Update 97: “Slightly groggy, but happy”, as Kathy Anderson said to me in a brief call this afternoon. As far as everyone is concerned, today has gone as well as could be hoped for. Kathy visited with Barbaro this afternoon, and she gave him a good scratch (he was apparently a little itchy). She also viewed the radiographs etc. and as noted in the press release earlier things are starting to do whatever it is they are supposed to do (I am not a vet)!
Update 96: Out of the Pool! New Bolton’s Press Release: Doctors change Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro’s cast notes the procedure Barbaro endured today. The following is an excerpt:
Today Chief of Surgery Dean W. Richardson replaced the cast that had been on Barbaro’s hind leg since surgery on May 21. “His leg looks excellent,” said Dr. Richardson. “The incision has healed well and judging by the radiographs, the graft is opacifying (“taking”). Callus is forming nicely, and all of the implants (plate and screws) look unchanged.” The cast was replaced under general anesthesia, and Barbaro had a very smooth pool recovery.
(thanks Edie!)
To “celebrate”, we have just posted a new “movie” Beautiful Barbaro on our Fan Media page. Thanks Jayne!
Update 95: The cast replacement did happen today. A friend called who had just spoken to Kathy Anderson, who confirmed that Barbaro had the cast replacement this morning. Everything looks good (radiographs, skin etc.) and he is now in the recovery pool, where they will wait for him to come out of the anesthesia.
update 11:30 am
Update 94: It looks like today (tuesday) might be the day they are planning to replace Barbaro’s cast. A couple of people close to Barbaro have mentioned this, and given the timeline (3+ weeks) it makes sense given previous conversations. Lets keep our fingers crossed for this process, as we know there are potential risks with this necessary step in the recovery process (the need for anesthesia, the exact fit of the new cast etc). The process will also allow the vets a much closer look at the healing process.
update: 7:50 am, tuesday
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<a href="http://sports.bostonherald.com/otherSports/view.bg?articleid=143551&format=email">[IMG]http://www.bostonherald.com/siteImages/icons/email.gif) E-mail article</a> <a href="http://sports.bostonherald.com/otherSports/view.bg?articleid=143551&format=text">[IMG]http://www.bostonherald.com/siteImages/icons/printer.gif) Printable version</a> <a href="http://news.bostonherald.com/mostPopular.bg">[IMG]http://www.bostonherald.com/siteImages/icons/popular.gif) Most popular</a> [B]Barbaro has cast replaced on shattered right hind leg[/B]
By Associated Press
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - Updated: 04:46 PM EST
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Barbaro had the cast replaced on his shattered right hind leg Tuesday, another huge stride in the recovery of the Kentucky Derby winner who suffered a life-threatening injury at the Preakness.
Barbaro’s cast was replaced under general anesthesia, and the 3-year-old bay colt had a very smooth pool recovery, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center said in a statement.
Dean Richardson, the chief of surgery at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals, replaced the cast he first put on Barbaro’s leg during surgery May 21.
‘‘His leg looks excellent,” Richardson said in the statement. ‘‘The incision has healed well and judging by the radiographs, the graft is opacifying (taking). Callus is forming nicely, and all of the implants look unchanged.”
Barbaro remains in intensive care at the New Bolton Center, where he underwent five hours of surgery one day after he broke a few hundred yards from the starting gate at Pimlico Race Course.
Thank you for the continued updates, VB! Still jingling for Barbaro here in Virginia!!!
Echoing the thanks for the updates! Did anyone else have to watch that video more than once because tears made it impossible to see halfway through?? I’m such a sap…
Jingles and hang in there, Barbaro!
geeze, why do I cry everytime I see a vignette of that horse? Every single time…it is embarrassing! I have one of his pictures on my desktop at work and at home and I just love that boy!
how wonderful…
OHmigod, I just watched the video- how bloody wonderful is THAT!!!
Bringing the entire country together- different horse folks, and just folks, who appreciate a great spirit…
GO BARBARO!!!
Well, I’m not surprised to see that others also teared up at the video!
My only concern in the pictures I’ve seen of Michael Matz is that I’ve never seen him wearing a helmet. 
Either a baseball cap or hunt cap. But then again, I’m a helmet nazi…
Thanks for the updates. 
I haven’t been able to keep up w/ anything for the past several days and I didn’t know Barbaro had his cast changed. I’m also still jingling.
Again, many, many thanks to Tim Woolley:
Update 100: The following philly.com article: Barbaro gets new cast on shattered leg provides a little more detail on the cast change of yesterday (thanks Lisa). It includes the following excerpt:
Richardson decided to change the cast yesterday, he said, because Barbaro’s temperature had risen “half a degree” and the horse was showing signs that the cast was causing itchiness. It turned out Barbaro had two very small rubs on his heel, which wasn’t surprising, Richardson said, because he has been so active in his stall. The rubs aren’t “of any consequence,” the surgeon said.
Barbaro’s overall prognosis remains the same. There is optimism at New Bolton, but the crucial indicator is whether the horse can walk pain-free when the cast comes off for good, probably several months down the road.
Caught up with Kim Brette in the local shop this morning. We talked about the relief of yesterday’s process. While all visible and outward indicators were positive prior to yesterday’s removal of the cast, problems could have been revealed once the cast was removed. This was not the case of course.
Update 99: No new news yet this morning at Fair Hill, so like other mornings without news we are assuming no news is good news. Peter Brette may get to go and visit Barbaro later today, so if that happens I will get an update from Peter. Miraculous Miss (flipped in the gate in the Acorn) is back at Fair Hill and recovering. It does not appear she sustained any long term physical damage, but a few cuts and bruises.
update wednesday, 10:10 am
Update 98: Given the focus on Barbaro today, with his cast replacement, I thought I would highlight this article on Dr. Richardson who has clearly been in the spotlight lately: New Bolton’s Dr. Fix-It (thanks Daphne). A short excerpt:
“He knew it was a very bad injury and he knew immediately it was Barbaro,” Reid said. “The feeling was indescribable. Being so far away from New Bolton, that bothered Dean. He knew the horse was coming his way.”
