Kennett Square, Pa. – There was more good news Tuesday on Barbaro’s recovery from a catastrophic injury to his right hind leg.
“He’s actually better (Tuesday) than he was even (Monday) and he was pretty good (Monday),” Dr. Dean Richardson said. “He’s walking very well on the limb, absolutely normal vital signs. He’s doing very well.”
Barbaro was on his feet in his stall, even scratching his left ear with his left hind leg just two days after Richardson and a team of assistants spent more than five hours pinning together the leg bones he shattered in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
“We’ve run the gamut of emotions from the euphoria of the Kentucky Derby to the devastation of the Preakness,” owner Roy Jackson said. “The sad part is that in Barbaro’s case, that the American public won’t get a chance to see him continue his racing career. Even though he ran so well in the Kentucky Derby, we probably didn’t see his greatest race. But that’s water over the dam. We’re just glad we jumped a hurdle here so far.”
Richardson added the Jacksons’ main concern was for the health of Barbaro, not for the millions of dollars the colt could make as a stallion if he recovers completely.
“My hope for him is that he lives a painless life,” Gretchen Jackson said. “Whether that means he’ll be a stallion with little Barbaros, that would be the extreme hope for him.”
Even if Barbaro becomes a stallion, there still would be questions concerning his ability to cover mares because of the catastrophic injury to his hind leg.
“But that’s a long way from now,” Richardson said. “If he’s doing well, it’s conceivable he could possibly be breeding mares next year, but that’s way ahead of it. He’s just a few days into post-op.”
