Posted on 01/29/2008 10:43:58 AM PST by nuconvert
Barbaro's ashes to be interred at Churchill Downs
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
January 29, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Barbaro will be buried at the site of his greatest triumph.
The 2006 Kentucky Derby champion, who was euthanized Jan. 29, 2007 from complications of a breakdown suffered at the Preakness, will have his ashes interred at Churchill Downs.
Barbaro's remains will be placed outside of an entrance gate in a large elevated space enclosed by bricks. The site will also include a bronze statue commissioned by owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson and loaned to the track as part of the official memorial site. The track will install a bronze marker at the site soon. The track plans to unveil the statue and formally dedicate the site in 2009.
Gretchen Jackson said Churchill Downs was the best place to honor the colt, who won the Derby by a dominating 6-1/2 lengths before being injured in the Preakness two weeks later.
"(The Derby) was for us the greatest race that Barbaro ran," she said. "When we think about Barbaro, we think about him running around the track out there. We'll always have that joyous memory."
The Jacksons wrestled with the decision on where to bury the colt for months. The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. was among several places that offered to accomodate the Jacksons.
Ultimately, they said they wanted to make sure the public would be able to visit the memorial whenever possible.
"After the Derby and then when he got injured, he really became America's horse," Roy Jackson added. "We sort of felt an obligation that his remains and statue be erected someplace where the general public could pay their respects."
As spectacular as the colt's career was, he became an icon after breaking his right hind leg a few hundred yards into the Preakness. His eight-month battle to survive captured the hearts of people across the globe. Fans set up Web sites, and well-wishers flooded the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., and Churchill Downs with cards and gifts.
"His accomplishments as a racehorse are certainly rivaled by the courage and resolve he displayed after his injury," Churchill Downs president Steve Sexton said.
Pictures of the colt from both his racing career and his eight-month rehabilitation at the large animal hospital at New Bolton flashed above a stage before the Jacksons spoke. The Jacksons smiled while watching a short film featuring local schoolchildren talking about Barbaro and showing pictures they drew of the horse following his injury.
Barbaro will be the first Kentucky Derby winner to be buried on the grounds at Churchill Downs. Four previous winners -- Sunny's Halo, Carry Back, Swaps and Broker's Tip -- are interred at the Kentucky Derby Museum, which is adjacent to the track.
I had hoped for his recovery, but it didn’t happen.
RIP Barbaro. You fought the good fight. I lost two great ones in 07 myself, one of which was to laminitis. It’s a terrible disease.
If any of you have the opportunity to visit Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum do it. Even if you’re not a big horse racing fan, it’s a wonderful place to see.
One year anniversary. Time flies.
Will do. I will be in Louisville later this year.
Sorry for your loss. Horses are to me proof of God’s appreciation for pure beauty.
A horse loving buddy died in December. He would have liked this alternative to Fort Bliss.
RIP Barbaro.
yup
:~ (
I wished/hoped for his recovery along with everyone else, but I’m sorry I don’t “pay respects” to a dead horse! And, yes, I realize he’s also one of God’s creatures! I think it’s great that they’re creating a memorial at Churchill Downs to this champion horse though.
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