The unbeaten horse that won the Kentucky Derby then shocked the crowd at Pimlico last weekend by fractured its leg in three places is gaining in the race that counts the most now. The chief surgeon reports that Barbaro is a good patient and showing consistent progress. Most horses with such severe injuries are euthanized, but the owners are betting he will win again — in the race to heal his fracture. The Star-Telegram includes a photo, quotes one of the horse’s owners and describes the compassion bestowed on the patient from caring fans:
"Owners and trainers and jockeys care. It’s not about money, and it’s not about limelight. It’s about the horse."
"Hundreds of people have sent Barbaro messages of sympathy and hope, often in the form of carrots or apples or flowers…and there is no shortage of volunteers to go out and hand-pick grass so the injured horse can graze ‘at a distance.’"