UPDATE:  Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones has ordered drug testing to prove his fallen Kentucky Derby filly was not on performance-enhancing drugs.  Why is this test being done?  Two reasons.  One to prove the above mentioned, and the other is to get PETA to back off a bit.

    There has been some question that the filly was on steroids, due to her large size.  If that is proved correct, all hell will break loose.  However, if it is proven that Eight Belles was not on performance-enhancing drugs, PETA needs to back off.

    Here's why. 

    While I will stand along with PETA in any type of inhuman treatment of animals, I cannot stand with them in their protest of racing horses. Feel free to correct me, but horses, even those in the wild, are born to run.  Whether PETA believes this or not, race horses are athletes, just not of the human variety. 

     My only concern with the horse racing industry is the small percentage of owners/trainers who do not treat their stable correctly if the horse is not performing.  To some owners/trainers, horses are purely a means to make money.  It is a business.  However, remember that a quite large sum of money is invested in these horses to get them "track" ready, not to mention the initial purchase price, which can run in the millions.

     I can't professionally say whether I think Jockey Gabriel Saez knew Eight Belles was in trouble in the Derby.  However, with this untrained eye, I thought I saw the filly make a bad step,on the replay , inside the 1/16 pole near the finish.  However, none of the experts on television saw anything that aroused their trained eye. 

    Let me make this perfectly clear to PETA.  When you are dealing with the echelon of horses and the wealth of the owners who are fortunate to have a Derby horse, you find me one that would intentionally disreagard the health of the horse and run it anyway.  That is simply ridiculous.  Remember, a vast majority of the money made on a horse like Eight Belles comes from stud fees. 

    What I saw last Saturday was a filly that had tremendous pedigree, and something you can't teach a horse, she had heart.  There was no way Eight Belles was going to beat Big Brown.  Frankly, I don't see any horse beating this monster 3-year old.  He is without a doubt, the standout in what is nothing more than a mediocre year for the Triple Crown. But Eight Belles did not give up. 

    Eight Belles enjoyed the competition.  Eight Belles loved to run.  If the drug-testing done on Eight Belles reveals NO performance-enhancing drugs, PETA needs to move on to a more worthy case.  However, if drugs are found in the filly's system, more than PETA will come down on Trainer Larry Jones.  I just don't see that happening.

    Tom Korun