Larry Jones said Saez applied the whip only to prevent Eight Belles from crashing into the rail.

"This filly in every race has tried to drift towards the rail," Jones said. "It's her comfort zone, and Gabriel knows this. This kid made every move the right move, and I hate it that they're wanting to jump down his throat. He did not try to abuse that horse to make her run faster. He knew he was second best, that she wasn't going to catch Big Brown."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) called for Saez to be suspended, contending he should have noticed an injury and pulled the horse up rather than applied the whip.

Saez said Eight Belles never indicated anything was wrong.

"All I could sense under me was how eager she was to race," Saez said. "I was so proud of her performance, and of the opportunity to ride her in my first Kentucky Derby, all of which adds to my sadness."

Peta also announced plans to protest against the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, arguing for major changes, including a ban on using the whip or racing horses younger than three.

KHRA executive director Lisa Underwood said that racing stewards found no evidence of wrongdoing by Saez. The authority also released a statement responding to Peta's proposals, arguing that many of them were premature or unnecessary.

The Humane Society of the United States also weighed in, arguing that horses were becoming more fragile because they were being bred for speed, not durability.

"There are problems coming to light more than ever - problems related to breeding," said Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle. "Breeding too many horses, and waiting for someone else to clean up the problem. And breeding them for body characteristics that make these animals vulnerable to breakdowns, especially those stout torsos on top of those spindly legs."

Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian at Churchill Downs during the Derby, acknowledged there was merit to that argument. He suggested there should be more financial incentives for horses who display longevity, rather than just the ability to come up big in one huge race.

"The value of a horse is no longer related to how much he can win on the racetrack," Bramlage said. "It's related to how likely he can get you to one of those events. The breed creeps toward a faster and faster individual, but that individual may be brilliant because they have a lighter skeleton. We're inadvertently selecting for the wrong thing."

Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line and was euthanised on the track. Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said there would be an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Jones said he had watched the race from various angles and found that not only did Saez do nothing wrong, but everything right.

"We're putting him on multimillion-dollar horses, and I think this kid represented our business as professionally as could be," he said. "If I were to run in the Derby tomorrow, I'd put him right back on my horse."

Waldrop said one of Peta's suggestions, that whips should be banned, would cause horses to be out of control on the track, producing far more injuries.

"Forcing a jockey to give up a whip would be like forcing a Nascar driver to give up his steering wheel," Waldrop said.

As for the prospect of changing dirt tracks to synthetic ones, Jones said he supported continued research on how that would improve safety. He insisted, however, the track at Churchill Downs was not to blame for the loss of Eight Belles. "Churchill's track was as close to perfect on Saturday as it could be," he said.

Associated Press