Calls to Richardson’s cell phone flooded in. First the equine vets at Pimlico, then Roy and Gretchen Jackson.
Here is an excerpt of a comment from Erica re: the ‘power’ of Barbaro:
I was so upset, wondering how I’m going to keep from getting depressed and how I was going to be ready for my marathon. Then… I thought of Barbaro and his great spirit. I thought of how well he has adjusted to a new life, a life of no racing. I thought of the messages that have been posted on this site describing how Barbaro’s attitude has been such a big plus for his recovery. Thinking about this made me less sad and less upset.
Finally just to “re highlight” two of the “movies” created by you: Our Prayer for Barbaro and Beautiful Barbaro.
thanks
thanks for all the continued updates…i know everyone really appreciates it
Thanks VB for keeping us all up to date on Barbaro’s progress.
More Thanks for your updates!
I check in every day and have greatly appreciated everyones efforts especially VB.
Update 101: Just spoke to Peter Brette who visited Barbaro this afternoon (wednesday afternoon). All looks well. They are all very happy with him, he looks bright and well. Phew, took a while to get that update today. On that note, I am traveling to San Francisco tomorrow (coming back on sunday), so while I will endevour to get updates as I have them (and will be busy on my cell phone trying to get them), the timing might be off a little bit. Another good day! Many more days to go.
A little necessary humour (thanks Ernie)
I check daily too and would like to add my thanks! I appreciate your efforts to keep us updated :yes:
Thanks Tim
The video is just lovely, what a nice tribute. I am still drying the tears. Each time I see Edgar Prado standing on the track with his tack, it breaks my heart.
Thanks also to Virginia Bred for the updates, appreciate your news.
Thank God that Barbaro has so many people pulling for him, and special kudos to his owners, and surgeon.
Thanks to Tim Woolley for allowing me to pass this continued information on to all my COTH cronies…
Update 103: Knowing Barbaro had another great night last night, and be able to report such before leaving for San Fran. is great. I will try to get in touch with Peter Brette once I get to San Fran. so hopefully will have another update late in the day. I am amazed at the persistent public interest in Barbaro (which is brilliant), and as some have noted in the comments, he is becoming an inspiration for many and possibly a ‘platform’ for change. Keep the conversation going!
Update 102: Another good night for Bobby last night (wednesday night). Dr. Richardson called Michael Matz’s early this morning, who then let me know as I was coming to the wood chip track. I also ran into Kathy Anderson this morning (while on another horse) and asked her about whether a horse could live a “pain-free” life with the type of “hardware” Barbaro has in place. The short answer was yes! (then I had to disappear on my horse).
updated wednesday, 8:35 AM
Horse Racing
Barbaro’s injury reviewed – closely
By Sandra McKee
Sun reporter
Originally published June 15, 2006
Questions have been swirling for more than three weeks about how Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke his right rear leg in the May 20 Preakness Stakes.
The biggest one is: What happened?
Yesterday, Maryland Jockey Club president and chief operating officer Lou Raffetto showed The Sun the stewards’ video of the Preakness frame by frame in his Pimlico Race Course office.
The tape shows what could have happened as Brother Derek got a late start from the gate and trailed Barbaro down the track. At about the eighth pole, Barbaro appears to have an open path to the front, but for some reason swerves to his right, into an opening for which Brother Derek is aiming.
When Brother Derek’s jockey, Alex Solis, sees Barbaro directly in front of him, he sits back and puts all his strength into pulling up his horse. Just as the horses enter a shadowed area, a side view shows Brother Derek’s right front leg and Barbaro’s right rear leg coming close. The shadow, however, obscures a clear image of whether their legs came in contact.
But in the next instant, Brother Derek’s head is pulled strongly right, Barbaro’s head comes up and his jockey, Edgar Prado, realizes something is wrong and makes his first effort to pull up his horse.
“It sure looks like something happened there,” Raffetto said. “But as I’ve said, you can’t be 100 percent sure. We decided, because it wasn’t definitive, not to make it public. What difference would it make anyway? It doesn’t change anything.”
The Maryland Racing Commission decided at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday that it will look at the tape.
When Prado visited Barbaro two weeks ago at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa., he was asked whether Brother Derek made contact. His answer was as shadowy as the tape.
“Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t,” Prado said. “It’s one of those things we’ll never know for sure.”
But Solis told The Bloodhorse Magazine on May 30: “There’s no way he could have struck Barbaro; I would have felt it. We were close behind him, but not that close. Getting that close to him and going that speed, if I had struck him, I would have gone down.”
The tape offers plausible alternatives, more plausible than the idea that Barbaro hurt himself in the starting gate, because the only thing that appears certain is that when Barbaro, who had another good day of recovery yesterday, broke from the gate he was a healthy racehorse able to run.
• Note // Total wagering at Pimlico’s spring meet was up nearly 5 percent over the same period a year ago, despite eight fewer live days conducted in 2006. The average daily handle was up more than 26 percent, to nearly $7 million. The money bet on Pimlico from outside Maryland increased more than 40 percent. Wagering on Preakness Day exceeded $87.5 million, the third-largest total. A pool of $56.4 million was bet on the Preakness.
Barbaro is an inspiration to all of us. I am still jingling for continued healing and I think of him everyday.
Same here, and am grateful as always for the updates, VABred!!
