addition to calling for a permanent ban on the use of whips.”OK, fine. I can live with PETA trying to pull at people’s heartstrings just hours after the tragedy and calling horse racing a dirty business, looking for the banning of whips and demanding that horses run on synthetic surfaces. What I take exception to is the fact these idiots at PETA are going after a 20-year-old kid by requesting his suspension.Eight Belles’ trainer, Larry Jones, was quick to defend his young jockey when he told the Associated Press, “This filly in every race has tried to drift toward the rail ? It’s her comfort zone, and Gabriel knows this. This kid made every move the right move, and I hate it that they’re wanting to jump down his throat. He did not try to abuse that horse to make her run faster. He knew he was second best, that she wasn’t going to catch Big Brown.”Saez did exactly what he was supposed to do riding Eight Belles. He did not abuse her through the stretch, he did not continue to ride her after knowing something had gone wrong and he certainly did not add to her demise.Sure, PETA has every right to demand synthetic surfaces, but calling for the abolishment of whips and the suspension of Saez is nothing short of ludicrous.If you take away the whip from a jockey, you are taking away the ability for a 110-pound person from controlling the horse.PETA’s demand to have Saez suspended makes no sense whatsoever, and hopefully, when that organization steps back, counts to 10 and begins thinking rationally, it will realize the attack on Saez was foolish.I only hope that some trainer out there finds a mount for Saez in either the Preakness or Belmont.