Eight Belles' Impact on Horse Racing

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• Within the specified timeframe, among the unique, relevant blog posts, 0% are very positive, 72.09% are positive, 11.63% are neutral, 16.28% are negative, and 0% are very negative.

• Buzz Manager™ analyzed the online conversation about the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, with a particular interest in whether or not fans think her death will incite change in the sport of horse racing. Bloggers who hope this will lead to a change in horse racing practices were tallied as Positive, while bloggers who were against any changes to the sport were counted as Negative.

  The Buzz ranked 10 of 10, a topic of “very high interest” among sports bloggers.

  -          The overwhelming majority of bloggers who would like to see horse racing implement more stringent rules focus particularly on breeding practices. These fans contend that horses used to be bred for durability, but have developed brittle bones because of heavy inbreeding. Fans also argue that horses race at a significantly younger age than they uses to, which prevents these them from properly maturing before being physically tested.

  -          Casual fans in particular find themselves trapped between the extreme ideals of horse racing and animal rights organizations like PETA. These fans concede that though they don’t agree with PETA’s call for excessive reforms, new rules must be instituted for the betterment of the horses.

  -          Many bloggers believe that horse racing has to change their practices if for no other reason than to keep public interest in the sport. These fans believe racing horses is a dying sport already, and tragedies like the death of Eight Belles will revolt casual fans to the point of boycotting the sport completely. (05/09/2008)