I also thought it was in very poor taste that the Derby was sponsored by Elmer's glue.

Poor horses. "Branding" won't be metaphorical, anymore.

Eight Taco Bells died that day too.

In order to express its deep mourning over this loss, Taco Bell will be offering Eight Belles Chalupas for $4.99 between noon and six this coming Saturday.

Halliburton's sponsoring of the Battle for Fallujah didn't seem to hurt them too much.

"High profile horse racing has become an entirely corporate marketing-driven spectacle"

Where have you been?

Long John Silver's is a proud sponsor of your vasectomy.

Kinda leaves you to wonder what exactly is in those gorditas, other than enough trans fats to kill a--never mind.

I thought my steak fajitas were tasting a little gamey lately. mmm...horse meat...

It wasn't just Novak who was oblivious. Next to speak was Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who did the usual spiel. It took the owner of Big Brown, the winner, to acknowledge that something tragic had just happened and to extend his sympathies to Eight Belles' people.

But at least you can kind of bet that night Hef, this year's preeminent Derby celeb, raised a glass of Diet Pepsi in the filly's memory.

KFC ought to stick to cock fighting.

Sorry but YUM is the greatest name for a restaurant conglomerate ever

why they don't just raise the age requirement for horse races is beyond me... the 4 year olds may be a little slower but I think they also will die less often. poor horses. The NBA and NFL have minimum age requirements and people are WILLINGLY participating in those events... maybe we should stop FORCING horses to compete at such a young age... thoughts? ...other than you know I'm right about this.

If you've read Fast Food Nation, it's kind of hard to imagine someone like Novak coming into that situation with a lot of sympathy for animals.

From a PR perspective, they screwed the (metaphorical) pooch by not having a contingency plan.

I heard that YUM will be coming out with a new line of dog food.

@hypocriteoath: You are wrong. Animals are not people, too.

@biden_my_time: right-oh.

@hypocriteoath: 3-year-old horses are actually considered to be in their prime in racing years. In fact, they start racing as young as 2 and rarely make it past 5 or 6. (After that it's allllll stud fees, baby.)

But you're right in one sense - after hundreds of years of inbreeding, these ponies are basically retarded speed-machines. They're not bred to do anything but run and their legs are as fragile as sticks of glass. It's a shame, really, but after 200 years of Arabian breeding, it's either this or a day at the dog track. [shudder]

As Coldouglas said, noone else really knew either. I was there with actually pretty good seats, and had no idea until someone called that was watching on TV. Was really excited that I made some money on Eight Belles, then found out and felt like a horrible, horrible person.

@blogissuchanuglyword: From here on out *YUM* will always stand for Yucky, Undercooked Meat-substance to moi.

@redhat_jane: The thing, though, is that horses' bones don't harden until they are about 4 years old. They go faster because they don't have those solid, non-snapping bones slowing them down. Most racehorses are lame and useless by the age of 8 and are often put down or "accidentally" killed for the insurance money. Kentucky derby horses usually fare better, but generally, racing is a cruel and exploitative sport. Same sort of situation for the jockeys as well as the horses, come to think of it.

While Yum CEO David Novak and others in the winner's circle were not fully aware of the tragedy unfolding elsewhere on the track, it's a bit of a stretch to say "he hates dead ponies."

Along with the many fans, trainers, owners and jockey associated with Eight Belles, Yum is deeply sorry for the perceptions of insensitivity by Mr. Novak or any others immediately after the race. The truth is, the full extent of Eight Belles' injury was not known by those interviewed by Bob Costas in the winner's circle. Had they known then what we all know now, everyone's comments clearly would have had a different tone.

The injury and death are tragic and regrettable, and we are deeply apologetic that comments by our CEO and others interviewed immediately after the race seemed very insensitive given the circumstances.

Hopefully this helps clarify the situation. Our thoughts and condolences remain with Eight Belles and everyone touched by that remarkable filly.

Nick Huhn / Yum! Brands

This is funny. People are upset over the CEO of KFC and Taco Bell not being contrite about a horse's death? Do the not know what KFC and Taco Bell put in their food, bizarre "fake chicken" rumors aside?

@Fuzzy_duffel_bag: @redhat_jane: All true, and it's been widely discussed today that all 20 of the horses who raced this year are descended from Native Dancer, who passed down a tendency for unsoundness and leg issues. Beyond that all thoroughbreds are descended from three horses anyway.

Comment on CEO Ready To Sponsor Event Where Nothing Dies While Yum CEO David Novak and others in the winner's circle were not fully aware of the tragedy unfolding elsewhere on the track, it's a bit of a stretch to say "he hates dead ponies." Along with the many fans, owners, trainers, jockey and others associated with Eight Belles, Yum is deeply sorry for the perceptions of insensitivity by Mr. Novak or any others immediately after the race. The truth is, the full extent of Eight Belles' injury was not known by those interviewed by Bob Costas in the winner's circle. Had they known then what we all know now, everyone's comments clearly would have had a different tone. The injury and death are tragic and regrettable, and we are deeply apologetic that comments by our CEO and others interviewed immediately after the race seemed very insensitive given the circumstances. Hopefully this helps clarify the situation. Our thoughts and condolences remain with Eight Belles and everyone touched by that remarkable horse. Nick Huhn / Yum! Brands This communication is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, (i) please do not read or disclose to others, (ii) please notify the sender by reply mail, and (iii) please delete this communication from your system. Failure to follow this process may be unlawful. Thank you for your cooperation.

@de wolfe: Every horse racing in the US today is descended from Bold Ruler. There's a concentration, but Eight Belles's sire is notorious for the unsoundness of his offspring.

@redhat_jane: Big Brown had one start as a two-year old, Eight Belles had I believe five. The single reason they race two year olds is money; it costs too much to have a horse in training for a full year. The English race horses up to eight, and they do quite well at it; there is a LOT less mortality on English tracks. Of course, the horses aren't drugged, either.

Good discussion of it over at:

[theaspiringhorseplayer.com]

@raincoaster: I guess now would be a bad time to mention that my father is a handicapper, huh?

In talking with him about the whole Derby fiasco, I could see the tears well up in his eyes. As someone who's been a true fan of racing for his entire life, he's saddened with the way the industry is run today. It's all based on profit and the true elegance of the sport has been reduced to Taco Bell sponsorships.

But truthfull, I'll take a bloody hockey game over a horse race any day of the week. At least those guys willingly volunteered for the job. (Just don't tell my dad...)

How many times can you do SJP jokes?
Well, that's not enough!

@redhat_jane: I'll see your handicapping father and raise you "I used to be a groom".

@raincoaster: Aw, shit.

Fine, you win.

[kicks rock, resumes life]

@redhat_jane: I'm not sure if we're even in disagreement. After all, nobody disputes that three-year-olds set most of the records. The thing is, they're still adolescent; that's why we call them colts and fillies, not stallions and mares. And horses who race more as two-year-olds break down more later, same as twelve year old Olympic gymnasts.

At least there's one way most racers have escaped the corporate culture: you don't usually see a horse entered under the name "Ford's Reasonable Family Sedan Hyperion" like you see in showjumping.

@raincoaster:

I can't help myself:

I love that. It's supremely twisted!