dark horse

This is how, time and again, I find myself in the indefensible position of being a fiction writer who doesn't like to make things up. Because real life provides so many stories that are literary, but wouldn't be credible as fiction. And these are the stories I'm most interested in.

Hillary Clinton picked a horse to win the Kentucky Derby. I would have urged her to resist the impulse, because of the symbolism and long history of metaphorical comparisons between political contests and horse races, and the very real possibility that it could turn out in a way that would be, shall we say, metaphorically inconvenient. I thought of all this before I heard the rest of the story. But I can also understand why it would seem like a charming opportunity. Because Clinton picked a filly to take it all. The first one to enter the race since 1999. A young horse named Eight Belles.

Eight Belles owner Rick Course has decided to take this chance despite his trainer Larry Jones' reluctance. Jones like others is concerned that Eight Belles has not proven herself even against other filly fields and on a grade 1 race. The demand required from unproven filly will put doubt in many a bettors mind but don’t count out the girl I’m sure Hilary would agree with that. [from onlinesportshandicapping.com, published May 2, 2008]

On Derby day, Eight Belles ran a great race. But after she crossed the finish line, in second place, she went down on the track. Her two front ankles had broken. She was euthanized even before her trainer could reach her.

The name of the horse that won the race? Big Brown.

Clearly, the symbolism is rich. But remove the presidential candidates from the story and it's just horribly sad. The part of my brain that is permanently eight years old always wonders why they have to put the horses down at all. Just because they break their legs?  But people break their legs all the time, and it's not considered particularly debilitating. Certainly not life-threatening. I just don't get it, even after it's explained to me. I can't help but wonder why it can't be changed. Couldn't they just give them horse wheelchairs until their bones heal? I know it sounds stupid, but I've seen two-legged dogs rolling around that way. And they weren't ever going to get better.

I didn't watch the Derby because it is part of a whole raft of things I'm not crazy about, like boxing and dog racing and circuses with animal acts. I'm not standing around outside these events holding up placards, or starting petitions and boycotts, because I realize that there can be admirable qualities on display at such events, and many other people are deeply invested in them. But these things are not for me.