It's Kentucky Derby time again. For some of us, it's time to count the broken and dead bodies that litter the racetracks on the road to this famous race. Derby hopeful Pulpit didn't race much last year because he spent months recovering from a stress fracture. In January, Charismatic was named Horse of the Year. He'll also never race again because in the third leg of last year's Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, Charismatic took a wrong step and broke his leg.
Every year brings similar stories.
Sometimes the tragedy extends to humans. Wolfhunt broke down during a 1-mile race, throwing Gonzalez, who suffered fatal head injuries. Then, he tried to put weight on the left leg, and it went above the knee. I could barely take my eyes off this horse trying to stand with these bloody stumps. Wolfhunt was destroyed minutes later.