Bracelets For Barbaro!
Barbaro.
That’s all anyone needs to say. The very mention of his name evokes a reaction from those inside and outside the racing community.
He hovers over the 133rd Kentucky Derby, tugging at us all, and today at Churchill Downs the memory of a beloved horse who both captured and broke the heart of America lingers a year after he stormed to glory at this very track, and just a little more than three months after his death.
”He will hover over the race, because everyone has their own special memory of Barbaro, and he will be on the mind of everyone Saturday,” said trainer John Shirreffs, who won the Derby two years ago with Giacomo and hopes to win again today with Tiago.
Churchill Downs still gets mail from around the world addressed to Barbaro, who has been as much a part of the Derby as any of the 20 horses who will break from the gate.
Michael Matz, who trained Barbaro, doesn’t have a horse in today’s race. But on Tuesday night at a trainer’s dinner, organizers showed a film of the ill-fated horse’s journey — and the trainers watched in silence.
”The film showed all that Michael Matz went through, the highs of the game, but it didn’t show the rest of the story,” said Larry Jones, who has Hard Spun in today’s race. “And when it ended, we kind of sat there a few seconds because we knew what happened two weeks later. That was tough . . . It still is.”
Barbaro ran into history a year ago, winning the Derby by 6 ½ lengths — the largest margin of victory in 60 years. And as he stormed down the stretch, there was buzz that he could win the vaunted Triple Crown.
By the time he reached the Preakness two weeks later, Barbaro had become the nation’s sweetheart. More than just a horse, he became a gallant steed bound for greatness — and America wanted to jump aboard for the ride.
TRAGIC BREAKDOWN
Barbaro stumbled out of the gate at the Preakness and broke down in the first furlong of the race, collapsing on the track. He broke the cannon, sesamoid and long pastern bones of his right hind leg into 30 pieces.
What might have been a mortal injury turned into an eight-month battle that ended after the colts owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, and Dr. Dean Richardson of the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, had done everything to save the colt’s life. In the end, laminitis, a painful hoof disease that besets inactive horses, attacked Barbaro and he was euthanized on Jan. 29.
”There will be people in this country who won’t watch because they’re still affected by what happened at the Preakness last year,” said Brent Musburger, who will call the race on radio today. “The memory and the stories of Barbaro are going to be with us a long, long time.
“He captured the hearts of non-racing fans. Real racing fans have been around tragedies before, but this one, because of the horse, the way it happened and the way the jockey responded and the way he battled, it touched so many people. He was such a brave fighter. His memory will certainly be here.”
Legendary trainer Nick Zito said everyone would be moved today.
”The performance in the Derby was tremendous and then the absolute tragedy of the next race was overwhelming,” Zito said. “I was a believer that the fans needed hope and they kept hope alive when he got hurt. That was the story right there — there was hope and faith, but unfortunately it ended in tragedy. There was so much pain.”
The Barbaro Fund at New Bolton has collected $1.2 million, and tracks around the country will raise money today for research that could save horses in the future.
MANY TRIBUTES
The Friends of Barbaro held a charity event at Delaware Park last Sunday that drew people from around the world. Today, fans will be able to buy a $2 ”Riding with Barbaro” blue rubber bracelet to benefit the Barbaro Memorial Fund, set up through the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to study equine diseases.
There will be a Barbaro tribute today and the large screens at the track will show Barbaro’s victory run in the Derby. The Jacksons will be given a $25,000 check for the Memorial Fund.
There’s also a controversial promotion by Yum Brands, which will award $1 million to a horse that can beat Barbaro’s 6 ½-length margin of victory.
So much of this day will belong to Barbaro.
”He captured the imagination of the lay person, because it was such a touching story,” said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. “The [Jacksons] made such an effort to keep him alive and spent millions to do it. America will remember Barbaro. He’s one of their horses.”
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