Barbaro - the horse who taught the nation to love....

Horse racing is often called the sport of the kings and is a beautiful sport where thoroughbred athletes run their hearts out for the amusement of thousands. It can often be frowned upon because of gambling, and steroid use but it can be a wonderful thing to witness. I personally have attended morning workouts at Keeneland and there is nothing like it. To be at the track at 5 am, and see horses approaching out of the fog, and to hear hoof beats in the dirt track is eye catching and amazing. The year I went to the morning workout I got to see Curlin and even though I was not allowed to get up close to him, I was able to witness him getting his after-workout bath. But this post is not about Curlin, Big Brown, or any other horse. It is about the horse that grabbed a nation by the heart strings and taught the world the real meaning of horse racing, taught us how to love, and showed us courage.

Before 2006, I had never heard of horse racing and I was not familiar with the immortal Secretariat, Triple Crown or what the derby was. I was just a kid, and had a passion for animals. In 2006 , the nation was involved in a war and in so many ways we needed that one hero , that one person or horse in this case that could raise us up, and Barbaro was that horse. Barbaro, son of Dynaformer and La ville rouge was born in 2003 and raised in Ky. His owner's Roy and Gretchen did not know what to name the colt, so they looked towards a painting of fox hounds, and picked a name off of that. The name they picked was Barbaro and it fit his name well. He was a stunning yearling and some could tell he had greatness in him, he almost looked like his daddy in some ways. When he began racing , the first announcer did not know how to pronounce his name so he pronounced is Bar- Barrow, but it was later determined his name is pronounced BarbarO. In 2005 at Delaware Park, Barbaro broke his maiden on turf and would continue winning to be undefeated in 2006. Barbaro was thrust into the derby field after winning the Florida Derby and his trainer Michael Matz decided to give the colt a break leading up to the Ky derby. Michael Matz , a well known former Olympian, knew that his colt would benefit from a few weeks of rest up until the derby. His method of training was scrutinized as possibly working against the colt but Matz allowed Barbaro to enjoy the weeks before the derby eating grass and being a horse. ( Like Animal Kingdom, before preakness). On Derby day Barbaro came into the race undefeated, and made the 6-1 choice to win. During the race, he remained in mid pack and continued there while Sinister Minister lead a fasr pace , and made his run in the homestretch- winning by 6 1/2 lengths, the greatest margin of victory in a while. After the race , fans felt he could win the Preakness and then Belmont Stakes and become the triple crown winner. I didnt get to watch the derby live but I did watch it shortly after on youtube and I was impressed and had him picked to win the crown myself . Barbaro was posted on bloodhorse and throughout the media, and enjoyed his days before the Preakness resting , like a derby champ should. However, the triple crown dreams would be shattered on Preakness day 2006, when one of the greatest tragedies in racing I and others have seen occured in front of millions. It was a beautiful warm day on Preakness Saturday and Barbaro was favored to win and triple crown talk circulated throughout the air. I actually had the Preakness on my tv, because I had become a fan of him and was curious to see how Barbaro would do. All the horses loaded in well and we were ready for the start, but then Barbaro broke through the gate early, running away , as if he was startled by something. I had a gut feeling that this would not be a good race but I hoped for the best, and Barbaro was quickly reloaded into the starting gate, to try again. The bell rung and he broke cleanly, and he quickly got into a position in midpack when suddenly the announcer said "Barbaro has been pulled up". It was like everything had stopped for that one moment, the stands were filled with shocked expressions and dead silence , while Barbaro was being attended to. I didnt even notice Bernardini win, all my focus was on poor Barbaro and on Tv they showed him gingerly lifting his hind leg, obviously in grave pain. The colt who was destined for the Triple Crown was now racing for a new cause- his life. Later that night he had surgery to repair his broken hind foot, and doctors gave him a less than 50 percent chance of survival. In the months that followed, the vet hospital where he was being treated set up an online blog filled with constant, daily updates on his health. I remember coming home from school everyday, and reading these blogs and seeing that he was improving each day . The media covered his journey and he truly became a nations horse. People were fascinated with the determination this colt showed, and the will and fight to live was amazing. Shortly before his death, I remember watching a news video about him, and how he was going to be released from the hospital and possibly become a stud. I , and his fans took this news positively and hoped it would be true, because we wanted Barbaro to live, and we wanted him to live his life as a champion should. Unfortunately in January of 2007, the bloodhorse and media headlines read " Barbaro has lost his fight to Laminitus". So this is his story, but his legacy is still living on. Although he passed away, he still lives on through his brothers and because of Barbaro we are learning more and more about Laminitus, the disease that killed him and other great horses like Secretariat. He was the horse who taught a nation who was going through so much , that courage can be shown even through a horse, and that if you have a will for something ( like life) , you will fight until the end. He taught us to not give up, he showed us what horse racing can do. Horse racing can bring the nation of horse fans and non horse racing fans together as one and that is what Barbaro did. Because of Barbaro , we are leaning toward a cure for Laminitus, because of barbaro we are becoming more attached to these athletes , because of barbaro we are learning the real meaning of courage, love and fight.

Barbaro may be gone but his spirit will live on, through his owners, siblings and the Barbaro Laminitus fund

RIP Barbaro... you will NEVER be forgotten.