ESPN is being very irresponsible
 

They are overdoing with the Barbaro coverage showing that clip over and over of when he broke his leg and him after the race walking around on 3 legs. Its awful. You think with the Super Bowl coming up in 5 days, they would have better things to show.

Bad form. Very bad.

If they want to show something just show his KY Derby and wish him the best in horse heaven.

I think you should call them and let them know how they should do it.

I already did. I am very close with somebody who works there (that you see at least once a week) and unlike many places, they take constructive criticism very well.

The main reason Barbaro has stayed in the news as long as he has and received the following he has is because of the injury and the subsequent work done to try to keep him alive. Nobody even cares about his Derby anymore so showing that would be irrelevant. All people talk about is the injury and recovery so that's what they show.

Nobody even cares about his Derby anymore so showing that would be irrelevant. All people talk about is the injury and recovery so that's what they show.

Well thats kind of silly. He won by one of the biggest margin of victories ever beating some good horses including wonder horse Showing Up. If you guys would rather see a beautiful animal wobble around on 3 legs than see him pulling away from Blue Cat, then you must be a huge hit at kid's parties.

I'm done with this. Wish I never said anything about it.

Don't misunderstand. I think it's silly to that all anyone talks about is the injury/recovery. I think it would be much better to talk about his nice wins. But the reality is that more people have been drawn to Barbaro because of this stuff than because of his wins. His injury, recovery, and now death have gotten way more coverage than his wins did. It's unfortunate that this stuff interests more people than the good things he did but that's the way it is.

Alright well I would agree that this injury and unfortunate last 8 months of not knowing if he was going to make it has made Barbaro a household name, not his Derby win. God knows most people wouldnt have a clue who War Emblem or Real Quiet are.

But do we really have to see the broken leg over and over in photos and even worse on TV's?

I mean I was running at the gym today and I look up and they are showing the Barbaro footage and really zeroing in on the actual race showing it happen and showing him after the race.

Isnt it enough that he was a superb race horse and a brilliant fighter who touched many lives? Lets leave it at that. We all know life isnt fair and we all know what happened, so do we really need to look at it again?

Nobody is forcing you to watch it.

Im sure Im not the only person who cannot watch the preakness episode. It is in extremely poor taste to show it on the little pieces that have been put together to honor the horse.

They didnt show lost in the fog rolling around on the ground in pain because of the chemo, they should give Barbaro the same respect. Nobody wants to see a horse break its leg one time, nonetheless 100 times. Sickening.

Im sure Im not the only person who cannot watch the preakness episode. It is in extremely poor taste to show it on the little pieces that have been put together to honor the horse.

They didnt show lost in the fog rolling around on the ground in pain because of the chemo, they should give Barbaro the same respect. Nobody wants to see a horse break its leg one time, nonetheless 100 times. Sickening.

Thanks. I thought I was going crazy. Finally somebody who sees my point and isnt afraid to disagree with the masses. Refreshing.

The day it happened I watched the replay and about vomited. The slow mo, the snap, knowing what happens when 1200lbs of horse tries to push off on an already broken leg....Brutal, I mean who honestly can argue in favor of seeing a horse in distress, cmon.

Tim,
I totally agree. ALL the networks have shown the breakdown far too much.
I really don't get a thrill out of seeing it again and again.
Sick, if you ask me.
Showing such a noble steed in distress over and over might gain ratings, but also anti racing people.
Sick people pour gasoline on the fire. I wish they would just show his best efforts and allow the rest of us to grieve his loss.
Thanks for calling your friend.
DTS

Agreed Gander. I love watching the footage of him in The Derby, brings chills to me still. Leave the Preakness footage alone.

I would say this to the ESPN folks -

When you go to a showing and or a funeral, do you see footage of how this individual passed or do you celebrate their life?

i have never watched a preakness replay. can't do it. i remember the actualy race-i've said this before, when he pulled up my first thought was 'no contest'-like they couldn't finish if he couldn't. then i realized they were still running-and i couldn't say who did what thru the running. i only kept it on to find out what was going on with barbaro. they showed the head on replay after the race, and that is the last footage i've ever seen. i hate seeing the pictures. it ticked me off that the front page of the paper here showed him standing on three legs with edgar at pimlico. thankfully the sports page ran his derby runaway photo. THAT is how i want to remember him. winning-with others struggling along in his wake.

