Another One Bites the Dust

They're dropping like flies...another Derby contender has pulled out because of injury and the big question is whether or not thoroughbred racing can withstand any more prime time injuries.

Old Fashioned, one of two Larry Jones-trained horses, finished second in the Arkansas Derby and in the process sustained a non-displaced slab fracture of his right knee. Trainer Jones said the injury was non-life threatening and that the horse would be shipped to Lexington's Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for evaluation and possible surgery.

"It's not life-threatening, it should be okay," Jones told Bloodhorse.com. "Career ending is a possibility just because of the type of horse he is. But we'll see. We'll let them make that call."

Jones, of course, has a second Derby contender in Friesan Fire. He also trained the ill-fated Eight Belles who was euthanized on the track following devastating injuries suffered in last year's Derby.

While the injury to Old Fashioned is just plain bad luck (and it does seem like Jones has suffered his share....), the bigger question over at bloodhorse.com is whether or not thoroughbred racing can survive any more prime time injuries. All the old questions are resurfacing about the timing of the Triple Crown in a horse's career, over-breeding, synthetic surfaces, use of whips. We've heard them all before but it is significant that this time it is Bloodhorse, the trade publication, that is doing the asking.

For the record, I don't think that racing can survive another live, televised disaster in the race for the Triple Crown at any stage of the game. While we should be grateful that Old Fashioned didn't collapse on the track, we should also examine why the injuries keep occuring at what seems like an alarming rate.