LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Big Brown was pulling away from the field, accelerating with every powerful stride toward the finish line in the Kentucky Derby.

The crowd of 157,770 was on its feet and cheering as the big, unbeaten, muscular bay crossed the line first, 4¾ lengths ahead of the filly Eight Belles.

Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was still celebrating, along with thousands of happy bettors, as Big Brown and the 19 other horses in Saturday's race galloped out around the first turn at Churchill Downs.

It took a few minutes to sink in, but anyone watching those horses soon realized that one of them had fallen to the track.

"It's the filly," someone whispered. She went down about a quarter mile past the finish line.

In just a few minutes, the joy of the Derby and the promise of a new Triple Crown season were upended when Eight Belles was euthanized by injection on the track.

She had broken both front ankles and could not be saved.

"This horse showed you his heart," winning jockey Kent Desormeaux said, "and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today. I'm deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss."

Big Brown did everything his owner said he would do. An explosive finishing kick put away his rivals for his fourth consecutive victory.

Eight Belles, meantime, was attempting to become the fourth filly to win the Derby. Her owners chose to keep her out of Friday's Kentucky Oaks so she could run with the boys in the Derby. And run she did.

Big Brown's start from the outside post did little to hamper his charge when the field turned for home. Under the urging of Desormeaux, the 2-1 favorite cruised to an easy victory to become the seventh undefeated Derby winner. The last one was Barbaro in 2006.

That wasn't the only reason thoughts of Barbaro were hard to ignore on this Derby Day.

The breakdown brought back memories of the 2006 Preakness, where Barbaro shattered his right rear leg just after the start. The colt was euthanized months later, after developing laminitis from the catastrophic injuries.

In two weeks, Big Brown will race in the Preakness as the only 3-year-old with a chance to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978.

"We're ready to roll," Dutrow said.

All week, Dutrow told the world he had the best horse in the field - and the big bay colt justified every accolade tossed his way.

"I can't describe the feeling that all of us have right now," he said.

The colt became the first Derby winner since Regret in 1915 to have raced only three times previously. He is only the third in 60 years to win after racing in just two Derby preps - Sunny's Halo in 1983 and Street Sense last year were the others.

In addition, Big Brown became the second winner to start from the No. 20 post. The gelding Clyde Van Dusen did it in 1929.

Big Brown covered the 1¼ miles in 2:01.82 in front of the second-largest crowd in Derby history. He paid $6.80, $5 and $4.80.

Eight Belles paid $10.60 and $6.40, and Denis of Cork, at odds of 27-1, returned $11.60.

Dr. Larry Bramlage, the Derby's on-call veterinarian, said the filly's injuries were too severe to even attempt to move her off the track.

"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was euthanized," Bramlage said.

Trainer Larry Jones paid tribute to his fallen filly saying, "She ran the race of her life."

And he defended having her run against 19 colts in the Derby.

"It wasn't that. It wasn't the distance. It wasn't a big bumping match for her. She never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."

Tale of Ekati was fourth, followed by Recapturetheglory, Colonel John, Anak Nakal, Pyro, Cowboy Cal, Z Fortune, Smooth Air, Visionaire, Court Vision, Z Humor, Cool Coal Man, Bob Black Jack, Gayego, Big Truck, Adriano and Monba.

The colt earned $1,451,800 for the win and boosted his earnings to $2,114,500 for owners IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr. Pompa, who named Big Brown in honor of United Parcel Service, a client of his trucking business, sold a 75 percent interest in the colt to IEAH for about $3 million after his first race.

Desormeaux won the Derby for the third time, having won aboard Real Quiet in 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Only three other riders have won more - Eddie Arcaro, Bill Hartack and Bill Shoemaker.

"It was smooth sailing all the way," Desormeaux said. "The horse was very comfortable."

Big Brown was the third favorite to win in the past five years. Smarty Jones won in 2004 and Street Sense won last year.

