Triple Crown hopeful Barbaro loses... Seriously injured during race

http://www.preakness.com/ ^

[HairOfTheDog]

Post Position	Silks	Horse Name	Trainer	Jockey	Morning Line
1	(NA)	LIKE NOW (Picture NA)	Kiaran McLaughlin	Garrett Gomez	19-1
2		PLATINUM COUPLE	Joseph Lostritto	Jose Espinoza	28-1
3		HEMINGWAY'S KEY	Nick Zito	Jeremy Rose	30-1
4		GREELEY'S LEGACY	George Weaver	Richard Migliore	38-1
5		BROTHER DEREK	Dan Hendricks	Alex Solis	7-2
6		BARBARO	Michael Matz	Edgar Prado	1-2
7		SWEETNORTHERNSAINT	Michael Trombetta	Kent Desormeaux	6-1
8		BERNARDINI	Thomas Albertrani	Javier Castellano	17-1
9		DIABOLICAL	Steve Klesaris	Ramon Dominguez	24-1

[Gondring]

Kennett Square...Mushroom Capital of the World!

[prisoner6]

I won't be eating dinner tonight

Dittos to that. I'm at work with my 16 yo son and one of his buddies. We WERE gonna order out. Not now... Iknew right away...they figured it out when they saw him standing and the hoof floppng around. Not one of us is in the mood for food.

What a horrible turn of events for a great race, and what was a potential triple crown horse.

prisoner6

[Lemondropkid31]

Riva lived to breed and have kids, but I think he was plagued with stomach problems that eventually killed him, if I remember right.

[marajade]

drama queens

[Lemondropkid31]

I ate JUST before the race. A sandwich that I put lots of onions on, because I LOVE onions. I am sure feeling them now!!!! I feel like there is smoke coming out of my ears. My head hurts from all the crying too.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hey, I missed it. Did it happen right out of the gate?

Really sad.

Becky

[Fairview]

What exactly do you mean, "just a horse"??!! What's wrong with you?

[ConservativeStatement]

From ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown06/news/story?id=2452205

[HairOfTheDog]

Not too far out of the gate. One step he was running, and then he was in obvious trouble and the jockey was pulling him up.

[Cacique]

bttt for later

[onyx]

I love thoroughbreds. It pains me to see them breakdown, but that is part of racing.

I am more concerned with their fate and care after they're retired from racing so I make regular donations here.

[Freee-dame]

it is not the first time a horse broke thru the gate before time.

It is the first time that I have ever seen it. What would cause/allow it to happen?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Thanks, I found the posts when it happened.

Becky

[AnAmericanMother]

That's very true. When you've invested hundreds of thousands (if not millions) in a horse, and his worth at stud depends on his winning, you take care of him like your favorite child.

I've spent some time around the tracks looking at slow horses to buy for hunters -- and I can say that these guys treat the critters better than I treat my mare, and you can't say better than that. I don't have near as much money to invest as they do, plus, my horse didn't cost hundreds of thousands (or even many hundreds). She never made it to the track, they figured out in the yearling paddock that she couldn't catch cold if you spotted her two furlongs - I bought her from a breeding barn when she came up empty twice.

Another point to think about - aside from the fact that injuries occur in all sports - is that if there were no horse racing, none of these horses would ever have been bred or born. And many of them go on to live happy, productive lives as hunters, jumpers, and family horses. I was surprised to find how laid back many of them are, once they get the track out of their systems.

I do wish they didn't race them as two year olds, though. It's the stress on young legs that causes so many of the problems.

[Lemondropkid31]

Yea, it could not have been more than about 75 yards.

this reminds me too much of Ruffian.

[onyx]

Thank you. I knew I wasn't the only one who lost her appetite.

[Fairview]

. . .sore horses (primarily gelded claimers) are raced all the time.

It's true that this used to be a constant problem, but it's much less common these days because it's hard to disguise the use of medication with modern drug testing.

That said, I would be veeery careful before I bought an OTTB. Even though they're incredibly cheap ($1500-5000 at the track), sometimes just the fact that they were backed as long yearlings and raced at two messes up their backs and legs so badly that the vet bills make them not worth what you save with a cheap price.

[onyx]

drama queens

Someone have a squirt gun pointed to your head forcing you to post on this thread?

[Fairview]

Another good place to donate is CANTER, which finds homes for OTTBs. Good organization.

[Lemondropkid31]

Have you ever seen the two-year-olds with pin firing marks? I hated seeing that. That means (in case anyone doesn't know) that the horse bucked his shins. If you push a baby too hard, they can do that, and the old time trainers would pin fire them instead of giving them much needed time to rest.