Very well put, Xctrygirl.
In the wake of all this sadness, people can say things we take offense at, because we are upset. Several times today, people who know I ride made some remark about Barbaro, some stupid, some not. Sort of human nature, isn’t it?
I’m watching the re-run of LKL because my hubby wasn’t going to watch earlier and had the remote.
Wasn’t as in-depth, etc, as I thought it would be, but I’m so glad he asked Mrs. Jackson about the slaughter issue. As always, the Jacksons and Dr. Richardson were top class. 
PETA lady has just come on and has already ticked me off, despite her efforts to be diplomatic.
Bo Derek surprised me. I really thought she’d be…well, much less supportive than she was. I was impressed with her!
Poor Jack Hanna…he just seemed so unprepared.
I have come to a conclusion…so many complain about horses racing at such a young age. What about our HUMAN kids? They start very young in sports, as well, with many who end up with surgeries at young ages (myself included), arthritis at early ages, and in some severe cases, debilitating injuries that cause an end to athletics, or even a “normal” life. Why is it okay to encourage our kids to play hard and be the best at their game, but it’s inhumane to do the same with our horses? (playing devil’s advocate, I’m not totally serious)
I had to chuckle at the PETA spokeswoman who said a few times that race horses are a “cash cow” for people. I kept thinking about this old saying about horse racing:
Q: How do you make a million dollars from owning race horses?
A: You start with $10 million.
I also find it amusing on Larry King when they show the person from the “other side” listening to someone with whom they disagree. That head starts shaking from side to side as if THAT’s going to convince me to disregard what the other person is saying? It’s like watching the amateur debate hour.
I agree that it would have been nice if they had had someone from an actual HORSE RESCUE organization. What a concept.
[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;2181679]
Overall it was an interview that once again brought attention and light to our sport. For better or worse we have the public’s attention. What they come away with is entirely of their own making. But what can push them one way or another is if we stand to firm, and refuse to bend or yield to either help them understand, or see the joys that we see.[/QUOTE]
I think this is very nicely put, the whole post is .
I didn’t get to watch the show, so my impressions are based on what I’ve read here. It seems to me that, even if some things were said that some of vehemently disagree with, the show drew more drawing attention to the sport and horses, and that’s what Mrs. Gretchen (and many of us) want. From an earlier post:
[QUOTE=Anne FS;2181366]from today’s NY Daily News:
“I hope we can turn our love into an energy that supports horses throughout the world,” Gretchen Jackson said. “One fan of Barbaro said to me this afternoon that she thought Barbaro’s thoughts were, ‘Please finish these unfinished tasks of mine, and therefore I will comfort you.’”[/QUOTE]
Wednesday~
Thanks, Alex~
Update 1417: John Hennegan (First Saturday in May) left a comment (timestamp: 3:13 am) to alert us that he has provided the first of a few outtakes of Barbaro on youtube: Barbaro in Boynton Beach, FL, March 2006.
John and his brother Brad may have more footage of Barbaro in training than most and the couple of times I have met John I have asked him about making some of their content available for everyone to see. John called me yesterday afternoon (after we had had lunch) and we discussed the best way to do this. I hope you enjoy the short glimses of Barbaro in his prime. I will post each as they are published, in an update. This first one is of him relaxing in a round pen.
Update 1416: A couple of the many articles today:
Barbaro’s gallant battle is over, excerpt:
Hollendorfer said Barbaro stood out even in a talented field.
“He was a very impressive looking horse and his composure was second to none,” Hollendorfer said. “There are horses that come there that have outstanding records and you can tell that maybe they aren’t at their best, but he was one of the ones that stood out. He looked like a star and he turned out to be a star.”
Harry J. Aleo, owner of Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Lost in the Fog, who had to be euthanized last year after developing cancer, was also moved by Barbaro’s passing.
“I really feel badly for those people (Gretchen and Roy Jackson). They are very good people, and they sent me hand-written notes every week after Lost in the Fog was diagnosed with cancer,” Aleo said. “They’ll think all the time about that horse, just like I think about Lost in the Fog. It’s heartbreaking.”
Derby winner Barbaro is euthanized, excerpt:
“At least he can rest now,” said Peter Brette, assistant trainer to Michael Matz, and the man who exercised Barbaro every morning. “He’s been fighting long enough.”
WITH BARBARO GONE, NEW BOLTON FEELS A VOID
http://delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070129/SPORTS/70129034
Congressman Mike Castle, R-Del., in a statement for the Congressional Record today, said, “This magnificent racehorse connected with so many Americans because of his drive and determination. A Rocky Balboa figure, Barbaro continued to fight even when the odds were strongly stacked against him. … What followed the injury was an outpouring of support not frequently seen in our world today. Letters, donations and gifts came in from all over the world, all because of what this wonderful horse embodied. … While a racing champion many times over, Barbaro’s greatest talent was bringing people together and inspiring them."