It is a very uplifting journey but tragic end to a great, great horse. The game can be made safer and it is slowly but surely.

his breaking thru the gate didn't bode well in the sense of how well he would race after exerting the energy,etc , not moss being some kind of psychic about the subsequent injury.

one had nothing to do with the other. he took a bad step. but hey, for conspiracy theorists, this is another for them.

When Pine Island broke down in the BC Distaff ESPN replayed it twice. I remember posting that I thought it was in very bad taste. They are consistent.

I just dont think its all that interesting a story anymore.

Horse was great and won the Derby. Horse had an unfortunate breakdown and they tried to save him but after many months they finally had to put him down. Its sad, but happens quite a bit in horse racing.

Lets remember his Derby win and move on.

Very, very good point!!!

The effort to save his life was the story. If Barbaro was euthanized on the track afer the Preakness, nothing would have happened. It was the fact that the effort was made to save him and he lived 8 plus months afterward which made the story. The Jacksons and Richardson aren't on Larry King if he's euthanized immediately. Noone here would have heard of Richardson if not for the effort (well some would have, but certainly not me). Horses win the Kentucky Derby every year...it is not a big deal. But when the Ky Derby winner has a devastating injury in the Preakness...is not put down but is given highly risky surgery...survives...does pretty well for 8 months, then finally succumbs to the overwhelming odds against him, well that is a bit different than your average Ky Derby winner story. That type of thing makes national news. That is all it is. I have no problem with them showing it. In a week, it will all be old news once again and not be shown on national media outlets probably again other than a yearly tribute to the horse on BC day or something.

All it will take is one owner to decide that, after winning the Kentucky Derby, it's not wise to run in the Preakness. Just skip it. The gates, the dirt, the triple crown timing, all worked against Barbaro. That's a big part of the Barbaro story too.

Exactly. His winning the Derby is NOT the Barbaro story to most people. What happened after IS.

apparently you missed the fact that dean richardson, as well as the track vet and everyone else said the horse was FINE after the gate incident, and that one had nothing to do with the other.

but hey, i guess if i'm a moron, i'm in good company with them.

from bloodhorse:
"The stewards always ask me to look at them (when they break through the gate)," said Zipf, a state veterinarian since 1965 and chief veterinarian for the last 20 years.

"I went through the stall he(barbaro) was in and followed him back around. Once he was gathered up (by an outrider) and turned around, the first thing I looked for was head trauma or abrasions or cuts. I then walked behind him as he trotted back to make sure, leg-wise that there was no problem. I could see nothing that would insult his performance; saw no problems with his head or legs. I'm certain there was nothing that would predispose to the injury that occurred in the race."

and this:

Bramlage does not believe the injury occurred when Barbaro broke through the starting gate. "I watched him break through the first time and I watched him break the second time," Bramlage said. "He didn't break with the right hind injury. I would guess that it happened sometime out about a furlong. It took an additional 110 yards to 200 yards for Edgar to get him under control because these don't hurt immediately when they happen. There is so much adrenaline that the horse has no concept. Edgar probably knew before the horse knew that something was wrong. I don't think breaking through the gate the first time had anything to do with this."

from prado:"During the race, he took a bad step and I can't really tell you what happened. I heard a noise about 100 yards into the race and pulled him right up."

this from dr richardson:

Richardson continued to try to put to rest nagging questions about whether Barbaro was injured when he prematurely broke from the Preakness starting gate and had to be reloaded for the race to begin.

"I think it is exceedingly unlikely the horse injured himself breaking from the gate," Richardson said. "The horse jogged back to the gate and broke out of the gate well. This is a single catastrophic accident."

:D yeah, i know.

you might want to re-read the post above--for example:



I'm certain there was nothing that would predispose to the injury that occurred in the race."

and of course, you can choose to believe that pigs fly, and aliens are among us--but please, when top vets in the equine field believe it, maybe you should lay off the 'moron' talk.

Deb,

I think it was a lousy coincidence that he broke through the gate and trust the vets when they say his injury had nothing to do with it, but if he would have been my horse, I would have scratched him. JMO.

i agree, it was a lousy coincidence.

I think the gate incident may have cause the initial injury to Barbaro. I don't know that it did but he was rushed back into that gate. He should have been scratched but hind sight is 20-20.

Please point out the English language.