Tragic filly's trainer defends jockey's use of whip

In the last moments of her life, Eight Belles (left) follows eventual winner Big Brown (second left) out of the turn and down the stretch in the Kentucky Derby. The filly would finish behind Big Brown and seconds later suffer two broken front ankles, forcing vets to euthanise her. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Larry Jones says if he had to do it all again he would put jockey Gabriel Saez right back up on Eight Belles, his ill-fated filly who was euthanized at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

His comments came in the wake of heavy criticism by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a controversial advocacy group that called for Saez's suspension from the sport because he didn't pull the filly up when she was "doubtlessly injured before the finish."

Those claims came in a fax to Kentucky's racing authority.

Eight Belles, the only filly in the Derby and running against 19 colts, was an outstanding second to heavy favourite Big Brown at Churchill Downs. Somewhere around the first turn on the gallop out, Eight Belles collapsed forward, having broken both front ankles.

The horse was immediately euthanized because track veterinarians said there was no chance of saving her and she was in severe pain.

Jones said his jockey, also criticized by PETA and some bloggers as being too heavy with the crop as Eight Belles came down the stretch, had acted exactly as he should have, and the whipping had been done to prevent the filly from running into the rail.

On Sunday, Jones had been heavily critical of PETA's claim the horse was injured before the race was over.

"I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that," Jones said. "She has her ears up [across the line], clearly galloping out."

Galloping out, in which a thoroughbred gradually comes to a stop, can take up to a quarter mile or more as doing it too quickly can cause injury to the horse.

With files from the Associated Press

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