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Anonymiss
!8a.AapkhGM
PETA's jumped on this shit, too:
>>NORFOLK, Va. (AP) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is seeking the suspension of Eight Belles' jockey after the filly had to be euthanized following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
>>Gabriel Saez was riding Eight Belles when she broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter of a mile past the wire. She was euthanized on the track.
>>PETA faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky's racing authority claiming the filly was ``doubtlessly injured before the finish'' and asked that Saez be suspended while Eight Belles' death is investigated.
>>``What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?'' PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. ``If he didn't then we can probably blame the fact that they're allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.''
>>Guillermo said if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second-place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.
>>Saez, a 20-year-old Panama native, was riding in his first Kentucky Derby. He frequently rides for Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones.
>>A call to the jockeys' room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.
>>Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, appeared fine until collapsing while galloping out after the finish.
>>The letter to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority also sought a ban on whipping, limits on races and the age of racehorses, and a move to softer, artificial surfaces for all courses.
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