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

[Wolfstar]

If you want my opinion, which is worth as much or little as you want to pay for it, the single greatest improvement to the sport would be to let them get a year older before they run them.

I agree totally.

[csmusaret]

It is to prevent sleazy breeders from slipping in a ringer.

[OldFriend]

By late this evening or tomorrow we will know the fate of this horse.

[Lemondropkid31]

I have a friend watching TVG, they cover everything event in horse racing to death. But I doubt that we will find out anything more until they get the horse to the hospital and see what they can do. We may not find anything more until tomorrow.

[romanesq]

The only thing I was focusing on was the emotions on the vet's face. I think I saw the later interview at the bottom of the hour. I was concerned just based on everything he conveyed beyond what he was saying.

No one wanted to say the worst, and that was sadly obvious.

I feel awful for everyone involved and can understand people's feelings but I can't imagine how they feel being there. It must be just terrible.

When SmartyJones was facing down the others at Belmont who were just trying to hurt him win, he almost made it and at the end he just didn't have enough left for that final longer stretch at Belmont.

You never heard such silence from 120,000 people. Ever.

I feel much worse today than I did then for all the people associated with Barbaro.

[Fudd Fan]

I missed the race, went to a Broadway play so I'd like to know as well. The poor horse, and the jockey must be heartbroken for many reasons.

[Wolfstar]

These horses exist only for our entertainment.

Exactly. And that gives us the right to do any damned thing we please with them, right?

[STARWISE]

How did you come to know so much about horses, Wolf?

[OldFriend]

We will hear from the jockey if there was some sound that spooked the horse. Or it might have just decided it was time to go!!

My daughter was on a runaway horse, they are totally crazed and next to impossible to stop. That this horse was so easily led back into the gate was amazing.

[HairOfTheDog]

No AI is allowed for TB's How stupid is that? That must have been negotiated by the stud horses themselves as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

Believe me, it's a LOT cheaper and easier to store and ship semen than it is to taken in and breed only live visiting mares.

It's done for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is ensuring the bloodlines are accurate (it all looks the same after in comes out of the horse) and there is also a purist element, that only through breeding them naturally to we ensure that we don't create an unintended weakness in the animal's ability to breed naturally.

Many other horse breeds do now allow for shipped semen. While it makes it easier to breed to top stallions that are far away, I'm not sure that makes the other breeders smarter.

[Wolfstar]

I know, right now you're fixating on the track surface and there's no indication the track surface had anything to do with it.

Jeez...no wonder debates around here turn into the internet equivalent of death matches.

I am not fixated on anything. I said they could do more research into safety. You took exception. I clarified the area I was thinking of. I didn't say the track surface had anything to do with today's incident. Look enough. I've run out of patience.

[Fairview]

If you want my opinion, which is worth as much or little as you want to pay for it, the single greatest improvement to the sport would be to let them get a year older before they run them.

Thank you. Never a truer word was spoken.

[Lemondropkid31]

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!!!!! UPDATE!!!!!!!! UPDATE!!!!!!!!

Barbaro left the grounds of Pimlico at 7:20 eastern time and is supposed to be in Philedelphia by 8:50 ET. A lady in my horse group is watching her local news coverage. The news helicopter is following the horse ambulance all the way to the horse hospital. We will know the second they get there.

[RobFromGa]

I would think technology would allow for DNA matching to get rid of the fraud element. I'm just saying it is stupid to have a stupid archaic "rule" that destroys 100% of the stud value of an otherwise very valuable horse.

[SHOOT THE MOON bat]

Yes you are right. Why just tonight our leftest priest managed to work into a sermon about how Jesus said that we should love each other as he loved us, some drivel about how rich people get better health care than the poor. I suppose it will work that way for a horse too.

[Lemondropkid31]

ANOTHER UPDATE!!!

Brother Derek Bled profusely during the race. Not sure why but sometimes they break a vein in their nose.

[prisoner6]

Can you at least take a moment to be thankful that no jockey was permanently injured today?

I think I speak for all of us who were upset.

Absolutely!

I'm sure the others, as I did, were amazed that the horse didn't go down and the jockey get injured or worse. It was a great bit of riding. I would bet we all pretty much knew when we saw the horse get bumped and slip there was a huge risk not just to the horse but to the jockey.

But after seeing the jockey was OK we turned our conerns to the horse.

prisoner6

[carton253]

Personally, I think that for the Triple Crown, all horses should have to run in all three races. That's a killer schedule that really tests the animals. To just race in the Belmont is cheating.

[RobFromGa]

there is also a purist element, that only through breeding them naturally to we ensure that we don't create an unintended weakness in the animal's ability to breed naturally.

But of course it is ok for PEOPLE with fertility issues.

[HairOfTheDog]

I didn't say it was. The same issue certainly applies.