 |
 |
 |
|
BALTIMORE -- Their cause fueled by the tragic death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, representatives from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested outside Pimlico on Saturday before the Preakness.
| Advertisement |
|||
| |||
The protesters handed out leaflets that suggested horses in the industry are "Racing to the Grave." More than two dozen people participated, one of whom carried a hand-lettered sign that read, "Wanna bet another horse dies today?"
Eight Belles broke her two front ankles in the Derby and was euthanized moments after finishing second to Big Brown.
"Reforms need to be made," said Ashley Byrne, campaign coordinator for PETA. "People see the image of Eight Belles on the track and are horrified."
PETA is calling on the industry to ban whipping; limit the number of races a horse runs in a year to seven; prohibit the training and racing of horses under 3 years because their bones and joints aren't fully developed; replace dirt tracks with turf and synthetic surfaces; and to institute a policy that bans illegal and legal drugs in the week leading up to a race.
Fans making their way toward the track glanced at the protest but continued walking without breaking stride. To make people aware of their cause, several of the protesters rang bells.
"Of course it gets your attention," 22-year-old Sergio Garivay said. "I wasn't expecting this. But I don't think horse racing is a cruel sport."
Blinkers on
Looking to change things after his horse ran poorly in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Paulo Lobo planned to put blinkers on Gayego for the first time in the Preakness.
"They're very light blinkers, very light open blinkers. They're just to see if he pays attention a little bit more," he said. "I have been thinking since January about putting blinkers on him. He was doing well and running well, so I didn't want to change for the Kentucky Derby. But now he's going to run with blinkers."
After a poor start, Gayego finished 17th among 20 horses at the Derby.
"I only brought this horse here because he showed to me that he's doing well, eating well," Lobo said.
Everyone loves a crowd
Kentucky Bear trainer Reade Baker could only hope his horse would react to the cheers of more than 100,000 fans screaming in the same fashion as one of the sport's great champions -- Secretariat.
Baker recalled with no small measure of astonishment how Secretariat handled the crowd at Toronto's Woodbine before his final race in 1973.
"He had a big set of cupped blinkers, and (fans) started yelling and even started throwing things at him when he went under the old tunnel," Baker said. "There were some other horses in front of him. They were freaking and going nuts, throwing riders and everything. This horse never blinked. It was amazing."
And Kentucky Bear? Well, Baker wasn't sure what to expect.
"Kentucky Bear's got a great disposition, but you never know what they'll do," Baker said. "We've done everything we can, but I guess the Derby horses take an advantage over us there; they went through that thing."
Early riser
Nine hours before the Preakness, trainer Nick Zito was outside the stakes barn at Pimlico, chatting with friends and keeping an eye on Stevil.
Zito didn't say much about his entry in the days leading up to the race, perhaps because he knew Stevil (one win in six lifetime races) was a long shot to upset heavy favorite Big Brown.
But, even though Stevil was listed at 30-1 in the morning line, there was still hope for him to make an impression. After all, Zito has bucked the odds before: His entry last year, C P West, was fourth to Curlin, and Hemingway's Key finished third in 2006.
Zito hasn't missed a Preakness since 2003. He won the 1996 race with Louis Quatorze.
