cant believe people are asking that question

ive always wondered how the media would handle a modern day budd dwyer, personally i think they would cream themselves

We will probably get the proper coverage and backstory of Eight Belles during the Preakness coverage in two weeks. It's a sad story that doesn't happen often during races of this caliber, but other than knowing the cause of the injury I didn't want to see it writhing in pain.

I keep hearing in the media that people are taking it so lightly that a 2nd place competitor was euthanized directly after the sports biggest race and comparing it to a human injury. A horse with a devastating injury like that has no chance of surviving. Barbaro only broke one ankle, Eight Belles broke both front ankles. If the horse can't stand, it will suffer and die not too long after. There's nothing you can argue about that decision.

I've been watching horse racing for at least 15 years and gone local tracks and the Belmont many times. I think NBC handled it as best they could while trying to promote Big Brown so everyone would tune in to the Preakness/Belmont.

Slightly O/T, but NBC's ratings were down from 9.8 to 9.5.

Well said Anon.

I agree 100% with NBC's decision to not show the injury. I actually left the room after I saw the quick shot of her on the ground because I knew what was up. Having been tramautized as a kid watching Go For Wand breakdown at the 1990 Breeders Cup (followed by SI running graphic, graphic photos) I think that stuff is best left unseen.

Sadly, groups like PETA are already grabbing headlines and this is bad for a sport I love. Having grown up in the shadow of Belmont, I have a different view I guess because these horsemen (trainers, jocks, owners, etc) love the horses. If you saw her trainer crying Saturday night, you would have to know they didn't purposely try to run her into the ground.

I think it's interesting that it hasn't been noted (except on a horse racing site I think) that a horse has not died during the Debry in at least 4 decades. But the Barbaro thing overshadows everything.

somewhere, an owner of a chinese restaurant is smiling

I definitely am glad they did not show it. If there is a statement to be made from this about the ethical issues of horse racing, it would not have been well served by graphically showing a horse with a bone sticking out of its leg in HD. The story is already heart wrenching enough and we can move beyond the PETA vs. Dont touch horse racing debate and on to a more rational dialogue without seeing a dying horse and its compound fractures. Every time I read about this story its sadder.

It's ridiculous for NBC to have not have had footage of the injury. It's the biggest story of the race--the one everyone's talking about today--and NBC completely ignored it. The broadcasters aren't supposed to be champions of a sport. They are supposed to cover it. And NBC shirked its responsibility on Saturday. It's been 21 years since Lawrence Taylor broke Joey T's leg. That's two decades that we've been desensitized to this kind of stuff. How can a broadcaster feel good about completely ignoring the biggest story in the race?

Tirico and VP just had a PETA spokesperson, and for the first time ever, I applaud Tirico for refusing to let the woman pontificate until she answered his pointed questions. She got pwned bigtime.

just had a PETA spokesperson on their show...

*note to self: proofread beforee posting*

I was about 100 yards on the backside of the track. I agree with the producer on NBC. Until you actually see what was happening, you can't make the decision whether it was the correct call. Would you show a soldier in Iraq withering in pain before his death? NO. I have been around horse racing since 1981 and this was the worst breakdown I have ever seen. It literally made my stomach upset. Secondly, if you have never been to a horse race and if you don't understand the breed, then stop making comments. I would be the first in line to ban the sport if I thought it was unethical and cruel. These horses are loved and pampered by their owners & trainers. What these horses do is natural instinct. Have you ever seen a horse in a pasture run like hell pounding on the ground just because it wanted to?....Obviously not, if your one of the people thinking that racing should be banned. Be informed and get involved before you jump to a conclusion about something you know nothing about.

When someone or something is dying live, you probably shouldn't air it. It doesn't seem like too tough of a decision to me.

why doesnt everyone get all up in arms the rest of the racing season when these horse are being beaten into shape by these money grubbing trainers and owners? it sucks that a horse had to die, but this happens ALL the time at tracks across the country. It just happened to be on the biggest stage.

ESPN is surely beating the footage to death (no pun intended). I've seen that footage on Sportcenter about 5 times, which is 5 times more than I wanted.

I think Gregg Doyel said it best.

cock. balls.

I saw brief coverage, and I have been around horses and races all of my life... with modern technology I would hope they could come up with something to prevent the kind of pain this poor horse went through. As an animal lover I hate to see this kind of thing happen, but I understand it. Kudos to NBC for not playing on the pain of this poor animal and her "family". Eight Belles RIP - you were truly loved in your short life.

get over it. damn. this was a horse. i havent heard this much crying since i tried to shave my taint.

It comments like Anon 3:22 which are the most ridiculous. Was she really comparing the death of a horse to the death of a human? Look, it's simple. NBC should have aired footage of it. I agree with nbcsports blows. The fact they ignored the biggest news of the weekend speaks to how they run their broadcast network. Is this foreshadowing to how they will cover the Olympics in China? I actually miss ESPN.

not to nitpick, but im pretty sure the biggest story of the past week has been a storm that killed 22k people, not a dead horse

@ mike georger...you're on a sports media site, smart ass.

Fuck this shit....ooh, the poor animal died.
So what?
I had horse steak last night.
Any of you go to the slaughterhouse?

Idiots care about that horse because he was famous. Period.
if that horse was slow it would have been either glue or some nice stew by now and no one would have cared.

Its like the dipshits who cry when they see cats or dogs killed. In asia, theyre food. In India, your burger is a god.

Then again, a bunch of rich white folks and degenerate gamblers sitting around wathcing animals run isnt a sport. You might as well watch poker.