hoping for Barbaro

I have rarely become that attached to active racehorses — there have been exceptions. The first was Easy Goer. Then, Point Given. AP Valentine. Afleet Alex. This year, right after the Florida Derby, I started to follow Barbaro.

Its better not to get attached to racehorses. Racing, as yesterday illustrated, is a cruel game. No horse — no matter how good, how powerful — is immune from the dangers inherent when a 1,200 pound animal lands with tremendous force on ankles not much bigger than that of you or I.
My connection to Barbaro is only casual — all I did was follow him, mostly through reading news stories on the internet. And yet that allowed me to become somewhat emotionally involved and attached. If any other horse had broken down in the Preakness, I would have been sad. I would probably occasionally check for information on his condition. But since I became emotionally invested in Barbaro, well, I feel more than just sad. I feel crushed and heartbroken.

From what I have read online about the extent of his injuries, what I saw yesterday, and from what I know about horse racing, I was actually mildly surprised to not wake up to the news that Barbaro had been destroyed during the night. That gave me some hope that perhaps his injuries were not as bad as I feared. But just now reading an article on The Bloodhorse, I see that the injuries were catastrophic; I imagine almost any other horse would have been put down.

Of course, Barbaro, like Ruffian, was not just any horse, so of course every effort will be made to try and save him. I just hope that he does not end up suffering more in the end in a futile attempt to save his life like Ruffian did.

If you know anything about horse racing, I’m sure you know about Ruffian. Ruffian was a big black filly who was brilliantly and freakishly fast. Like Barbaro, she was undefeated. Like Barbaro, she broke her leg in front of a huge crowd and a national television audience. Although her leg was shattered, an attempt was made to try and save her. But Ruffian did not wake up well from the surgery; she ended up basically destroying herself. She had to be put down that night.

Medicine for racehorses has come a ways since Ruffian. So there is at least reason to hope Barbaro will survive. I know I have my fingers crossed for him. I will probably spend most of the afternoon looking for updates online about his surgery.

Tags: , Barbaro, horse racing, horses