Posted: 6/6/2006 12:13:55 PM
Fans can sign 'world's largest' get-well card to Barbaro on Belmont day
Fans attending the $1-million Belmont Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park will have a chance to sign what is believed to be the world's largest get-well-soon card for injured Kentucky Derby (G1) Barbaro.
The card is 62 feet wide and seven feet high and features four life-sized images of Barbaro, who is recovering from surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, to repair multiple fractures in his right hind leg sustained during the Preakness Stakes (G1) on May 20.
The card will be on display and open for signing all day on June 10 at Belmont's grandstand colonnade. Edgar Prado, Barbaro's regular jockey, will make the ceremonial first signature at 10 a.m. EDT.
The signed card will be presented to Barbaro and his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, at New Bolton Center.
Fans can also make a donation, with all proceeds benefiting the Barbaro Fund, which supports the Widener Hospital, and the NTRA Charities Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
"We are proud to offer our Belmont Stakes day patrons the opportunity to express their good wishes to Barbaro and, at the same time, raise money for two important charities," said Bill Nader, senior vice president of the New York Racing Association. "Everyone here at Belmont would prefer to see Barbaro out on the racetrack, competing for the third jewel in the Triple Crown. We are extremely grateful, however, for the outstanding care he has received from his connections and everyone at Pimlico [Race Course] and the New Bolton Center since his injury, and we look forward to saluting him during the 138th Belmont Stakes."
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>>>>Also, a couple of new stories that are interesting; the first about the groom at the Preakness who grabbed Barbaro as Prado was pulling him up and the 2nd by a horseperson who is marveling about how much attention Barbaro's injury has brought to the various aspects of racehorses' lives, with the public outpouring of compassion and curiosity.
My favorite line: "Other sports hold more popularity than racing, but nobody ever stood on an overpass to wish a linebacker good luck in his surgery."
Links:
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=64284&subsec=1
http://opinions.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=33880
Pennsylvania Governor to Visit Barbaro Thursday
Gov. Ed Rendell will visit the colt around 10 a.m. Thursday.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Doctors remain pleased with Barbaro's progress.
HIS DAY: Barbaro continued his daily routine of resting, occasionally being scratched and receiving visits from doctors.
QUOTE: "He's happy to have people come to visit him. He's happy to have some attention," said Gail Luciani, spokeswoman for the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school.
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Barbaro to be Featured in Belmont Telecast
by Esther Marr
Last Updated: 6/7/2006 3:42:19 PM
Coverage of the Belmont Stakes on ESPN networks and ABC Sports June 8-10 will include more footage than ever before of the details surrounding a horse that will not be present for the third leg of the Triple Crown.
Barbaro, winner of the May 6 Kentucky Derby, who was seriously injured during the running of the May 20 Preakness Stakes, has been a top news subject ever since.
"Barbaro is still the biggest story right now--the public is hungry to hear about that," said Dave Miller, coordinating producer of ESPN/ABC during a Belmont related conference call June 7.
The Belmont returns to ABC for the first time since 2000, and its two-hour coverage is longer than any previous Triple Crown race featured on a major network.
Details of the Barbaro's surgery, recovery updates, and medical advancements from which he has benefited will be discussed during segments of ESPN's eight-hour coverage over the three-day period. ABC will focus on the colt at the beginning of its segment, which will air from 5 to 7 p.m. on Belmont Day June 10.
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"What we've seen over the last few weeks with the interest in Barbaro shows true commitment to the sport of horse racing," said retired Hall of Famer jockey Jerry Bailey, who will serve as an analyst during the networks' coverage.
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>>>B's a rock star!