I didn't see it, but I sure hope they can save him. But that's always something lurking in the background of horse racing, though it's got to be very painful when it happens. My horses were like family, so to lose one would have been very devastating.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

[1] It's unfortunate, and perhaps even sad to a degree.

[2] It is just a horse, isn't it? To hear some people talk about it on TV, you'd think that a human died. I don't mean to say that in a disparaging way, but I think we need to keep perspective. It seems strange to be still at war and hear a broadcaster talk about the tragety of a horse breaking its ankle.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Note: I ride, my wife has been riding her whole life (her horse was put down last fall at 21 years old), her sister is essentially a pro show jumper.


1) The gates are held shut by magnets, which a horse can get through. This did nothing to injure him, he was sound when he went back in. He stepped in a hole and because he could not pull up fast enough he caused more damage. Had it happened at the end of the race he would have stopped quicker and possibly caused less damage.

2) Yes he is a horse, but not just a horse. The winner of the Kentucky Derby is always thought of as much more. Also anyone who has spent any real time with horses will never say it's just a horse, just as a dog owner would say the same thing about a dog.

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

2) Yes he is a horse, but not just a horse. The winner of the Kentucky Derby is always thought of as much more. Also anyone who has spent any real time with horses will never say it's just a horse, just as a dog owner would say the same thing about a dog.

I understand that perspective. My dad's family are mostly ranchers, and I've been a lifelong dog owner (or borther or father, however dog owners describe themselves).

It just seemed a little peculiar to me to hear Chris Berman seemingly going on and on and embellishing the story. I hope that doesn't sound insensitive, b/c you could tell by the jockey's reaction that, at least to him, it wasn't "just an animal". I respect that.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Terrible for the sport, and Pat Forde has a great column on espn.com today on how this is racing's fault for not being more proactive and having a national leadership.

As for Barbaro, breaking through the gate didn't do it, like House said those gates are barely held together so that if a horse does act up in the gate, they aren't completely boxed in, potentially causing more damage.

That horse was hurt before he stepped on the track. He was hot in the paddock, they couldn't get him saddled the first time because he was dancing around and couldn't stay still. You could see on the track during warmup he wasn't comfortable. The Derby may have taken more out of him than they thought, and this horse isn't used to coming back off only 2 weeks rest.

As much as I love the Derby, and horse racing, the fact of the matter is a 2 year old horse is roughly the equivalent of a 11 or 12 year old person. They are still growing, and their bones/muscles aren't fully developed. We put them out there at the highest level at 2, have them race an entire season, then at 3 they go through the grueling Triple Crown trail. What do we think is going to happen? It's like a 13 year old playing in the NFL. No matter how big that 13 year old is, he is not a fully developed man and won't take the punishment.

I thought I saw yesterday that he survived surgery and was standing again. I dont know if Barbaro will be able to race (I dont really follow it and dont know how bad the injury was) but I imagine he's still very valuable for breeding purposes

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He will never race again. If this had been a $25,000 claimer, they would have put him down on the track. Catastrophic injury for a horse. Chances of survival now are about 50/50, the pins have to take hold without infection. He is doing great though by all accounts, is standing with an air cast, flirting with mares, eating alot, and generally happy. I watched the Dr's press conference last night, and immediately knew things were about as good as they could be by the smile on the Doc's face. But still, keeping a horse still long enough for this to properly heal, and the possibility of a lethal infection make this a long road to survival, much less recovery. Horses want to run, and it is hard to stop them. I still cringe whenever I think of Go for Wand in the Breeders Cup Distaff back in 1990. Just a horrific scene, far worse than Saturday.