3-year-old Sonic Dancer died yesterday afternoon at Keeneland. In race 6, the colt snapped his right leg and threw jockey Calvin Borel in the process. Because the stricken Borel was in harm’s way, the race was stopped, declared a no-contest. Mr. Borel appears to be fine (relative to the horse, that is). According to the DRF’s Byron King, the broken Sonic Dancer ran, presumably on adrenaline, “for a couple furlongs after unseating Borel.” Imagine that.
The death in Kentucky would have passed unnoticed if not for the dinged up Hall of Famer. There exists no chart, no video, and nothing on the Keeneland website save for an update on Borel’s condition. In fact, the DRF article doesn’t mention the kill until the second-to-last sentence.
A tweet from the jockey’s wife says, “Prayers to the connections of the fallen horse, and thanks to God above for keeping Boo from further harm today.” Apparently, God was too busy to also protect Sonic Dancer, but I’m sure if we pray hard enough, his “connections” will overcome their grief.
There should be an investigation including blood work and necropsy on the horse. Oh, I forgot that would be tooo expensive.!!
Why are these horse athletes so expendable? Any other sport would have made drastic changes by now. These jockeys need to SQUEEK up…there lives are in danger too! These incredible horse athletes are just as deserving of our respect & compassion. This is no longer the sport of kings….more like the poor & the desperate!
Comedyflyer, I must say that “SQUEEK up” most certainly made me laugh!…thank you for that!
And yes, you are right about the “poor and desperate”. I will tell you a little something that might help explain why some of these jockeys DON’T speak up. At the “cheap” tracks, these guys are just eeking out a living. If they refuse to ride a horse they suspect as unsound (and that is likely close to every single mount they get!), that trainer won’t bother to ask them the next time! They will lose mounts!…so they WILL gamble on the horse staying up, hoping for a check to buy groceries for their family! That is a fact…there are trainers I knew that LIVED in their vehicle, so taking a chance on their injured horses crossing the wire and getting even 3rd or 4th place money is worth the risk of their horses breaking down with a life-ending injury. Why not…the horse is worth no more than what the kill buyer will give him anyway (and in the mid-west, there is a kill buyer who is one of the largest suppliers to a Canadian slaughterhouse and he is also a licensed racing TB owner/trainer…how handy is that).
RIP little Sonic Dancer…you will never be forgotten.
RIP, Sonic Dancer xoxoxo