6 Minutes prior to post in the Preakness...

[Sandreadis]

Gary Stevens comments about Barbaro acting up in the post parade. Edgar Prado IMMEDIATELY looks to the horses left rear leg and then within seconds looks twice to the horses right rear leg.Both Donna Barton and Gary both noted that Barbaro was warming up more than any horse and more than usual. They speculated that the horse/trainer/jockey may be warming up more in an effort to stay closer to the pace. If you have the NBC telecast on tape, take a look and tell me what you think.

[sighthound]

I\'ve watched it over and over ... I think the horse was simply fit and tight and ready to shatter the field, with Prado simply trying to get him on the \"listening\" wavelength.  I don\'t know if his warmup was too overly \"long\", as much as the others were short and/or conservative.  

Even knowing the disaster about to unfold, and with which leg, I can\'t see anything amiss (including the little bit available after the false break) - not a short stride, no favoring, no weight shifts, nothing at all subtle that I could see ...

[kev]

I seen it also. My dad and I was talking about how bad he was acting up during warming up and glad we didn\'t have him on our bets (even though our horse ran like shi*t anyways). This horse always looked good with his neck arched and full of his self, not on sat. though.

[jmetro]

Barbaro, being the Derby winner, was naturally going to be the focus of attention in the Preakness and therefore more scrutiny.  Had he been the clear cut favorite in the Derby perhaps more camera time would have been devoted to him at that time as well, and some of this quirkyness, for lack of a better word, would have been exposed.

Do we have the warm-up tapes on him prior to the Holy Bull, Florida Derby or even the KY Derby?  He\'s a horse who had an unusual running action, maybe he always required additional warm-up because of that.

I was a simulcast site Saturday so I wasn\'t privy to Stevens or Baileys comments, the one shot I did see he had his next bowed and looked like he was sitting on another big race.  My buddy, who was at the Derby, even commented that he looked the same in the Preakness post parade as he did in the Derby.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

jmetro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Barbaro, being the Derby winner, was naturally
> going to be the focus of attention in the
> Preakness and therefore more scrutiny.  Had he
> been the clear cut favorite in the Derby perhaps
> more camera time would have been devoted to him at
> that time as well, and some of this quirkyness,
> for lack of a better word, would have been
> exposed.
>
> Do we have the warm-up tapes on him prior to the
> Holy Bull, Florida Derby or even the KY Derby?
> He\'s a horse who had an unusual running action,
> maybe he always required additional warm-up
> because of that.
>
> I was a simulcast site Saturday so I wasn\'t privy
> to Stevens or Baileys comments, the one shot I did
> see he had his next bowed and looked like he was
> sitting on another big race.  My buddy, who was at
> the Derby, even commented that he looked the same
> in the Preakness post parade as he did in the
> Derby.
>
>

On figure pattern analysis, he was sitting upon a regression.

There were no real workouts between the Derby and the Preakness. No opportunity for him to demonstrate that he came out of the Derby 100%.

Both Gary Stevens and Jerry Bailey thought his demeanor/warm up routine were quite different from the Derby.

Good race observers thought he was agitated.

In that regard, he busted the Gate. He hadn\'t done that before. When he popped that gate, all doubt was removed. Was doubt removed because it was the last straw in a chain of considerations? Or was doubt removed because that gate rush injured him?

And then it suddenly ended after a relatively small number of Straightaway jumps.

Suppose it doesn\'t really matter. There won\'t be any more bets for or against Barbaro.

[sighthound]

From www.newyorktimes.com:

In the operating room, Dr. Richardson worked with a team of eight: two residents, an intern, two anesthesiologists and three nurses.

\"I could see no evidence of pre-existing injury,\" Dr. Richardson said. \"It was just a bad step.\"

[Boscar Obarra]

  Just a bad step?

  What\'s the odds of that?

  Large.

[P-Dub]

I\'m no vet.............but with that many shattered bones how in the world can you tell??  Just curious,  would be interested to hear him say why he feels that way.

[SoCalMan2]

Query, if Barbaro survives and goes on to be a stallion, will his progeny be genetically inclined to be fragile and more prone than the average thoroughbred to the same sort of accident that befell their daddy?  If yes, is there irony in the fact that they are saving him for the purposes of breeding, yet that breeding should cause more of the same accidents requiring saving? Where does it lead in the end?  I am not saying they should not try to save a life; I am merely wondering where this leads.  Maybe in the TGI we need to add a new element -- an ouchy factor reflecting how ouchy a stallion\'s progeny sheets look.

[joshb82]

I\'ve watched horses my entire life and noted it myself in his post parade.  That DID NOT look like a horse that was ready to go.  He looked VERY uptight and uncomfortable.  Busting through the gate comfirmed it.  

\"Bad Step\" my ass.  I personally suspect that Prado suspected something wrong with the horse.  He REPEATEDLY was looking at his right hind throughout the post parade.  He looked at it again when he was being returned to the gate after the breakthrough.  There\'s almost no doubt in my mind that Prado knew something wasn\'t kosher but didn\'t have the stones to say something and set off pandemonium of outrage with the connections, spectators at Pimlico, and NBC.

Any other horse on any other day, Prado would of spoken up and the horse would of been scratched.  I truly believe that.

[imallin]

The doctor is not correct, horses don\'t go from perfectly healthy to broken down in one stride. I\'ve watched more videotape and seen more live race gallopouts and i can\'t tell you how many times i\'ve caught a horse \'broken down\' on the gallop out or did something really \'funny\' in the race and then they go out next time and beat my money only to break down eventually in the following race. (or the race after in some cases)

Its highly unlikely he was perfect going into the race.

[msola1]

Does anyone have anything to say about the fact that Barbaro had a published 2 furlong workout before the Preakness? To me it suggests that he was being kept on edge, possibly for being sent, which might help explain the prestart breakout.

[imallin]

The 2 furlong work was a mystery. TVG should have had a camera there, following this horse\'s every move. After all, when you are ballyhooed to be the next triple crown winner, everything you do should be documented.

I guess they were too busy filming closeups of Todd Schrupp eating burritos to send a camera crew to Fair hill.

[headstr8ner]

I am not a Vet nor am I a trainer, but I have been a horse owner for many years. Barbaro\'s injury is most likely not a \"genetic\" issue and if he survives he would probably have great genes for future race horses. HOWEVER, if he does survive, I would be concerned about his ability to mount mares with a bad right rear leg. In Thoroughbred racing, artificial insem is prohibited.    

[P.Eckhart]

I think Nureyev smashed a hind leg and was still able to serve after he recovered but was confined to his barn and never let out again.