In the walk-up to the Preakness in a couple of weeks, you can be assured that the talk about whether Big Brown can be beaten will be mixed with the ongoing debate about horse safety.

The spate of horse fatalities in major races keeps the debate warm even as the racing industry searches for ways to protect the animals, particularly with the use of artificial surfaces.

Eight Belles' death on Saturday -- she broke her two front legs after she crossed the Kentucky Derby finish line -- has PETA calling for an investigation of jockey Gabriel Saez based on the organization's contention that the filly was "doubtlessly injured before the finish." If Saez was aware of that, he should be disciplined and the second-place prize of $400,000 forfeited, PETA contends.

Eight Belles' trainer Larry Jones told the Associated Press that there was no indication his horse was hurt during the race. "I don't know how in the heck they can even come close to saying that. She has her ears up, clearly galloping out,"  Jones said.

There will be an autopsy.

But whether the mystery of Eight Belles' freakish accident is ever solved, the next two weeks will renew the horse safety conversation.  How could it not as we approach the scene of horse racing's most dramatic accident -- Barbaro two years ago.

Not many people may recall but a horse died at Pimlico on Preakness Day last year. Mending Fences was in the lead in the Dixie Stakes on the far turn when he broke down, throwing rider Eddie Castro. Mending Fences suffered a condylar fracture of his right front ankle and had to be euthanized.

In today's Sun, horse racing reporter Sandra McKee writes about the concerns over safety and the question of whether artificial surfaces are an answer.  Horses who have worked primarily on artificial surface tracks did not do well on Churchill Downs' dirt on Saturday and some trainers argue that even if the new surfaces help with bones, they are tougher on ligaments and tendons.

Photo: Brian Bohannon/AP