“This is a very big issue and needs to be discussed,” two-time Derby winning trainer Nick Zito said. “You’re changing the whole game. Big Brown ran on dirt yesterday, he’s going for history. You can’t tell me the Polytrack is history. It’s not yet, there isn’t enough data yet.”

That’s not saying Zito and other horsemen are not interested in making racetracks safer for both horses and jockeys.

“If you told me, ‘Look, we have a device that these horses can run on pillows and never get hurt the rest of lives,’ I’d say, ‘Where do I sign?”’ Zito said. “There’s injuries on the Polytrack, too. Now you see why I’m saying it’s a big issue.”

While breakdowns always have been a part of racing, there has been more of an outcry lately calling for drastic action.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) issued a statement Sunday calling for the suspension of Eight Belles jockey Gabriel Saez. The group also asked for the “revocation of the second place prize.”

Saez was riding in his first Kentucky Derby when Eight Belles broke both front ankles while galloping out a quarter-mile past the finish line.

“What we really want to know, did he feel anything along the way?” PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. “If he didn’t then we can probably blame the fact that they’re allowed to whip the horses mercilessly.”

A call to the jockeys’ room at Delaware Park, where Saez raced on Sunday, went unanswered.

The Kentucky state racing stewards make decisions on suspensions, but there is no racing at Churchill Downs until Wednesday. At that time, the stewards could review a tape of the race if a formal request is made.

Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones disputed any suggestion that his horse had no business taking on the boys.

“It wasn’t that, it wasn’t the distance, it wasn’t a big bumping match for her, she never got touched,” he said. “She passed all those questions ... with flying colors. The race was over, all we had to do was pull up, come back and be happy. It just didn’t happen.”

On Sunday morning, Jones stood next to his Kentucky Oaks-winning filly, Proud Spell, receiving condolences from friends and fellow trainers.

“Got here at 5 a.m.,” Jones said. “Got to go on. It’s hard, but it’s what we do.”

Just then, Barbaro’s trainer Michael Matz drove past Jones’ barn stopped his car and rolled down the window. On Friday, Matz watched another one of his horses, Chelokee, suffer a life-threatening injury in the Alysheba Stakes. He had just returned from Lexington, where the horse was set for surgery Monday to fuse his injured ankle.

“Sorry, Larry,” Matz said.

“I know you know what it’s like, thank you,” Jones said. “How’s yours doin’?”

“Doing good, they’re going to operate tomorrow,” Matz said.

Dutrow was still basking in Big Brown’s victory, well aware that an injury can strike at any time.

“No matter what happens, you’re always going to see horses break down on the track,” he said. “That is part of this game. It’s a very sad part of the game, but you have to go through it.

“For people coming out to the track and seeing that, it’s got to make them think, ‘Man, why would I want to go out there and see that happen to a horse?”’ he said. “It’s got to be very disappointing to anyone who loves horses.”

MORE FROM KENTUCKY DERBY

From worst to 1st: 50-1 shot shocks Derby field

From worst to 1st: 50-1 shot shocks Derby field Winning jockey: 'You got a hole, you got a shot' Kentucky Derby gets highest ratings since ’92   Overhead view of Mine That Bird's win   'They'll know me now, won't they,' trainer says   'It's unbelievable,' Borel says of 2nd Derby win 2009 Kentucky Derby chart A year after Eight Belles, is horse racing safer? Celizic: Racing is dying, but we'll always love the Derby Special feature: The best traditions in sports   Add Kentucky Derby headlines to your news reader: