Barbaro Update

Good news for all of you following the story of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, injured during the Preakness Stakes Saturday. He's up and about with a plate and 23 screws holding his right rear leg together. His chances of survival are still 50-50 at this point, and infection could still kill him, but I admit I'm surprised he's still alive - and I'm happy he is, no question.

Barbaro doesn't know this, but he saved his own life. If he hadn't won the Derby, he would have been euthanized away from the track and the visibility of the crowd. And he's been the perfect patient, so I hear, which can only help. He's trusted everyone around him to take care of him, which is more than some horses get. All these things have gotten him where he is now - care in a facility in Pennsylvania (I believe associated with Penn State perhaps, and there is a website to wish him well, but I don't know it off hand). Fans have posted flowers and signs outside the facility, and kids are leaving him carrots. Every time I see something on this story on TV I end up in tears. He's earned the love of the fans in huge numbers, like Smarty Jones or Funny Cide.

In the meantime, keep praying for Barbaro and all the other horses who aren't quite so lucky. And hope that his story and the fans' appreciation is not only good for Barbaro but racehorses nationwide. If we can bring more attention to the sport and humanize the horses a little bit, the chances a vet somewhere will work this hard to keep a horse in a similar situation alive and thriving increase. And so do the odds that an owner will see past dollar signs and put forth the money needed to save a horse who just needs a little more care.