Tragedy at the Derby

I live in Kentucky. It is my home, my love and every ounce of it, is deeply ingrained in my soul. I love horses and horse racing. Every year I try to make it to the spring and fall meets at Keeneland. The spring meet leads up to the Kentucky Derby held on the first Saturday in May. The pomp, the pageantry, the celebrities, but most importantly the horses. The best of the best three year old horses in the world come to compete for the blanket of red roses and the honor of winning the Kentucky Derby.
This year we were excited because a filly was competing for the first time since 1999. The last time a filly won the derby was Winning Colors in 1988. Eight Belles was this girl's name. She ran so hard today. After crossing the finish, coming in second to Big Brown, her jockey says she started to gallop funny so he was pulling her up when she went down. When the equine ambulance arrived, she had broken both front ankles, one of them a compound fracture. There was nothing that could be done for her, Eight Belles had to be euthanized immediately.
Watching the race coverage, seeing Big Brown take the lead and run away from the crowd. Then seeing Eight Belles laying on the track before the ambulance got to her, I knew something was wrong and it felt like a knife in my heart. My son was sitting with us on the couch and I had to try really hard not to cry, so he wouldn't get upset. There were tears in eyes of grown men today at Churchill Downs. It's a sad day.