WASHINGTON - When Barbaro arrived at a veterinary hospital with his leg shattered, his surgeon acknowledged that he rarely saw injuries so severe. In a remark that was widely quoted, Dr. Dean Richardson said, "The fact is that most horses that suffer this are traditionally put down on a racetrack."
But Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who was injured in the Preakness, has so much potential value as a stallion that he was worth trying to save.
NEW YORK - We'll never know what might have happened if Barbaro had hooked up with Bernardini down the stretch of the Preakness instead of being pulled up with career-ending injuries 100 yards into the race. It might have been a classic of a classic, though, because by several measures Bernardini's Preakness performance was in the same rarefied territory as Barbaro's victory in Louisville two weeks earlier.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It was only after serious deliberation that the people running Hollywood Park 30 years ago decided to change the name of the Long Beach Handicap to the Gamely.
After all, Long Beach was a local community of considerable importance, with its deep-water harbor and ports of call serving as a center for international shipping and commerce. Culturally, Long Beach was more in tune with the working-class heartland than the Hollywood glitz of neighboring L.A., which is probably why columnist Jim Murray once referred to the town as Iowa's seacoast.
WASHINGTON - When Barbaro came into Saturday's Preakness, there were no doubts that he possessed superior talent. Skeptics could raise only one legitimate question about his ability to win. The colt had had at least five weeks' rest between all of his previous starts. Could he withstand the stress of racing with only two weeks' rest?
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The story is pretty clear. Barbaro's injury could have been worse, but not much, and it still could be as bad as it gets. Only a Pollyanna on a white wine high would dare put the Derby winner out of heart and out of mind for a minute, thinking everything will be okay.
BALTIMORE - A day that began full of optimism and excitement turned into Thoroughbred racing's darkest moment since July 6, 1975.
People who were at Belmont Park that day to watch the legendary filly Ruffian break her leg in a celebrated match race might have thought they would never again see anything so awful on a racetrack. And they wouldn't have unless they were at the Preakness yesterday to see the colt Barbaro staggering on three legs, unable to bear weight on his shattered right hind leg.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Had things worked out differently, New Joysey Jeff might have been bouncing around the Kentucky Derby field two weeks ago, or tossed into the thick mix of the Preakness Stakes this weekend.
But after New Joysey Jeff failed to muster any punch in the Arkansas Derby, his people decided to err on the side of sanity and brought him home to California. A bit of a thinker, and tending toward equine ADD, New Joysey Jeff needed his head reattached before he could get on with what could be a profitable career.
NEW YORK - The New York State Senate Standing Committee on Racing and Wagering publishes an annual report on the local racing industry that in the past has been a studious and useful review of the past year's legislative developments. This year, however, in its report issued Thursday, the powerful group took a sharp and unfortunate turn toward advocacy rather than review.
