Barbaro

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by Danzig

Hyper just ran third in the man o war after breaking thru the gate.

In a 6 horse field on a closing track.

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by Frost King

Just out of curiosity, what great horses did Barbaro beat in his Kentucky Derby? To me it looked like, the typical bad field of Derby starters.

Bluegrass Cat, Brother Derek, Showing Up and Lawyer Ron weren't GREAT...but they were pretty good horses and Barbaro handled them pretty easily that day.

Several people on here seem to be assuming that the gate incident directly led to the injury. We don't really know that do we? It certainly could have played a role but sometimes horses just take a bad step.

[booner]

Originally Posted by Frost King

Just out of curiosity, what great horses did Barbaro beat in his Kentucky Derby? To me it looked like, the typical bad field of Derby starters.

To me it wasn't WHO he beat but HOW he beat them. It was very convincing.

Originally Posted by tanner12oz

I highly doubt a thorough examination was done...gave him a quick once over and back in the gate. Pretty sure the threshold for late scratches on the big time tv races is waaaay higher then your typical maiden claimer. Jeez the only really big late scratch I can even remember in a big race is quality road in the cup a few years back. Lots of cash on the line, tv obligations, all have a part in the quick but probably not thorough exams. No clue if he was hurt or not but it was a bizarre sequence of events. I was at the track that day and it was an ominous feeling. Bernardini ended up being a great horse but it all all about the derby winner that day.

Track veterinarians don't care if the race is on NBC or a 4k claimer at GGF. They are there to assure a horse, to the best of their ability, appears to be racing sound.

While I agree the percentages are low. Horses do win after breaking through the gate. I expect the incidence of breakdowns is no higher as a result.

Further, if this is a worry, what about horses that thrash about in the gate while waiting? Vet's routinely will back them out and have a look. Should they all be scratched as well?

What happened to Barbaro was so sad and tragic. We all feel horrible. He was a special favorite of mine having won the Florida Derby.

But as the great Hyman Roth so accurately said. " This is the life we have chosen"

RIP

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

Track veterinarians don't care if the race is on NBC or a 4k claimer at GGF. They are there to assure a horse, to the best of their ability, appears to be racing sound.

While I agree the percentages are low. Horses do win after breaking through the gate. I expect the incidence of breakdowns is no higher as a result.

Further, if this is a worry, what about horses that thrash about in the gate while waiting? Vet's routinely will back them out and have a look. Should they all be scratched as well?

What happened to Barbaro was so sad and tragic. We all feel horrible. He was a special favorite of mine having won the Florida Derby.

But as the great Hyman Roth so accurately said. " This is the life we have chosen"

RIP

Agree.
And its not just the vet looking him over. There's a pro horseman on his back.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...-starting-gate

Also, keep in mind barbaro was inspected all over during the time after he broke thru. TV didn't see all of that happening, because during the time he was moving back to the gate, the network reshowed him going thru the gate.