Beyond Sad...
 

PI euthanized... enough said.

Pine Island Euthanized
 

Only thing I didnt wanna see BC day after working @ AP all summer and seeing these over and over.

I cannot say how sad I am @ this moment...I was a huge fan of Pine Island. Racing is so difficult sometimes.

RIP beautiful girl. You'll always remain in my heart.
Thoughts and comfort for the Phipps family and also Shug and all the barn folks that loved her so much.
So sad.

RIP to this beautiful filly. What a sad, sad day... :(

This is awful....But I can't believe this, I bet Pine Island to beat Fleet Indian. B/c Fleet got pulled up before this happened, I actually won the bet. Just nuts....I love Shug, hate to see this.

As I have gotten to know racing, I have become amazingly impressed with the handling and placing of horses by the Phipps stable and their trainer Shug... their horses are the last that you would think would break down - if it happens to them, what does that tell say about the state of racing?

It also doesn't help that on the biggest days of racing when the non-racing fans might be watching, we have these horrible break downs - no wonder people think (wrongly) that horse racing is cruel to the horses.

I'm still a fan... and know that I always will be.

With the promotion and support from ESPN and the attempt to win a new and younger crowd, I was hoping (as always), that all horses would come back well. I hate to say, but this is a huge blow to established fans, but an even bigger set back to the people watching for the first time.

you are, unfortunately--absolutely right. I have a friend who was only lightly interested in racing who says she will never watch again after what happened to Barbaro...I am sure she is not the only one.

No doubt Balletto, the only thing you dont want to see on a grand day of racing.

Shug says she was a barn pet.Had a ton of personality.Man,that's some wicked thing that happened today.

Remember when Exogenous died on the way to the track. I was watching it and couldn't believe it. This is worse.

OMG yes! She was my pick for the race. She was a very talented girl. I always thought it was sad irony that her dam's name was "Tangled Up in Blue"... she was sadly tangled in the railings when she flipped.

I always have a fondness for Shug's horses and really enjoyed watching this one run as she helped me big time at the windows but that is beside the fact. Just a beautiful stride and a horse who definetly would have been a factor today if healthy and down the road. Just a shame.

Yeah, Feel bad for the Phipps and Shug. They are one of my all time favorite outfits and they do things in a very classy way. Pine Island was such a nice filly.

Isn't it strange how fate works with this tragic race on the big stage being won by Matz and Prado?

seems like the distaff is a cursed race, Go For Wand, Exogenous, Pine Island
all three were the stars of the race...damn shame

I'll remember her with that big low stride and raw boned body coming down the strecth...I'll never forget the first time time I saw her at Saratoga...I thought she was beautiful in her very own way.

Thoughts to the Phipps & Shug.

RIP girl. Truly a throwback Classic horse, who did nothing but try her guts out every time she ran.

Sad when any horse goes down, but especially so when it's such a talented, hard-trying filly like this one.

I've been at a dressage clinic all day and just got home. Decided to watch the replays without knowing the results. I didn't bet and didn't really care that much who won what. As I told my friend, the only horse I was really rooting for was,,,you guessed it...Pine Island. I currently only have 2 horses in my watch stable and she was one of them. As soon as I finished the replay, I clicked here and saw this thread. It's just too much.

I'll never watch the Distaff again. As someone here already said, it is a cursed race.

Suzanne

This stuff is sickening at times. One moment, they are competing for a championship, the next, they are put down.

RIP baby girl....what a game filly she was:(

So Sad
 

What should have been a great day for our sport....
Pine Island, what a beautiful and talented animal....
The lows in this game will make one forget the highs fairly quickly.

Rest In Peace Pine Island.

I will miss you.....

PSH

I've now had a few hours to digest this. For some time now, I've been having a hard time justifying my great love of horses with my love of horseracing. I want to continue to love horseracing, but as a horselover, I'm not sure if I can. I feel like a hypocrite. I'd **never** start a horse under saddle until late 3 or 4,,,yet here I am cheering on 2 yr. olds, 3 yr. olds., to run their a$$e$ off. ALL wrong.
Can anyone here give me a different perspective??

Suzanne(so heartbroken)

Largo, it sucks, its the toughest part of the game. But athletes get hurt in all sports. The problem in horse racing is they can't be put back together. Polytrack and everything else will help, but sometimes a bad step is all it takes.

well, it took me this long to get back here after that race. pine island was a fave of mine, been behind her since i 'found' her. when the race was running, i was only watching her, explaining to my daughter how she'd be out of it early, but would come charging along, head down, making it look like she really wasn't trying....then i saw her bobble and javier start to go over her head, and the camera cut away. of course that dip**** denman never said a word about her...hell, she was only the POSTTIME FAVE, WE DON'T NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE HER, RIGHT?! i knew he got thrown, but was kind of hoping for the best, but when i didn't see a riderless pine island coming around the turn i knew.

my deepest sympathy to shug, to her groom, to her exercise rider. she was special--as special as i felt she was, they were with her day in and day out. i was hoping like hell it wouldn't be bad, but when they showed her again. ah hell.

every time i go by the pine island sign down the road it's gonna dig. she was game, man she had so much more to show. my husband knew it was bad, they came back on and he just asked me if i was ok after they said they put her down.

she'll be the eclipse winner, it'll be bittersweet. just like i'm sure fleet indian will get older mare, as she should. i hope she makes it, no way we should lose two out of the same race. times like this i think i ought to give it up. but i can't. too many that make it, that keep you going--they make up for the ones that don't i guess.

The Sprint was pretty cursed until they moved it down the order a few spots.

Anyone have a way for me to contact Phipps Stables? I'd like to offer my condolences. I'd also like to have a picture of this filly to add to my collection. I'll hang it right next to my big picture of Ruffian.

Suzanne

check at yahoo, bloodhorse, maybe even gallery of champions dot com for pics of pine island.
i'd imagine if you 'contact' claiborne farm, they would pass on any letters or emails to mr phipps.

that one hurt today, it will for a while. man i like her. liked i guess i should say.

i completely forgot about a dream i had, until my mom sent me back the email i sent to her. i never remember my dreams the next morning, almost ever.

it didn't go exactly as it did in my dream, but the email i wrote her october 12 said "It was the BC distaff, and they were coming around the turn and a horse broke down. Then another horse broke down on its own later. Ps fleet Indian won, and happy ticket got second."

i completely forgot that i had this dream, but she saved the email.

the only thing missing was that in the dream fleet indian won. weird.