Anyone living in America has by now heard of the tragic death of race horse Eight Belles immediately following her 2nd place finish in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. After crossing the finish line and slowing to a trot for about a 1/4 mile, Eight Belles somehow broke both of her front ankles and collapsed to the ground. Immediately upon diagnosing the injury she was euthanized in front of a crowd of thousands.

There has been a breadth of emotion and opinion shared about this incident and it was only a matter of time before the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) got involved. Today, PETA officials, not known for the pacifistic and understanding ways, demanded that the jockey, Gabriel Saez, be suspended for not reigning the horse in before the end of the race, for they claim that the horse was clearly injured before the end of the race. A claim the owner, trainer, and jockey refute.

The thing about PETA is they are so outlandish and radical about the causes they promote, not that this is an example of that, but immediately upon hearing the words, “PETA said...” I shut down and try to ignore it. But upon reading the AP article about this incident and PETA, the real motivation for PETA’s outrage was clearly evident, they said that “if Saez is found at fault, the group wants the second- place prize of $400,000 won by Eight Belles to be revoked.”

And there it is, they want the money. What on earth makes them think they have any right to that money? If this race were run by a bunch of poor saps and not a bunch of ridiculously rich people, would they care? Probably not, or certainly at least not as much.

What I find so striking is how the media never mentions that part of the story, a part I find extremely relevant and enlightening. All day today on sports radio PETA and eight belles was discussed, and not one mention about PETA’s desire for the money.

I find PETA’s ridiculous claim offensive to say the least; again, what makes them think they deserve the money? They didn’t invest in the horse, care for the horse, raise the horse, train the horse, race the horse, etc. They act like the owners and trainers were evil tyrants who ignored the horse and tortured it. When in fact the opposite is true, these race horses are treated better than most humans! They are bred to race, they live to race! If PETA ever wants to gain any credibility in the eyes of people like me, they need to be more real and realistic. Yelling about how outraged you are and how some jockey should be suspended, then slipping in your desire for the money is a little disingenuous; but I wouldn’t expect anything else from PETA.