Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro euthanized
Gretchen Jackson, who owned and bred the Dynaformer colt along with her husband, Roy, said that Barbaros front feet were beginning to become affected by the limited ability of both his laminitic left hind foot and his fused right limb that was shattered in the Preakness Stakes to bear weight.
The decision was made early Monday after consulting with Dean Richardson, D.V.M., chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvanias veterinary school.
"There was not a foot that was not affected," Gretchen Jackson said. "He just would not lie down. He had not layed down for two days now. That cant be good for him. Hes got to get the weight off of his feet. They were bringing him in and out of the sling, but his front feet were showing signs of laminitic changes and we just thought rather than put him through anything else. He had been good up to the beginning of this month, and then everything went.
"Dean wanted to think about the options, you know you can always go on," Gretchen Jackson continued. "But its when to get out thats hard, and it was agreed upon to let him go."
Gretchen Jackson said she was very pleased with the care Barbaro got while at the New Bolton Center. She was especially thankful to Richardson for all he did to try and help save Barbaro. She also said she believed every option available was exhausted to try and save Barbaros life.
"We feel like we did," Gretchen Jackson said of exploring every possible way to save Barbaro. "That is certainly what we were trying to do, as well as consider the quality of his life. You could go on forever, but we didnt want to see him on life support. We wanted to be sure he would have a quality life, too.
Even in his final moments Barbaro displayed the grittiness that he demonstrated throughout his recovery from a shattered hind limb in the Preakness on May 20 at Pimlico Race Course.
I dont know if things were catching up with him or not, but he was biting at people today," Gretchen said MOnday morning. "He bit Deans hand, I believe, today. I dont think going forward it would have been good to allow him to stay. It would have just been selfish on our part.
I almost feel a sense of relief in some ways, I certainly cried more than I have in years, she continued. Its not easy to ever put an animal down and make that decision. Its very hard. And hes given us so much joy, and you still envision the Kentucky Derby winner every time you see him. Thats what is so hard. It wasnt easy, we just tried to do the best we can by him."
Barbaro won his first three starts on turf by a combined 20 1/4 lengths, including resounding wins in the Laurel Futurity at Laurel Park to close his juvenile campaign and the Tropical Park Derby (G3) at Calder Race Course in his three-year-old debut.
After a victory in the slop in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) on February 4 at Gulfstream Park, Barbaro cemented his status as a leading Derby contender with a score in the Florida Derby (G1) on April 1. He broke from the outside post with a short run into the first turn and wore down Sharp Humor in the stretch, after which regular jockey Edgar Prado commented that he believed Barbaro was toying with his rival.
Barbaros connections exuded confidence leading up to the Derby on May 6.
Why shouldnt we have felt that way? Every time he had run before, he never let us down, trainer Michael Matz said. His will to win was obvious in whatever he did.
Barbaro delivered emphatically with a 6 1/2-length romp in the 1 1/4-mile classic, the largest margin of victory since Assaults eight-length win in 1946.
I dont think we ever really knew how good he was, that was the most exciting thing about him, said Barbaros exercise rider and Matzs assistant, Peter Brette. I could never get to the bottom of him, and I dont think Edgar [Prado] ever got to the bottom of him. I think that was the most exciting thing about Barbaro, what the future held. Ive said before that he was the type of horse, Ive been in racing 24 years and he was going to make all of my dreams come true. He was the one. In 24 years he was the first horse I sat on and said, Theres nothing this horse cant accomplish.
A horse like that, you werent going to be afraid of anybody, Brette said. You could have taken him anywhere in the world, and for me, he would have beaten any three-year-old in the world. He would have belonged in any Group 1 in the world, and I still think he could have won an [Epsom] Derby (Eng-G1) as well. Thats how good he was. He won a Kentucky Derby, and I think he probably would have won the English Derby as well, he was just that good.
The Jacksons, Philadelphia natives who own a 190-acre farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania, have a broodmare band of 27 mares. They had never even come close to breeding a classic contender until Barbaro won the Derby and George Washington won the Stan James Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) on the same day.
We were really lucky, really lucky, Gretchen Jackson said. I just appreciate the heck out of him, and I think he knew it. He was well loved. Such luck; at least hes out of his damn stall, and running around with Secretariat, I hope.
But who would you put your money on?