All eyes were on Big Brown at the start. Dutrow called his colt the fastest of all and he proved it when Desormeaux gunned him close the lead on the mad dash to the first turn. Desormeaux did a masterful job of keeping Big Brown free and clear of any traffic issues.

As the field headed into the backstretch, Big Brown was in sixth place and waiting for Desormeaux's signal to make his move. It came around the far turn, and Big Brown took the lead at the top of the stretch and was never challenged to the wire.

"I don't even know what we just did," Dutrow said. "I can't express my feelings, only that it was one of the most incredible feelings I ever had, and I can't wait to feel it again."

 

Filly Eight Belles breaks down after 2nd-place Derby finish

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Boy, did Eight Belles hang with the boys.

All that heart and her gallant fight, however, ended in the worst of all possible ways: a breakdown, an ambulance on the track. And, with no other choice, she was euthanized by injection.

The day began with hope and pomp. Bolstered by the sentimental support from 157,770 fans and endorsed by presidential contender Hillary Clinton and cheered by daughter Chelsea, the filly finished second in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

She crossed the wire 4¾ lengths behind favorite Big Brown. Then, with the second-largest crowd in Derby history still whooping it up, Eight Belles collapsed with two broken front ankles.

The magnitude of what happened was slow to reach the fans at Churchill Downs. Not only was a horse down, but it was the filly. And horse racing - with the memory of Barbaro still fresh and a severe injury to a horse coming only a day earlier on Kentucky Oaks Day - had to confront grief one more time.

"There was no way to save her. She couldn't stand," trainer Larry Jones said. "She ran an incredible race. She ran the race of her life."

Jones' voice broke and tears glistened in his eyes as he considered his barn without Eight Belles' head poking out of her stall.

"Losing animals like this isn't fun. It's not supposed to happen," he said. "We're heartbroke. We're going to miss her, no doubt."

The field of 19 colts and the dark gray filly were galloping out around the first turn when Eight Belles suddenly went down on both front legs and jockey Gabriel Saez slid off.

"When we passed the wire I stood up," said a distraught Saez, a first-time Derby rider. "She started galloping funny. I tried to pull her up. That's when she went down."

An equine ambulance reached her near the second turn.

Eight Belles appeared to be galloping out normally around the first turn and was headed into the start of the backstretch when she dropped without warning. The crowd was busy high-fiving and celebrating and the distance from the grandstand prevented many from realizing what had happened.

"Everyone breathed a big sigh of relief that everyone came around the track cleanly and then all of a sudden it happened," said Dr. Larry Bramlage, on-call veterinarian.

Quickly, word spread about the horse that was down in the second turn. Fans focused binoculars on the scene, using Saez's red helmet to identify the horse.

"That's one of the saddest things I've ever seen," said fan Kathleen Brower of Louisville. "We went from the high for the winner and something like this happens. It just takes the wind out of the sails."

No more so than for Jones and owner Rick Porter.

Eight Belles could have easily been the wagering favorite in Friday's Kentucky Oaks, an all-girl showcase. But Jones and Porter decided to run her against the boys despite the fact that she had never done so before. She had, after all, solid credentials with a four-race winning streak.

Jones won the Oaks with Proud Spell and set himself up to pull off the double.

At first, Jones didn't realize anything was wrong until he began walking back to the stable area and saw Saez aboard another horse.

Reached by cell phone, a somber Porter said simply, "It's not a good time."

Afterward, Jones disputed any suggestion that Eight Belles had no business taking on the boys.

"It wasn't that, it wasn't the distance, it wasn't a big bumping match for her, she never got touched," he said. "She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn't happen."

If Eight Belles had labored to the finish line and been falling farther behind Big Brown in the closing strides, then Jones said he would have "really second-guessed ourselves severely and kicked ourselves in the pants."

But she hit the wire strongly and galloped around the turn without a hitch, leaving the trainer in the white cowboy hat feeling proud. Jones also trained last year's runner-up, Hard Spun.

