Eight Belles

After my Mother died in 1991 I adopted a Memorial ritual to remember her every year by watching the Kentucky Derby. This has always been sort of a fun game, seemed to be a happier memorial than going for a morbid walk on the beach. Anyway, I've mentioned this before, I grew up in a town where there was a Racetrack. My Mother would take my brother and I to the Races and show us how to look the horses in the eye in order to figure out who would win. Then she would show us how to bet. Then we would walk around and laugh at all the funny people and scream our heads off trying to get our horses over the finish line. I had this whole stupid ritual of writing down the winner's name and how much it paid and then burning it so that my Mother could receive it in Heaven.

This year I didn't watch. I couldn't get to a TV in time and couldn't find coverage on the radio. In addition to that, I felt my Mother saying that it was over, just to stop watching the races, she didn't care about this. Cancerian that I am, I took this as immediate rejection. I mean, mostly I believed that this "sensing" was my own stupid imagination. But I did stop trying to figure out how to get somewhere so I could observe the race. And what a fortunate thing that was.

Eight Belles, first Filly to run in the Derby since 1999 was pushed so hard she broke both her front ankles and had to be put down on the track. Her ankles may have been broken and she still managed to come in second.

PETA has stepped in and written up a petition to sign demanding some fixes to the horse race industry. I signed it although I don't think that their demands are looking at the problem thoroughly.

Since no horse has won the the Triple Crown since 1978 obviously something is wrong. Probably, the Horses are bred out. They are highly evolved, intelligent beasts and they know who they should be partnering with way better than any stupid human can figure out.

Astrologically the story is horrific. Only half the Wheel is represented in the thoroughbreds at this point as they are only bred for 6-7 months out of the year. I can't remember the dates exactly, but the breeders shut down sometime between September and February every year. This isn't natural for the horses. And it's not even good for the Races. No Virgos (Lance Armstrong), No Libras, no Scorpios (they actually might like being whipped), No Sagg's. What the Fucking Hell? No Sagg's? There's no such thing as a proper competition without a Sagittarius. Anyway, if any Gemini's and Cancer thoroughbreds are born they never seem to win. (The Triple Crown Races all happen while the Sun is in Taurus/Gemini which is their 12th Houses, not good for putting your best foot forward, haha). All the winners tend to be born in the earlier Aquarius through Taurus Sun Signs. Guess the Gemini's slow everyone down with too much chit-chat and the Cancers, well, somedays they're in the Mood and somedays, Not. Leos, Gawd, they'd just prance around checking to make sure everyone's Mint Juleps are fresh.

So the Winners of these races. The winners are taken into Stud Farms and live worse lives than the cockroaches in your house. They are stripped of all the company and comforts with which they've been spoiled. This makes them mean but it gets their testosterone humming. They are drugged up hormonally & forced to have sex 3 times a day. They live like this from Age 3 to however long they last, Age 15 or 16? Then they are put out somewhere. One famous horse was rescued from a glue farm where he was about to be boiled down!

I suppose there might be something with the way the Jockey's are treating the horses since there have been so many problems lately.

I can't find Eight Belles' birth date, but found Feb. 23, 2005 as her Foaling Date. This is the projected birth date based 340-343 days after her conception. I am glad that she is out of pain. Her future would not have been anything much to look forward to anyway. She would have given birth only to have her Baby taken away way too soon and this would have happened over and over again until she was considered spent.

I only hope that her spirit is now free and well. I looked up the meaning of her name. "Eight Bells and All is Well" is what Sailors shout out at the end of their shift.

If you wish to sign, here's a link to Peta's petition. They want to stop horses under the age of 3 from being raced along with a couple of other issues:

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/eight_belles.