Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro Euthanized Monday

By Linda Orlando

One of the most tragic and triumphant stories in the history of horse racing ended sadly Monday after eight months of public support, private prayers, and anxious waiting. Barbaro, the much-beloved winner of last year's Kentucky Derby, was euthanized due to complications that his owners and veterinarians believed were finally insurmountable.

The story of the 4-year-old bay colt Barbaro began like fairy tale, because from the moment he began his career, he quickly became famous for being a magnificent racehorse. Trainer Michael Matz, 44, was an accomplished veteran thoroughbred trainer, having brought home the silver medal from three Olympics. When he began training Barbaro, Matz was certain that he was working with a Triple Crown winner. He often proudly told people that his strapping young colt was good enough to join Seattle Slew as one of the only unbeaten Triple Crown champions.

Barbaro won his first three races, including the Laurel Futurity by 8 lengths and the Tropical Park Derby by 3.75 lengths. He went on to win the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park, then the Florida Derby, thereby sealing the deal to be a contender in the Kentucky Derby.

Not only did Barbaro win the Derby, he did so by 6.5 lengths—the largest winning margin since 1946, when Assault won by 8 lengths and went on to capture the Triple Crown. Barbaro seemed destined to follow in the steps of his predecessor, until two weeks later when the gates opened at the Pimlico Race Track for the Preakness Stakes, and moments later a gruesome misstep was so horrible that many people thought he would have to be euthanized right then and there. As Barbaro rounded a curve in the track, his right hind leg suddenly flared out wildly as jockey Edgar Prado leapt from the saddle and hurriedly tried to stabilize the horse, whose leg had shattered. Shocked race fans wept as people raced to the track to help.

Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center's George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals, about 30 miles from Philadelphia in Kennett Square, and within 24 hours the whole country seemed to be anxiously awaiting news about the champion thoroughbred. Throngs of people appeared at the New Bolton Center carrying flowers, cards, gifts, and even religious medals for Barbaro. The hospital’s website was deluged with thousands of e-mails wishing the colt well.

Roy and Gretchen Jackson, owners of Barbaro, grimly took the news from veterinarian Dr. Dean Richardson that their horse had sustained a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken bone behind the ankle, and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle—which was shattered in "20-plus pieces," according to Richardson. A complicated five-hour surgery was performed to insert a titanium plate and 27 screws into the broken bones. Although Barbaro rallied repeatedly through numerous setbacks and complications, Richardson was usually cautious about ensuring a total recovery.

By mid-July, Richardson's cautious optimism hit home when Barbaro’s left hind leg was hit with laminitis and the surgeon had to remove 80% of the hoof. Richardson met with the Jacksons and Matz to deliver the grim news that the outlook was not good for the colt. "It was terrible," Richardson said. "I wouldn't have blamed anyone at that point for saying they just couldn't face the prospects of going on." But the Jacksons decided that as long as their beloved thoroughbred was not suffering, they were willing to do whatever it took to give him a fighting chance at recovery.

Each day brought progress and optimism, with Barbaro eating heartily, doing his best to walk on his own, and nickering happily as he gazed at the mares. Even though he never regained his natural gait, the Jacksons were beginning to think that their colt would recover well enough to be able to live a comfortable life on their 190-acre Lael Farm, where they own about 70 racehorses. They have been in the horse business for 30 years but have never had a horse like Barbaro, and they spent tens of thousands of dollars hoping to be able to bring him home, whether or not he would ever be able to breed.

"I just can’t explain why everyone is so caught up in this horse," Roy Jackson often said to reporters during Barbaro’s recovery. "Everything is so negative now in the world, people love animals and I think they just happened to latch onto him."

After months of increasingly upbeat progress reports, Barbaro had a serious setback on January 10 when the laminitis in his left hind hoof took a turn for the worse and Richardson had to remove more damaged tissue and put the colt back into a protective sling. Three days later another section of the hoof had to be removed, and then Barbaro developed a deep abscess in his right hind foot. Richardson performed a risky surgery to insert two steel pins in a bone, and Monday morning Richardson said that Barbaro did not have a good night.

The news that Barbaro had been euthanized was reported first on the Thoroughbred Times website. An outpouring of grief and condolences quickly followed the news. "The horse was a hero," said David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. "His owners went above and beyond the call of duty to save this horse. It's an unfortunate situation, but I think they did the right thing in putting him down."

Barbaro’s breeder, Bill Sanborn, fought back tears as he spoke to reporters about the privilege of working with the colt. "Everything was looking really, really good, and of course I honestly thought that the horse was going to pull it off," he said. "It just wasn't meant to be. It didn't surprise me that he fought so long. He was a great horse."

"We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision; it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time." To Barbaro’s fans, Jackson added, "I would say thank you for everything, and all your thoughts and prayers over the last eight months or so."

Barbaro’s mother, La Ville Rouge, is pregnant at Mills Ridge Farm in Lexington, carrying Barbaro’s full brother. According to farm spokesperson Kimberly Poulin, the foal is due to be born sometime this spring.