Barbaro - i still can't believe it

[31lengths]

Yeah...I don't know if Pimlico was trying to prove anything (reviewing the injury frame by frame) but there is no point in trying to point the gun.

However the article on Bloodhorse with Prado was really nice ----

"I might never get another horse as good as him," Matz said, "but I look at this way: I'm lucky enough to have had him when I did. It's tough, but we just have to go on, and hopefully, we'll get there again.

For Prado, the steady stream of tears the days following the injury have for the most part dried, but thoughts of Barbaro are always with him. His spirits were lifted after he visited the horse for the first time May 30.

"I'm still heartbroken, and I will be for a long time, but I definitely feel a lot better after seeing him," Prado said. "It's been tough to concentrate on anything this past week, but I had to go forward. I just wanted to come visit him to show him I still care for him. He looks very bright and strong. He even wanted to get out of his stall. All we can do now is pray for him to have a speedy recovery and for him to enjoy the rest of his life.

"Saturday was a nightmare," Prado said last week. "I reacted pretty quickly and I tried to hold him together. The horse did his job by not fighting with me. I stopped thinking about the race and the Triple Crown right away. The only thing I could think of was him. I wanted to pull him up and comfort him as soon as I could. Each second felt like an hour. He's an intelligent horse. He knew he was hurt and he knew what he wanted -- he wanted to survive.

"The hardest part of my life was when I lost my mother (this past January). Saturday was the toughest day of my career. It was love at first sight with Barbaro. He's very special horse. It goes to show you that in America, everything is possible. The technology here is superior to so many other countries. You have a better chance to survive any kind of injury or illness here than you do anywhere else. I'm glad he's getting what my mother didn't: a chance to survive.

"Of all the tears I have cried, if tears could heal a wound, Barbaro would be healed by now. I've been thinking about him and I've been crying on and off. I can't do any more."

In addition to all the cards and letters, Barbaro has received apples, carrots, fruit baskets, stuffed animals, and even religious statues from a compassionate public that has embraced the colt and his fight for survival. Many of the gifts are displayed all along the fence outside the clinic.

Two of the signs pretty much sum up people's feelings. One reads, "Believe in Barbaro," and the other, "Believe in Miracles."

[Skip away]

I'm with Oracle. As saddened as I am about the horse's physical condition, its time to focus once again on good stories like some of the nice performances we saw this weekend from Silver Train and Sun King, to Silverfoot and High Blitz.

What difference does it make at this point? Horse racing will always have to endure such tragedies from time to time.

Lets keep Barbaro in our hearts, but out of the headlines.

Originally Posted by Skip away

I'm with Oracle. As saddened as I am about the horse's physical condition, its time to focus once again on good stories like some of the nice performances we saw this weekend from Silver Train and Sun King, to Silverfoot and High Blitz.

What difference does it make at this point? Horse racing will always have to endure such tragedies from time to time.

Lets keep Barbaro in our hearts, but out of the headlines.

Very well put Skip Away

[Danzig]

i don't mind seeing the updates on barbaro, but my first thought on seeing the pimlico story was so what....what does it matter? maybe it was just their way of trying to steer any blame away, not that i felt very many were pointing the finger at them....

i am amazed at the fact the horse is still here. it's something many would call a miracle. hopefully he'll add to the story by making a full recovery. just glad that (so far) a horse is enjoying a happy ending to an injury. any good press is needed for the sport, when so many assume an injury automatically leads to euthanasia. glad that many are learning that isn't always the case. of course there are still a great many horses who do get put down due to economics. but any experience is a learning one.

[ArlJim78]

I think that it does matter and that it would be a good thing to know the true cause of the breakdown, if it were actually possible to know. In the aftermath of the Preakness there was a flood of demands that were put forth that were intentioned on preventing such tragedies. There were calls to revise the TC event schedule, demands that breeders stop breeding such fragile horses, training practices were questioned, calls to install poli-track everywhere, etc.

If it could be demonstrated conclusively that Barbaro and Bro Derek had some contact at the moment just prior to the breakdown then it would help to put everything in perspective. No amount of well intentioned changes would have made any difference if it was just due to contact and therefore we wouldn't have to rush to reinvent racing because of this one accident.

With that said I'm sure that some of these changes or others may be good for racing in general and should be looked at in an effort to ensure safety of horse and rider. I'm just saying that I don't think it's correct to use Barbaro's breakdown as a vehicle to push through someones pet reforms especially if it could be proven that the reform would not have prevented this accident.