Eight Belles, the filly (female horse) that had to be euthanized after suffering severe breaks to both her right and left ankles, was also the horse that Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bet on FTW!

Hillary Clinton’s pick to win the Kentucky Derby this year came in second, but was later euthanized on the track. The tragic moment at Churchill Downs cast an eerie spell over the campaign and the candidate who recently compared herself and her candidacy to the only female horse running in the race, Eight Belles. At a campaign in event recently in Jeffersonville, just north of Louisville, Kentucky, Clinton encouraged her supporters to put their money on the 20-1 long shot. “I hope that everybody will go to the derby on Saturday and place just a little money on the filly for me,” she said. “I won’t be able to be there this year, my daughter is going to be there and so she has strict instructions to bet on Eight Belles.”

Unfortunately, her bet and the bets of supporters killed the horse. Well, that’s what animal activist organization PETA thinks; they’ve written senator Clinton a letter asking her to condemn horse racing for good because she’s obviously great (no, she’s not) at repelling tragedy and heartache.

“As a high profile political figure with the esteem of many women, I regret to say that your public support of horseracing—and specifically betting on Eight Belles—makes you culpable in her destruction. I ask you now to publicly condemn races like the Kentucky Derby…

“Races like this are the equivalent of child sweatshops. These are not even seasoned horses: They are young fillies and colts whose joints are not formed enough to endure such a grueling race…

“A race track is not a place for a fun day out, and we are writing to Chelsea on that score. Attending the Derby is as despicable as attending a dogfight.

But the gaudy hats and expensive drinks spice it up a little, no? Frankly, Hillary Clinton would have better luck alleviating the current deficit in our country than impacting the state of racing. Horse racing is as American as going to war. The tragic fall of Eight Belles below. RIP homegirl.

PETA Writes to Clinton About Eight Belles [ABC News]
Clinton’s Derby Pick Places Second, Then Euthanized [CBS]
Image [AP]
Video [YouTube]