"We were ecstatic," he said.

For a time, anyway.

Part of Eight Belles' appeal was her status as the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby; the last to win was Winning Colors in 1988.

Hillary Clinton didn't attend the race, but she ordered her daughter to bet the filly. Eight Belles, who went off at 13-1, repaid the fans' faith by returning $10.60 and $6.40.

Winning jockey Kent Desormeaux and Big Brown galloped by Eight Belles in her waning moments.

"This horse showed you his heart and Eight Belles showed you her life for our enjoyment today," he said. "I'm deeply sympathetic to that team for their loss."

Bramlage said the fracture in Eight Belles' left front ankle opened the skin, allowing contamination to set in. At least one of her sesamoid bones was broken, too.

"She didn't have a front leg to stand on to be splinted and hauled off in the ambulance, so she was immediately euthanized," he said. "In my years in racing, I have never seen this happen at the end of the race or during the race."

Bramlage was hard-pressed to make sense of yet another breakdown that reminded fans of Barbaro's horrific injury two years ago in the Preakness.

"The difficult thing to explain with her is it's so far after the wire, and she was easing down like you'd like to see a horse slow down by that point," he said. "I don't have an explanation for it."

>> Beth Harris

 

Slowly, the sad news makes the rounds: Another horse is down

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Brianne Cima kept bobbing up and down, she was so eager to cash her $5 ticket on Eight Belles.

An equine science student from St. Louis, she'd come to the Kentucky Derby to back her favorite filly with a button and a bet.

"That's my girl!" she said Saturday, waiting at the wagering window a full 45 minutes after the race.

Then, someone told her the heartbreaking news: Eight Belles broke down after finishing second and was euthanized on the track.

Cima went silent. A tear ran down from her left eye and she dabbed it, smearing her makeup.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm crying," she said. "I can't believe it."

Neither could most of the 157,770 fans. Word spread slowly and unevenly through the stands, by cell phones, Blackberries and word of mouth.

There was no official announcement made over the loudspeakers. Many people still didn't know while the last two races of the day were run at Churchill Downs.

It was an all-too-familiar scene for the sport.

Barbaro buckled at the Preakness in 2006 and was put down eight months later. A colt collapsed on this same Derby track Friday, and stands only a 50-50 chance of surviving.

"Losing animals like this isn't fun," Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones said, choking up between sentences. "It's just the unfortunate side."

Eight Belles became the first horse to be euthanized at a Triple Crown race since Prairie Bayou at the 1993 Belmont. A few weeks earlier, Union City was destroyed at the Preakness.

A spokesman for Churchill Downs said it was not known whether Eight Belles was the first horse to die on the track at the Kentucky Derby.

Jones, too, needed a while to figure out what happened about a quarter-mile past the finish line, after Big Brown won the race - Eight Belles broke both her front ankles and couldn't be saved.

"I was very pleased she hit the wire running," Jones said. "I saw her ears were up, she was watching Big Brown."

"When she ran second, we were ecstatic," he said. "We were kind of high-fiving."

Only when he saw Big Brown jockey Kent Desormeaux ride past did Jones realize something was wrong.

"You could tell it's not like he had just won the Kentucky Derby. He was a little bit solemn," Jones said.

Moments later, he heard a horse had broken down.

"I figured it was one of the ones who had run poorly," Jones said.

Then, he heard it was his horse, took off running for the ambulance and rode to Eight Belles. The bones were protruding through the skin, a catastrophic injury that left no alternative.

"When I saw it, it had to be done," he said.

The whole afternoon, Eight Belles had been a crowd favorite. All over the track concourse, vendors sold $1 buttons to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund. There were plenty left for Visionaire, Cool Coal Man and even Big Brown - the ones for Eight Belles sold out early.

