In Another Life
A short story too close to the truth.
Announcer:
Ladies and Gentlemen! I’d like to joyfully welcome you to the Kentucky Derby on this fine and sunny Saturday! As the nineteen horses get ready and load into the gates, I’d like to welcome you once more on behalf of Churchill Downs. We are excited to host yet another moment in American history…
Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to turn your attention to the top four picks of the race today: In gate eight is Surely Now, the course specialist, proving himself time and time again in every race he’s won. Right beside him in gate number nine we have The Man, The Myth, The Spirit! who is predicted to be the front-runner. And in gate three, Bet To Beat. Last but certainly not least in the predictions to win, is Strike Me A Chord in gate one. Looks like he struck the lucky chord today, folks!
And the horses are all at the post…
Aaaand they’re off!
Right out of the gate is Strike Me A Chord who has set the pace! Down To Be Winning is off the pace as Bet To Beat moves against the rails, giving him a straight shot to the lead if a spot opens up. But it looks like Surely Now is boxed in at the moment; The Man, The Myth, The Spirit! keeping his spot beside him while Dark Thoughts keeps to the other side, slowly inching her way up to challenge Strike Me A Chord. It looks like Surely Now is getting bold and breaking free of the pack, making his way to meet Dark Thoughts on the outside. As they round the bend for home straight, Strike Me A Chord begins to fall back, creating an opening for Dark Thoughts to take the lead by a nose. And now Dark Thoughts is in the lead and will continue to race to the finish - It looks like Surely Now has been brought down by The Man, The Myth, The Spirit! Surely Now has taken a fall….Dark Thoughts and Strike Me A Chord nose to nose down to the last sixteenth of a mile! Dark Thoughts has pushed ahead! She’s taking the lead! Dark Thoughts has won the Kentucky Derby!!
News Article, One Day Later:
On Saturday, May 3rd, The Kentucky Derby took place once again, with record breaking numbers in attendance. People were drinking, gambling, betting, crying and celebrating when Dark Thoughts beat the odds. Her landslide win was a surprise, indeed, but the true jaw-dropping moment was when Surely Now - who had all the odds in his favor - broke both front legs in mid stride and dropped to the rain-drenched track, indefinitely sealing his fate.
Carlos Demi, the 27 year-old seasoned jockey, tumbled over the horse’s head, landing face first in the mud, but miraculously acquired no injuries.
The same could not be said for the thoroughbred.
In the clip now released after the event, the announcer can be heard quickly dismissing the fall, moving the excitement right back to the the two horses fighting for the historic win. But what was glossed over then will not be looked over now.
Surely Now, the barely three-year-old stallion, fell to his death in a most gruesome way, all for the money, all for the entertainment of the race that is slowly losing an audience.
When Surely Now hit the ground, a medical truck immediately pounced on the scene, while workers themselves raced to put a tent around the tragedy, trying desperately to hide the scene against an otherwise celebratory day. Carlos got up and walked the shock off. Surely Now was trying and failing over and over to get back up on shattered legs. the decision was made right away to euthanize the three-year-old on the spot.
Surely Now is not the first horse to die on a racetrack, and he will not be the last.
Of the deaths that have been recorded - as some tracks refuse to give all the numbers - there have been 850 racehorse deaths in 2024 alone, but as many as an estimated 2,000 have died. This undocumented number is due to off-site euthanasias that take place. Some horses are seen “walking” off their injuries on the track because they had been drugged beforehand, making it possible that the horse can walk on completely snapped legs, when without drugs it would otherwise be impossible.
Many people are aware that horse racing can be a dangerous sport, but where will we draw the line? When will we take seriously the tragedy of animals dying at the expense of a sport they are being worshiped for?
Two Weeks Before, On A Rescue Farm:
Jenna walked under the sun spotted willow trees to the white fence. She leaned over and admired the horses peacefully grazing, enjoying the April sunshine after a morning of rain showers.
She heard footsteps squishing in the soft ground behind her, and turned around to find Bailey, the new Groom, coming to stand beside her.
She rested a foot on the bottom post. “Somehow, you never get over how majestic these guys are,” Bailey mused as she gazed at one of the chestnut geldings.
“Never,” Jenna agreed.
Jenna had been rescuing race horses for ten years now, relying on sponsor money and hope to bring the horses to safety, and keep them in safety. But the beauty of it was not without grief.
Bailey pointed to the black horse closest to them. “That’s the new guy, right?”
“Girl,” Jenna corrected her with a smile. “Yes, her name is Ballerina.”
“So pretty. What’s her story?”
Every horse had a story here, some more traumatic than others. But it was Jenna’s job to show them what a horse’s life should be, and find a family to welcome that new life with open arms.
“Well,” Jenna sighed, “Ballerina was too slow for the races they put her in, so they sent her to a meat auction. She was getting loaded up into the trailer for slaughter when I paid the meat buyer two hundred dollars more than what he bought her for, and he let me take her. None of the others, though.” There were five other horses in the trailer.
“She just wasn’t good enough, like so many others, I guess.”
Bailey nodded in understanding, clicking her tongue for Ballerina to come over.
The mare lifted her head up in their direction and walked over, snorting right when she got to them. “She’s so pretty,” Bailey exclaimed.
“Pretty isn’t fast, though,” Jenna reminded her.
Ballerina snorted again, as if laughing at the cruel joke. Jenna stroked the unique pink splotch on her nose with a finger, and after a minute, Ballerina dropped her head again to eat the sugar rich grass.
“She was probably stuck in a stall all her life up until now,” Bailey said.
“Well, she’s not anymore. And she’s gonna get the best spa day of her life when you get your hands on her,” Jenna teased.
Bailey laughed. “I’m just excited to see what the rest of her life brings.”
Sources Used For This Story:
https://www.espn.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/44954997/how-one-organization-plans-improve-horse-racing-safety
https://horseracingwrongs.org/killed-2024/
Race goer's love odds, here is some they may not like.
87% of Racehorses will suffer from skeletal, and musculoskeletal damage caused through training and maximum effort while racing.
20% will go lame, and unable to continue racing.
67% of the general public in the UK are concerned about horse welfare.
The canon bone got its name, because when it shatters it sounds like a canon shot.
Over the pond the industry is very afraid that if the Government raise betting tax of racing in line with casinos the industry will fail.
We can but hope.
Ugh. Made me nauseous when I read that part. You know the part. I never considered how much goes into the “cover up” and how so many people are in on it!! Thanks for sharing the behind the scenes and what so many of us are oblivious to:(