It was a Triple Crown tragedy.
The 131st Preakness Stakes on Saturday will not be remembered for its record 118,402 crowd or Bernardini’s impressive victory. Instead, it will recalled for the ending of Barbaro’s promising career just yards out of the starting gate.
Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby champion who looked a lock in the Preakness and a favorite in the Belmont Stakes to end racing’s 28-year Triple Crown drought, could have been a superstar. The undefeated colt was also 3-0 on the grass, making him the most exciting U.S. horse since John Henry ruled both surfaces in the early ’80s. There was talk of entering the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. How exciting would that have been?
But a broken ankle finished Barbaro’s career. His life remains endangered after surgery on Sunday. A human needs six weeks bed rest with a triple ankle fracture. Horses can’t lie down for extended periods, though, so Barbaro must heal while standing. If Barbaro doesn’t fight the cast, his chances of survival are good. If Barbaro shatters the ankle again, there may be no choice but to destroy him.
In the end, there is nothing but sadness. This really stinks.
Why does this happen? There are no real answers. It wasn’t his premature run through the starting gate. It might not have anything to do with a bad step right before he started stumbling.
An animal weighing six times an adult male while running 30 mph on the same size ankle of the latter is begging for trouble. Just like football players lose a career to a blown knee on a seemingly routine tackle, a horse’s career can end quickly, too.
Racegoers see horses die all too often. Ruffian’s 1975 death in a match race still haunts the sport. Go for Wand’s ghastly 1990 demise approach the finish line of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff was horrifying. Union City was destroyed after breaking his leg in the 1993 Preakness, three weeks before the same injury ended Prairie Bayou’s career ended in the Belmont. Charismatic’s career ended with a broken leg just yards from the Belmont wire in his 1999 Triple Crown bid.
And less we forget, many horses die in nondescript daily races. If Barbaro wasn’t a champion, he would have received a lethal injection right on the track.
Animal rights activists will certainly seize this moment as another chance to decry racing as an inhumane sport. There’s a pretty effective lobbying group in the District alone.
But they’re wrong when saying horses are mistreated. Certainly some jockeys misuse the whip, but these animals receive better care than many homeless people on our city’s streets.
This isn’t merely some “animal.” If your dog died, would you just shrug it off as some animal’s death? Racehorses are almost like family to the people who take care of them. In return, they want to do nothing but run. The poor treatment many horses receive following their careers is another discussion, but there’s no doubt many receive undeserving fates.
This should have been a real day of celebration for Maryland racing. Perhaps the most gorgeous weather ever for the middle jewel of the Triple Crown brought a record crowd and a soldout infield. The Preakness may not stay at Pimlico forever so this was a chance to truly enjoy the tradition.
Racing thought it finally gained another superhorse. The sport desperately needs one, though recent near-misses by Funny Cide, Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex the past three years respectively generated tremendous public appeal.
But here was a horse trained by a former U.S. Olympian that saved three children from a burning plane. Here was a jockey who came from Peru to become a star in Maryland that lets him provide for dozens of people in his native country.
This was the one that racing needed.
Now we’ll have to wait until next year.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
