At the risk of starting a flame war...why bother to do a necropsy on Eight Belles?

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

Why try to find out why she died when she obviously broke her ankles and they gave her a lethal injection?

This whole story is just so, so sad and makes me quite ill.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24523345/

[TZ]

1. The owner is trying to prove a point

People are claiming that the horse broke her ankles because of steroids..They are doing a tox report so that suspicion will be cleared up. A lot of people can't seem to understand the concept that bad things just happen sometimes. Now pardon me while I ignore this thread so I can avoid the idiotic screeching about teh evul horse racing from people who have never set foot in a stable in their life.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

2. Thanks

I know we talked about this after our lunch. I hadn't been following the steroid angle.

[madinmaryland]

10. I don't recall the horse looking like this...

Do they actually feed steroids to horses??

[XemaSab]

3. They might learn something about why she broke her ankles.

Secretariat had a freakishly large heart, and even though he was euthanized after contracting a hoof disease, they learned this during the necropsy. :shrug:

[flvegan]

4. Lloyd's of London may have insisted on it.

I'm sure there's a big policy at stake here.

:popcorn:

[Midlodemocrat]

5. that was my first thought as well.

[TZ]

8. Nope.

Nothing to do with it. This is being done because the owner wants to clear his name.

[DS1]

6. Apologies in advance

They want to find out what's keeping S J Parker alive





:hide:

[Dr. Strange]

7. Wha?

[DS1]

11. Diamond

[newmajority]

9. I heard there was some speculation that they injected her with speed before the race

This rumor also suggests that she might have actually had a heart attack and that's what caused her to throw the jockey and go down, and that the broken ankles were a result.

I didn't watch the race, so I have no way of knowing whether or not this theory even seems remotely plausible, but it would certainly explain the need for a necropsy.

[B3Nut]

12. Usually a good idea regardless

just to be 100% sure. Sometimes even after a routine pet euth a vet might want to do a peek&shriek to see what the heck was really going on...

Then again I'm married to a tech who works for an inquisitive and thorouogh veterinarian....

(edit: dmn kybard!)

[Deep13]

13. Probably to see if any disease or earlier injury caused the break.

Just a guess.

[achtung_circus]

14. I don't know the rules there, but

in my jurisdiction every track nominated thoroughbred who dies, on or off the track is autopsied. One of the rules of the Racing Commission.