Let's Not Overreact

It's fodder for blogs and talk shows all over America today, the horrible death of the filly, Eight Belles, after Saturday's Kentucky Derby. As expected, the PETA crowd has gone ballistic, somehow reasoning that jockey Gabriel Saez knew the horse was injured during the race, and was the reason Eight Belles broke both ankles. Preopsterous. No professional jockey would jeopardize his or his mount's health to that extent. Unfortunately, there's no early warning system for broken bones and ankles in horse racing.
There is a case to be made to look into the breeding of these thoroughbreds, to see if they simply are bred too much for speed, and not enough for stamina and endurance. You have to wonder whether a filly belongs in a race with 19-other talented colts, running as hard as she can for a mile and a quarter--maybe the chances for a breakdown increase for these 3-year olds as they run longer distances.
With the increased popularity of synthetic surfaces, there's also research to be done on those tracks compared to the traditional dirt tracks, and the transition the horses have to make from surface to surface.
But in no way should Saturday's tragedy call into question the sport of throroughbred racing or its future. The latest figures show that there's 1.6 fatalities for every 1,000 horses that start a thoroughbred race. There is risk of death and serious injury in several other sports, including risks to humans, which is much more serious than the risk posed to horses. The people who run racing know that fatalaties like Eight Belles demand a throrough investigation into safety and breeding issues, and I'm confident they will demand a higher standard in the future.