Sitting in Box 115 right off the finish line, Clay Wallace of Louisville wore one of those buttons. At his 17th straight Derby, and sipping a mint julep from a $1,000 gold cup, he showed his support, betting $1,200 on Eight Belles.

Wallace stood on his chair and hollered when she galloped home in second place. A few minutes later, his Blackberry buzzed with a message from his pal named Shorty: "Eight Belles put to sleep."

"I had no idea what he was talking about. No one did," Wallace said.

Seconds after that, a cell phone rang in a nearby box. A woman answered, didn't say a word and began crying.

"That's when we knew it was true," Wallace said.

>> Ben Walker

 

Desormeaux becomes 8th jockey to win 3 Derbys

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kent Desormeaux was in such a slump that he had to do something, even if it meant moving his family from California to New York.

On Saturday, Desormeaux's big move landed the jockey in a spot more in keeping with his Hall of Fame career: the winner's circle at Churchill Downs.

Desormeaux made an expert ride aboard Big Brown, deftly guiding the big bay colt through the 20-horse field to a 4¾-length victory in the Kentucky Derby that erased any doubts as to whether the Cajun kid still had it.

"I'm absolutely the luckiest man in the world," Desormeaux said after becoming the eighth rider to win the Kentucky Derby at least three times.

Joining one of horse racing's most exclusive clubs seemed remote three years ago. Desormeaux had become so despondent after another disappointing season in California that he felt a drastic change was needed.

The cross-country move was difficult for his wife, Sonia, and sons Joshua and Jacob. Yet Desormeaux regained his passion for riding in the New York, nearly doubling his purse totals in 2006 and getting back in the good graces of the sport's top trainers.

"I uprooted them, grabbed my kids from their friends. ...This was why," he said.

Emboldened by his resurgence, Desormeaux approached Big Brown co-owner Michael Iavarone this year after watching another of Iavarone's horses win a major stakes race in Florida. Desormeaux's question was just like his riding style: simple and direct.

"(He) asked, ‘When are you going to put me on a good one?"‘ Iavarone said, laughing.

The answer came in Big Brown, though the colt was more prospect than prodigy at the time. He had just one race under his belt when Desormeaux got the mount, and that one start had been on turf.

Still, Iavarone was so confident in Big Brown that his offer to Desormeaux came with a catch: If Desormeaux wanted the ride, he had to commit to staying on Big Brown throughout the Triple Crown. Not exactly a safe bet for such a lightly raced horse.

Desormeaux agreed, and Big Brown erased any doubts about Desormeaux's decision by rolling to victory by nearly 13 lengths in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park on March 5 then followed with another easy win in the Florida Derby less than a month later.

Suddenly, Desormeaux was back in the spotlight, a familiar place for the first decade of his career as he became the fastest rider to 3,000 wins. His confidence renewed, Desormeaux had no trouble telling anyone who would listen that Big Brown was good enough to win the Derby, regardless of his resume.

"I think the most obnoxious thing I said was this was the best chance I've had to win the Kentucky Derby, and you know the horses I've been on," said Desormeaux, who won the 1998 Derby aboard Real Quiet and the 2000 Derby on Fusaichi Pegasus.

Desormeaux and his precocious mount backed up their talk. Despite starting from the far outside at the No. 20 post - a spot that hadn't produced a winner in nearly 80 years - Desormeaux simply took his time getting Big Brown into position, putting him in perfect stalking position as they entered the first turn.

They cruised down the backstretch and when they hit the far turn, Desormeaux gave his undefeated horse a quick word of encouragement. And they were off.

"He's got the talent, he's got the brains," Desormeaux said. "He's just a talented horse."

His jockey is pretty good, too. And at 38, Desormeaux's dark days now seem behind him for good.

"Kent's a money rider," Iavarone said. "When the money's on the line, Kent's there. He's strong, aggressive, very hungry still and I thought he fit the horse well."

It's a fit that could put Desormeaux and Big Brown on the path to history.

>> Will Graves