User:GhostRiver/barbaro

Background
Barbaro was born on April 29, 2003, at Sanborn Chase Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky. He was a large foal with long legs, and endured a series of growth spurts while living in Kentucky. About six weeks after his birth, Barbaro met his owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stables in West Grove, Pennsylvania.

2005: Two-year-old season
Barbaro won his maiden race on October 4, 2005 at the Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. He broke the race by $13 1/4$ lengths, running the mile in 1 minute 35.87 seconds. After his successful maiden run, Barbaro's trainer suggested to his owners that he had a future in the Kentucky Derby.


 * Laurel Futurity

2006: Three-year-old season

 * Tropical Park Derby

The Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida was Barbaro's first race on a dirt track after an undefeated turf run.


 * Holy Bull Stakes
 * Florida Derby

Kentucky Derby
On May 3, 2006, Barbaro was the second-choice favorite for the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He tied with Lawyer Ron, the champion of the Arkansas Derby, with 4-1 odds, behind the 3-1 favorite Brother Derek. Both of Barbaro's main opponents, however, were among the last to receive a chance to draw their starting post, while Barbaro's trainer and jockey, drawing fourth, placed the colt at the No. 8 post.

Preakness Stakes
Following his successful run at the Kentucky Derby, Barbaro was the favorite to win the 131st Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. He entered the race with even money odds, ahead of Derby rivals Brother Derek and Sweetnorthernsaint, and his No. 6 post was the winningest starting gate in Preakness history, producing 15 winners since 1909. One minute and 19 seconds before the official start of the race, while Diabolical was being led into his nearby No. 9 post, Barbaro broke from the gate in a false start and advanced approximately 20 yd before he was corralled and returned to his post. He returned for the official start and advanced approximately 100 yds before Prado suddenly pulled off to the side. Another 80 yds later, Prado dismounted and found that Barbaro's hind right ankle had been fractured in two places. Prado said later that Barbaro "took a bad step and I can't really tell you what happened. I heard a noise about 100 yards into the race and pulled him right up." Bernardini ultimately won the Preakness by $5 1/4$ lengths, running the track in 1 minute 54.65 seconds.

Initial surgery
Dr. Larry Bramlage, an equine surgeon in Lexington, Kentucky who was serving as the on-call veterinarian for Pimlico, said that there was "no chance" that Barbaro would race again after suffering the injury, and the primary focus became on ensuring the horse's survival. Barbaro departed the race track at 7:22 p.m. and was transported to the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. In transit, a splint was applied to his ankle, and he received sedation and x-rays before arriving in Pennsylvania just after 9 p.m.

Barbaro suffered myriad injuries during the Preakness: his cannon bone was broken above the ankle, his sesamoid bone was broken behind the ankle, and his fetlock joint was dislocated. Most severe of these injuries was to the long pastern bone, which had been fractured in over 20 places.

Complications
Barbaro began to suffer surgical complications by the first week of July: on July 8, Dr. Richardson announced that doctors at the New Bolton Center had changed the horse's cast twice, once to replace bent screws in the injured leg and again to improve his comfort. Additionally, he suffered a "minor" abscess on his uninjured left hind leg and had gone several days with an elevated body temperature. By July 12, a bacterial infection had developed in the abscessed leg, which required an additional three-hour surgery to clean out.

Recovery
An August 1 report from Dr. Richardson suggested that Barbaro was healing well: the bones in his broken leg had fused together, and under ordinary circumstances, his plaster cast would have been replaced by a lighter splint. However, the laminitis meant that veterinarians did not want to risk Barbaro placing more weight on his other hind leg.

Further complications
On January 10, 2007, doctors at the New Bolton Center announced that Barbaro had suffered "a significant setback" that required Dr. Dean Richardson to surgically remove more damaged tissue from the injured hoof.

Legacy
On December 21, 2006, the Maryland Jockey Club announced that the Sir Barton Stakes, a Preakness undercard race at Pimlico, would be renamed the Barbaro Stakes. The inaugural Barbaro Stakes was run on May 19, 2007, and the race was won by Chelokee, another Thoroughbred trained by Michael Matz. In 2014, the Barbaro Stakes reverted back to the Sir Barton.