For the whole story, use the link above
Barbaro inspires idea for a museum
By Mike Jensen
Inquirer Staff Writer
Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson are not sure about Barbaro’s final resting place, but they have an idea they want to pursue.
“My son-in-law, I think, had this idea that we really ought to get some kind of museum for the horses who have run out of this area,” Gretchen Jackson said in an interview last night. “That sort of sticks in my mind. You’d have to look at that before you decide where Barbaro goes.”
The 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, who had been at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square since suffering catastrophic fractures in May’s Preakness Stakes, was euthanized Monday morning.
“We cremated him,” Gretchen Jackson said last night. “I assume it’s been done.”
Monday was not the easiest day emotionally, but a day later, Jackson said: “There’s a certain amount of relief knowing that horse is in a better place… . I don’t have any regrets.”
Like most owners of top thoroughbreds, the Jacksons had insurance, but Gretchen Jackson said she had no idea what it was worth or how Barbaro’s time at New Bolton affected it. And they have yet to see a bill from New Bolton. “I cringe,” Jackson said, half-joking.
“To discuss money in terms of what was spent in trying to save his life - I don’t see how it’s even remotely productive,” said Barbaro’s surgeon, Dean Richardson, aware that there had been a lot of such talk. “It cost a lot of money. But the horse was worth a lot of money, and the owners have a lot of money, and he earned a lot of money. The horse earned $2.3 million. He doesn’t owe the Jacksons anything, and they know that.”
One horse owner who has had multiple horses in surgery at New Bolton, and was aware of all that went into Barbaro’s care, estimated that the cost probably did not go higher than the high six figures. Richardson said estimates “talking about millions of dollars” were “totally ridiculous.”
As for another area that has attracted widespread public interest, Richardson and Gretchen Jackson said no sperm was taken from Barbaro before he was euthanized. Under strict rules, thoroughbreds must breed with a mare naturally.
And passing Barbaro’s genes on to other horses “wasn’t the point,” Richardson said. “That wasn’t the point of working on Barbaro. It was never to save his value as a breeding stallion. It wasn’t necessarily to save his genes. It was to save the horse. We would have done the same thing if he were a gelding.”
“We don’t even know if he was potent,” Gretchen Jackson said.
Yesterday, representatives from the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville and the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, both places where horses are buried, said they would be honored to have Barbaro buried there.
Gretchen Jackson said she and her husband had not ruled out any possibilities.
“It would be nice to have a memorial for Barbaro, a statue with access for people who loved him so much,” she said. “He’s our horse, and we’d like to bring him home” to the Jacksons’ farm in West Grove, Chester County, “but this wasn’t really his home.”
But the idea of burying his ashes at a local horse-racing museum does appeal to her. She does not have any firm idea for a place. However, she talked of the facility’s being near the local tracks, and mentioned that maybe Penn would consider donating a few acres at New Bolton if the idea ever got off the ground. Jackson is on the center’s board of trustees.
She talked of the long local racing history, going back to Delaware County’s Sam Riddle, owner of legends Man O’ War and War Admiral.
“One of the first people I’d go to is Pat Chapman,” a longtime friend and coowner of 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones, Jackson said. “I intend to talk to her.”
She also mentioned the great local interest in Afleet Alex, the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner. Jackson said she had not met the five owners from the Cash Is King stable.
“I’m sure everybody from Cash Is King would love to be affiliated with something like that,” said Chuck Zacney of Phoenixville, managing partner of the group that owned Afleet Alex. “I think it would be a great idea.”
Gretchen Jackson said her family had discussed the idea for a museum for about a month. She credited her son-in-law, Tom Zungailia.
Keith Chamblin, senior vice president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, told the Louisville Courier-Journal last night that he planned to launch a national fund-raising initiative into laminitis research in Barbaro’s memory. Details were being finalized and were to be presented to the Jacksons for their approval, and could be announced as early as today.
Chamblin said NTRA Charities would channel 100 percent of contributions into research. The venture also could include public-service announcements on NTRA-sponsored racing telecasts and dates for organized fund-raisers at tracks and simulcast outlets across the country. Roy Jackson has been apprised of the effort, Chamblin said.
A full brother to Barbaro is a yearling, and his mother, La Ville Rouge, is in foal again to Barbaro’s sire, Dynaformer. The Jacksons will own both colts. Asked about names during an appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live last night, Roy Jackson explained that Barbaro’s name came from a dog in a painting in their house of old family foxhounds. There are six hounds in the painting, he said. Look for more names from that same place on the wall.
