COOKE COUNTY, Tex. -- The horse racing community continues to mourn the loss of Eight Belles, the filly euthanized on Saturday after finishing the Kentucky Derby. In the wake of the tragic accident, many people are asking why she had to be put down. Local horse enthusiasts say sometimes these tragedies just cannot be avoided. Daniel Gotera talked with them and explains why.

Animal rights activists like People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) have directed their anger over Eight Belles’ death at jockey Guillermo Saez, who they claim didn’t pull up eight belles earlier in the race, but those who know the sport and the animals say this was nobody's fault and just an unfortunate circumstance.

Former jockey Stephen Michael rode horses competitively from 1997 to 2004. He, like the rest of the country, was saddened at Eight Belles' death at Churchill Downs last weekend. But Michael says all the extra heat being put on Eight Belles' jockey is uncalled for, because all jockeys are trained to take the necessary steps during a race to keep the horse and other riders safe.

Officials at Babcock Ranch just south of Gainesville say most horses bred for speed are fragile, but no less fragile than any others. They see many horses euthanized every year due to injuries out on the pastures.

It just so happened that this time, it was in front of the whole world.

"It’s just something that happens. If she hadn’t had that happen, she would have gone down in the history books as one of the greatest mares of all time, and we would have seen a lot of her goals in the future," Jim Babcock at Babcock Ranch says.

Michael says while he was racing, he never rode a horse that was tired or had a prior condition. He says it's a shame this happened, especially since it's rare that a filly does so well in the Kentucky Derby.