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Sunday, May 21, 2006

Still Waiting

- The latest report, as of 6 PM Sunday, is that the surgery on Barbaro is nearly complete.

Following surgery, surgeons planned to place the leg in a sling and place Barbaro on a raft on a pool before the horse emerges from anesthesia. The post-operative process is known as pool recovery and is used to prevent a horse from injuring itself when awakening from surgery. [Daily Racing Form]
That was what doomed Ruffian, as she awoke from surgery and thrashed her injured leg about. No doubt that Barbaro wouldn’t be alive if this took place in Ruffian’s day. Nor would he if he was a $15,000 claimer instead of a Kentucky Derby winner. [New Bolton chief surgeon] Dr. [Dean] Richardson said he rarely works on such severe injuries because the horse invariably would be euthanized at the track.

I was at Belmont for awhile today; Javier Castellano and Edgar Prado were greeted with some applause from a sparse paddock crown when they appeared there for the third race. But I have to also report that there was some murmuring there about the way Prado appeared to look down behind at Barbaro’s hind legs at one point during the warm-up. It occurs on the tape of the NBC telecast around three minutes until post time.

However, shortly thereafter, there’s as extended shot of Barbaro with no similar backwards glances. Similarly, after he broke through the gate, Prado did not seem the least bit concerned about any problem. After being reloaded, he broke maybe a tad slow, but seemed poised to gain position around 4th, possibly even saving some ground. After that, I turn the recording off. I don’t really want to ever see the race again, but I’m just trying to gain an understanding of exactly what happened.

- Can’t Bloodhorse drop the 'winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands' thing when reporting on this?

4 Comments:

Alex said...

we are keeping updates at Tim Woolley's site. Please add your thoughts.

Anonymous said...

I can't think about it very long before I get a knot in my stomach. For you religious types, prayers to St. Anne. I'll be saying one every night and morning until the danger passes.

Belmont today. See Green Monkey worked a snappy 36 and change. Any chatter?

Alan Mann said...

Yeah, 3rd fastest of 19 for The Green Monkey. All the chatter was about the Preakness.

Anonymous said...

The proponents of Poly Track will be out in full force now. Too much is not known about this concoction. The little research we have definitely points to a safer surface for horses suffering less catatrosphic break downs. One of the concerns voiced by trainers and jocks alike is the "blow-back". You only have to watch one race at Turfway to see the huge trails of "dust" horses leave in their wake. This is inhaled by horses and jocks. No doubt they get regular racetrack in their noses on a regular racetrack, but its much heavier than the fine dust like stuff that is thrown up on the Poly Track. Most of it staying up in nose, not getting sucked back into the lungs. Jocks describe running threw it like "snow". Its light and fine, and has to be getting into the lungs and trachs of horses and jocks. Who knows what kind of problems this may cause down the road healthwise. I guess we will have horses and jocks running in those little white masks you can buy at Ace Hardware. Nick