“It brought us luck once,” Roy Jackson said.
Unfortunately, the people who have heard it all are already intrested in horses. The idea is to get it out in the open for people to hear and see…True human athlete’s that are the tops start at young ages too, good point,and have problems but most do not cost them their lives.
Barbaro’s legacy will be to avoid fatal breakdowns on ALL tracks around the country, which has already started…Yes, there will be problems with it, they have not figured everything out but if it saves one more horse it is worth it.
The out pouring of love and caring from all ages was amazing. This alone brings us together for a good cause…
The Jacksons are wonderful people and they did it for love and Dr. R, is awesome but training under him must be a nightmare!
Barbaro will not be forgotten has anyone forgot Ruffian?
Per the Jackson’s request, Barbaro was cremated. His burial site has yet to be determined.
How’s Edgar?
Has anyone heard from Edgar? I don’t recall seeing any quotes from him but it’s entirely possible I missed it.
How is he holding up? He must be reliving the moment everything changed every day…
No, there wasn’t a necropsy performed…
You only needed to meet him once to realize he was all heart!
You could probably figure out the heart question through his pedigree. I know Princequillo’s line had it but I’m not sure where it stems from… Some of our racing gurus would know…
Here’s a nugget buried in amongst all the other info–I have been waiting to see somebody step up to the plate and get this research started. If Bobby’s death is the catalyst for this research, then he was a mighty horse indeed. We need laminitis research SO badly. It takes too many of the best and brightest.
[QUOTE=Fancy;2182128]
Here’s a nugget buried in amongst all the other info–I have been waiting to see somebody step up to the plate and get this research started. If Bobby’s death is the catalyst for this research, then he was a mighty horse indeed. We need laminitis research SO badly. It takes too many of the best and brightest.[/QUOTE]
Wasn’t a fund for laminitis research established in response to Secretariat’s death?
I have to admit that last night was the first time I’ve voluntarily watched CNN since Bloomberg Information Television and Fox News started their programming. My first question: When did Larry King get rid of the red suspenders?
The Jacksons and the Vets, while out of their element and under difficult circumstances, were interesting and imparted a hint of the passion most of us horse people share for our animals. I changed channels part way through the following segment to keep from falling asleep. CNN is a couch-potato network aimed at the masses, so not much was expected, nor was much delivered.
Hopefully, some media outlet like ESPN, Vs, Outdoor Channel, or Animal Planet will do a special on Barbaro and his humans that does justice to the whole saga.
On a lighter side, Barbaro was a topic of discussion on Rush Limbaugh’s program (he’s an avid sports enthusiast) and how semen could be collected from a stallion that could not mount a mare came up. A few self-appointed horse ‘experts’ called in to offer their interpretations of the process, and he, in his inimitable way, kept pressing them for details. I almost had to pull off the road, I was laughing so hard!
The mass media aside, I think history will treat Barbaro and his humans well and with respect.
Yes… The Secretariat Foundation donates a lot of money towards research on laminitis, among other things. The foundation has been around for a LONG time.
http://www.secretariat.com/Foundation/index.htm
A lot of money was donated when Secretariat died as well.
It is hard to see Barbaro’s candles going out… 
I don’t think it’s time for the candles to go out just yet. The site is focused on gratefulness. I am still grateful that Barbaro lived, that he was so magnificent, that he had the Jacksons as his owners and breeders, that they tried to save him, that Dr. Richardson was in his life, and that all of them shared so much of him with us for so long. I’m also grateful for Alex and VB.
Lets focus for a while, if we can, on all the reasons we have to be grateful for Barbaro and all the people in his life.
[QUOTE=Frank B;2182152]
CNN is a couch-potato network aimed at the masses, [/QUOTE]
Uh, no, actually, that’s Fox.
[QUOTE=Frank B;2182152]
On a lighter side, Barbaro was a topic of discussion on Rush Limbaugh’s program [/QUOTE]
I had to turn that one off. Rush went on and on about the “disorder” of all these people who had an attachment to Barbaro, then he said that he was providing information “to all those who suffered from this disorder” (no kidding, he must’ve said it 12 times) about Churchill Downs having cards available that people could sign and they’d be sent to Barbaro’s connections. Then he kept talking about “his connections? What does that mean? His CONNECTIONS?” Then apparently someone on his staff explained that connections meant his trainer, breeder, owners, people involved with Barbaro, and Rush said oh, then why didn’t they just SAY that? He said he thought that it meant sending messages to heaven for Barbaro. :rolleyes: and that’s what all these people with the disorder were doing.
He was awful.
[B]The website for viewing the CBS video is here:
[/B] http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml
