Barbaro

Racehorse

Barbaro won the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, in 2006, then broke down while running in the second leg, the Preakness Stakes, and never recovered. Because of his dominance in the Derby, Barbaro was heavily favored in the Preakness on 20 May 2006, but he fractured multiple bones in his right rear leg near the start of the race. The fractures were catastrophic. Barbaro was taken to the New Bolton Center, a special veterinary clinic at the University of Pennsylvania, where his leg was surgically repaired and where he remained under care for months. He developed laminitis, a life-threatening condition, in his left hind hoof in July of 2006. His primary veterinarian, Dr. Dean Richardson, called his chances "poor" at the time. But Barbaro rallied and continued to improve throughout 2006. In January of 2007 the New Bolton Center announced that Barbaro had suffered a "significant setback" with the discovery of separated tissue in his left hind hoof. The tissue was removed, but Barbaro's health declined and he was euthanized on 29 January 2007.

Extra credit: Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby by 6.5 lengths on 6 May 2006... Laminitis also led to the death of the 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

Blog posts mentioning Barbaro:
Barbaro's Fifth Farewells of 2007