Big Brown was BIG when he needed to be.  To come from the 20^th post position and win convincingly, well it was as impressive a victory in the 134^th running of the Kentucky Derby that I have seen in some time.  You can’t really look in to the mind of an animal but you can certainly tell when that animal has the spirit of a champion and a heart to match.  Big Brown certainly lived up to expectations and then some.

Big Brown and jockey Kent Desormeaux wins the 134th Kentucky Derby

The sad note, Eight Belles was injured and lay motionless on the track after the race.  The equine ambulance was called and this incredible animal was euthanized immediately.  Two broken front ankles were the reason for her demise.  This beautiful specimen was destroyed on the track where she gave her all…literally.

Eight Belles, the filly, placed second in the race of her life only to see that life end.  Unlike Barbaro, who was a champion, there wasn’t silence, there wasn’t dramatic concern, there wasn’t this pause of surreal wonderment, there was only a brief notation in the television coverage and a media scramble to get the derby doctor on the air to confirm the death, "There was no possible way to save her," veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage confirmed, "she broke both front ankles.”  Had Eight Belles won the derby and then collapsed, tributes would have rained down as if a sports icon had passed before our very eyes.  Instead, she was covered up and removed like an unsightly wart on the parade for Big Brown.

Then came the winners circle presentation.  The president of Yum Brands, the Kentucky Governor, additional dignitaries....to watch them thank their sponsors with glee, to talk about what a "great race" it was, I was appalled.  There was more humanity shown when Big Brown pulled up, spooked, as he came upon the motionless body of Eight Belles after the race than there was out of the pompous asses that took the stage to pimp their brands and companies.  NBC, Yum Brands, Steve Beshear, the Governor of Kentucky ….should all be ashamed of themselves.

As an animal lover and, what I consider myself to be, a human being with emotions and feelings, I wanted to be sick by both the death of such a noble beast and the telecast that seemed so callus.

Being in the media, I understand that the show must go on but sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it.