[Chi-townChief]

Where's a horsey Oliver Stone when you need him?

This surprised me after what I heard during the broadcast:

The amount of pressure it took Barbaro to break the starting gate also has been overstated in some quarters. Industry experts say a mere 30 pounds of force is enough to pop the barrier.

[ZGuy]

Barbaro was definitely injured before the start of the race. I can't believe the number of people who have not gone back and watched the NBC broadcast tape which shows this. The tape after he broke through the gate clearly shows him trotting on three legs and holding the right rear leg up and he hops along...BEFORE the race.

[LIConFem]

You mean a plane didn't really fly into the horse's leg during the race?

[Mannaggia l'America]

Anyone see Jeff Gilooly in the area?

[Beaker]

*ping*

[ClearCase_guy]

I get nervous when I see a grassy knoll.

[ken5050]

May I ask a somewhat related question, in the hope that anyone with a knowledge of horse-racing can respond:

I read that even if Barbaro survives, he's very unlikely to be a successful stud because his rear legs won't be able to support his weight when he mounts the mare. Jockey Club rules require that only natural insemination is used for thoroughbreeds bred to race.

Anyone know why that is? I don't see why they wouldn't allow artificial insemination. DNA tracing can protect against fraud. What could be the reason?

[FReepaholic]

...Of course, if thoroughbred racing's doors of perception were ever thoroughly cleansed, the parimutuel part of the game probably would no longer exist. Only the gentried shooing flies and imbecilic bottom clockers would remain. ...

Huh? Can this be translated into English?

[HairOfTheDog]

Every time I take my horse on trail, I am constantly guessing and second guessing and worrying and debating my judgment on whether he is sound. Now, he's an aging 24 year old pleasure horse, but I don't think the minds of anyone running a young thoroughbred are any less settled and sure. That's what 'nerves' and 'jitters' are.

The truth is, every instinct a horse has tells him to hide any sign of weakness or injury, and the human beings in this case had next to no ability to be omniscient about anything that might have been wrong. We'd like to be, but we aren't.

One aspect I haven't seen discussed, besides the human desire to see that Barbaro ran this race even after the false start, is that the OTHER horses and jockeys already in the gate are a risk of serious injury that only increases the longer they have to stand in the gate. Strong horses in small spaces, expecting to hear a bell the thunder of the start at any moment are dangerous, and there is a very real need to get the race started ASAP once the first horse is loaded. They couldn't take all day to make this decision, and instincts told them to check mostly for sign of injuries to the front end that would have had contact with the gate.

Only with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and all the time in the world to think about it, can we analyze these judgments now. That's my take on it.

Ping!

[FReepaholic]

...A key live portion of that span -- ...is not available on the NBC tape because the network opted to replay Barbaro breaking through the gate....

I'm betting that NBC did have a camera on him during this and that they were running tape on it as they normally would.

[khnyny]

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2000620

NEW YORK May 24, 2006 (AP)— Preakness winner Bernardini will not run in the Belmont Stakes, another blow to the final race of the Triple Crown series.

Dubai's Sheik Mohammed, who operates Darley Stud, made the decision to rest Bernardini.

[OldFriend]

So Gary Stevens is now the ultimate authority on what happened to Barbaro?

Perhaps he ought to change careers from being a jockey to being a soothsayer.

[Niteranger68]

The only thing missing from this story is the phrase "...according to an unnamed source..."

[originalbuckeye]

Unless the horse was clearly favoring his hind leg, there is no way he would be scratched. About a year ago, we went out to Santa Anita for their premier race. Along with everybody else there we put a small amount of money on the favorite. He didn't even place. Turns out he had been sick three days before the race and the public was not told. No punishment was assessed to the owners or the trainers. Nothing happened to them at all. We haven't been back to Santa Anita.

[annalex]

Can anyone explain why a broken leg is life-threatening for a horse, even if it heals imprefectly?