Today I am in Chicago. I wasn't intending to watch the Kentucky Derby today but I happened to turn on the television just as the horses were being led to the starting line. The race was exciting, but afterwards the runner-up fell to the track and it was soon learned that she broke both front ankles and was euthanized within minutes. This made me very sad.
I don't know why I've always felt a connection to horses - maybe it's my memories of being on the McKeever's farm, as it was just up the road from our house in Michigan. Maybe it's their big, brown eyes. But I remember very clearly what happened to Barbaro and how I, like countless others, marveled at his will to live and was so saddened when he finally succumbed to his injuries. Maybe my connection to horses is borne of the relationship that my family has always had with animals, whether it's treating our dogs like relatives or having so much respect for my sister's work at the Humane Society of the United States. Whatever that love is, and wherever it comes from, I felt so sad today watching that gorgeous girl and her tough race for second, only to be laid to rest on the very same track.
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