Horse Racing and Bull Fighting

To say I am excited, is probably a bit of an understatement! For the first time in 6 years, it looks as if we may have our first Triple Crown winner in 30 years!!! 6 years ago, I thought Bob Baffert's horse War Emblem was going to do it, but he stumbled out of the gate and fell to his knees. He was unable to gain the lead. The 2002 Belmont was won by a 70:1 longshot! Two years ago, I had hoped a beautiful animal named Barbaro was going to take the Triple Crown, but his career was ended with a catastrophic fracture to a hind leg. 8 months later he was euthanized and was buried at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.

Big Brown makes it look so easy! Kent Desormeaux knows this horse and exactly how to handle him in a race. If you watch the race footage, you will see that Desormeaux is holding Big Brown back until they turn for the home streatch. He then let's Big Brown have his head and he takes off! After Desormeaux decided that there was enough space between them and the rest of the field, you can see Desormeaux once again pull up on Big Brown. They are trying not to over tax him before the 1.5 mile Belmont Stakes in 3 weeks! After the race, Big Brown looks ready for another run. If he didn't have the dirt on his wraps, you would never know he had just run a mile and 3/16ths. Here is the footage of the beautiful Big Brown in the Preakness on Saturday....



There is only one other horse I have ever seen come out the Preakness eager to run some more, and that was file footage. That horse was Secretariat! I truly hope Big Brown can hold on and give us another spectacular run at the Belmont Stakes on June 7th!

BTW, here is the video of Big Brown winning the Kentucky Derby's 1 1/4 mile race.


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Now on to Bull Fighting......

This morning I went to the break room to get ice and water for my mug. I ended up stopping to watch the Today Show. It was Matt Lauer learning how to be a bull fighter!!!! I laughed so hard! So, here is the video.......

Eight Belles, Horse Racing, and The Preakness

As many of you know, horses are a life long love of mine. I maybe a small town country girl, who rides western and loves going to a rodeo, but I also enjoy the excitement of Grand Prix Jumping and Thoroughbred Horse Racing. Two weeks ago, at the end of what is called the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, a tragedy happened.  A beautiful athlete named Eight Belles collapsed due to two broken front legs. Eight Belles was the first Filly to run the Derby in 20 years! If she had won, she would have only been the 4th filly to win in the 134 year history of the Kentucky Derby.

Eight Belles had condylar fractures to both front ankles. Unfortunately this is a very common fracture in racehorses, while racing. But it is rare for it to be so severe, to happen to two legs at the same time, or to happen at the end of a race when the horse is pulling up. A condylar fracture is the when part of the end of a long bone breaks off. In the case of Eight Belles, it was in her front ankles. The red circled area is the location where the fractures occurred. The red circled area on the next image is the location on the joint that the fractures occurred.

Horses are fragile creatures and they are unable to live on only 3 legs, unlike dogs or cats. When a fracture like this occurs, usually the fracture is repaired using screws and plates. But the horse will not be able to put weight on that limb. Because of this the horse will be in a sling. When a horse is unable to move for long periods of time, the lack of blood flow to and from the limbs will cause laminitis, the condition which lead to Barbaro's death. Laminitis is when the wall of the hoof detaches it self from the foot. It is extremely painful, and usually develops in the feet that are carrying the load while one leg is injured. Because of this issue, trying to repair two broken legs would have lead to Eight Belles death because of the laminitis. Dwayne H. Rodgerson, a surgeon at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, called Eight Belles's injury - near-simultaneous catastrophic condylar fractures in both forelegs - "very rare."

To make this even more tragic, PETA called for the suspension of the Jockey Gabriel Saez, suggesting that he should have known that the filly was injured. I have watched the video footage of this race over and over again, the injury did not occur until after she crossed the finish line. She actually made it to the 1/8th mile pole before both legs failed and she fell. That horse was not injured earlier in the race and forced to continue. These types of fractures are very painful and the horse will stop racing to try to reduce the weight on the injured limb. Like usual, PETA has their collective heads so firmly shoved up their Keister, they do not know what is going on. This was just a tragic accident and because of the nature of injury involved it was more humane to euthanize Eight Belles.

I do have many problems with the horse industry, not just horse racing. It is very common to have HIGH level competitions for 3 year old horses. A horses skeletal system is not completely done growing until the horse is 4 to 5 years old, depending on the breed. In order to have a horse ready for an invitation to high level competitions, they usually start being ridden as 11 - 14 month olds and start competing shortly there after. This leads to a multitude of injuries, due to under developed bones being required to support over developed muscling. Bowed Tendons, Shin splints, hairline fractures in the long leg bones, etc are just a few of the many problems these horses have to live with. But unfortunately these competitions bring in large amounts of money. Not just to the industry, but to the competitors as well. When Big Brown won the Derby, he got a blanket of roses, but his owner, trainer, and jockey split a $2 Million pay out. Also at this stage he is worth a lot of money as a breeder. If he was to retire now, his owner could easily collect a couple hundred thousand dollars to breed him. And there are people already lining up. Because of the money involved in these high level competitions, there is no foreseeable end. I heard on the news today that a columnist is predicting that the tragedy with Eight Belles was going to lessen the number of spectators for the sport. This is probably true for the TV audiences, but not for those who go to local tracks and off site betting locations for these races. The Kentucky Derby has been racing for 134 years; the first national telecast was in 1952. If the Derby was not televised, it will still run the First Saturday of May.

Now on to this weekend! This weekend is the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown Race, the 133th running of the Preakness Stakes. This is the shortest of the 3 races, being only 1 3/16 mile long. It is my prediction that the beautiful Big Brown will do a repeat performance of 2 weeks ago and run away the winner by 3 lengths!

Go Big Brown!!!!

A Time To Celebrate The Amazing Energy Of Spring, And The End Of The Long, Cold Winter.

April 30th -- Beltane
Also known as Roodmas or May Day

Copyright © 1997-99 Akasha, Herne and The Celtic Connection. All rights reserved.

Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. Beltane means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times.

In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.

The Christian religion had only a poor substitute for the life-affirming Maypole -- namely, the death-affirming cross. Hence, in the Christian calendar, this was celebrated as 'Roodmas'. In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or 'Walpurgisnacht'. An alternative date around May 5 (Old Beltane), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus, is sometimes employed by Covens. (Both 'Lady Day' and 'Ostara' are names incorrectly assigned to this holiday by some modern traditions of Wicca.)

Think of the May pole as a focal point of the old English village rituals. Many people would rise at the first light of dawn to go outdoors and gather flowers and branches to decorate their homes. Women traditionally would braid flowers into their hair. Men and women alike would decorate their bodies. Beltane marks the return of vitality, of passion. Ancient Pagan traditions say that Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. To celebrate, a wedding feast, for the God and Goddess must be prepared. Let Them guide you! Breads and cereals are popular. Try oatmeal cakes or cookies sweetened with a dab of honey. Dairy foods are again appropriate...just make a lovely wedding feast and you are sure to enjoy yourself! An early morning walk through a local park or forest could be fun for everyone. Gather up some plants or flowers to display in your home. Mom and daughter could braid their hair, and weave in a few tender blossoms.

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Now is the time of transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later this year. It is also a time of year to celebrate love and unity.

Beltane blessings to you and yours!