Barbaro

[NobizLikeShowbiz]

And those folks clearly are not horse racing fans, because if they were, they'd know that scores of horses die each year because of on-track accidents, just like his. It's just part of the game — a sad part, but part of it nonetheless.

 

And I still say it was extremely cruel to keep that horse alive and suffering for so long in a greedy effort to cash in on potential stud fees. That horse should've been put down right there on the track.

 

Jim, you and I are usually right on with one another.

 

There are two things I would like to point out here. One being that the Jackson's were not in need of the money. They have owned and still do own many successful stakes even Grade 1 winning horses. To say the only reason they kept Barbaro alive was for breeding is way off base IMO. In fact that same year they owned Showing Up which also ran well in the Derby. Lael Stables is very successful and the breeding of Barbaro was not the only thing on their mind. Heck, my family couldn't put our dog down after he had lived with us for 17 years. Its the same thing. The Jackson's realized that Barbaro was "America's horse" and couldn't have him put down. As RockPride pointed out they knew from the beginning that it was going to be a tough survivial and I am sure they knew the chances of him breeding were even slimmer.

 

Secondly, The death of Barbaro has led to a greater interest in safe racing for the animals. The Barbaro foundation has raised millions of dollars in hope of greater safety for horses. Your right on about how thousands of horses each year suffer similar injuries, and that is why we are seeing synthetic surfaces installed at many tracks. The Barbaro story drew more attention to this and because of that horse racing is becoming a much safer sport. The statistics will show that.

 

And OR, I have been on bloodhorse, thoroughbredtimes, kentucky derby blogs and the espn horse racing section a lot over the last few weeks and have not seen any articles about Barbaro. Just a thought.

[Original Rookie]

And OR, I have been on bloodhorse, thoroughbredtimes, kentucky derby blogs and the espn horse racing section a lot over the last few weeks and have not seen any articles about Barbaro. Just a thought.

 

Just because I have heard some about it and you haven't means that it isn't an issue? Do you think E-60 ran their Barbaro story during derby week on accident?

[NobizLikeShowbiz]

Just because I have heard some about it and you haven't means that it isn't an issue? Do you think E-60 ran their Barbaro story during derby week on accident?

 

It just seems as if you are saying the Barbaro story is still being played over and over when really it's not.

[Original Rookie]

It just seems as if you are saying the Barbaro story is still being played over and over when really it's not.

 

Talk to me after Saturday...

[75center]

Jim, you and I are usually right on with one another.

 

There are two things I would like to point out here. One being that the Jackson's were not in need of the money. They have owned and still do own many successful stakes even Grade 1 winning horses. To say the only reason they kept Barbaro alive was for breeding is way off base IMO. In fact that same year they owned Showing Up which also ran well in the Derby. Lael Stables is very successful and the breeding of Barbaro was not the only thing on their mind. Heck, my family couldn't put our dog down after he had lived with us for 17 years. Its the same thing. The Jackson's realized that Barbaro was "America's horse" and couldn't have him put down. As RockPride pointed out they knew from the beginning that it was going to be a tough survivial and I am sure they knew the chances of him breeding were even slimmer.

 

Secondly, The death of Barbaro has led to a greater interest in safe racing for the animals. The Barbaro foundation has raised millions of dollars in hope of greater safety for horses. Your right on about how thousands of horses each year suffer similar injuries, and that is why we are seeing synthetic surfaces installed at many tracks. The Barbaro story drew more attention to this and because of that horse racing is becoming a much safer sport. The statistics will show that.

 

And OR, I have been on bloodhorse, thoroughbredtimes, kentucky derby blogs and the espn horse racing section a lot over the last few weeks and have not seen any articles about Barbaro. Just a thought.

 

Nice post! :thumb:

[NobizLikeShowbiz]

Talk to me after Saturday...

 

I will be willing to bet that the story lines of Synthetic surfaces, Big Brown only have 3 career starts and the possibility of a filly running in the Derby will be the majority of the headlines, not the story of Barbaro winning the Derby two yeras ago or his death a year ago.

 

:thumb:

[Original Rookie]

I will be willing to bet that the story lines of Synthetic surfaces, Big Brown only have 3 career starts and the possibility of a filly running in the Derby will be the majority of the headlines, not the story of Barbaro winning the Derby two yeras ago or his death a year ago.

 

:thumb:

 

I'm pretty sure I never said it was the big headline.

 

I'm sure we will hear ALOT more about it than we should.

[BigColonel]

It's a dead horse people, let's move on. Around my parts we call that dog food.

[SportsGuy41017]

I think anyone with a heart (and especially true fans of horse racing) would think it was a thousand times more sad! This played out on national television in a quest for the most prestigious prize in all of horse racing.

 

Whether you want to cynically believe that the owners did not have the horse's best interest at heart, it most certainly was a very touching struggle for survival, that played out over many up and down months of recovery.

 

:thumb:

[NobizLikeShowbiz]

It's a dead horse people, let's move on. Around my parts we call that dog food.

 

:fight:

[Birdsfan]

I am saddened everytime I think about it as well. It's no different than normal people clining on to their sports teams for their happiness, Barbaro provided that for many, many people, and it was sad, I was very, very bothered by what happened to him.

Amen! :thumb:

[PepRock01]

It's a dead horse people, let's move on. Around my parts we call that dog food.

 

 

That's where I stand.

[ram2003]

I just don't understand where Barbaro fits in being a major part of this upcoming Derby movie, or so I hear. I mean, a blurb is understandable, but anything more is a little overdramatic IMO.

[Jim Schue]

All I keep coming back to is the fact that the Jacksons put that horse through a year of unnecessary suffering of an always-fatal injury in the hopes of cashing in on stud fees (or something else, since some of you think rich people would never exhibit an interest in greed). Like ram03 said, in the grand scheme of things, there are far better Derby-related stories than this one, which never should've become a story of the magnitude it did in the first place.

[quickslick]

All I keep coming back to is the fact that the Jacksons put that horse through a year of unnecessary suffering of an always-fatal injury in the hopes of cashing in on stud fees (or something else, since some of you think rich people would never exhibit an interest in greed). Like ram03 said, in the grand scheme of things, there are far better Derby-related stories than this one, which never should've become a story of the magnitude it did in the first place.

 

Which just proves that you really have no clue what you are talking about.

 

If you do a little research .. you will find out that the Jackson's have more money than they will ever be able to spend. They are millionaires 100's of times over. They come from very old money (the exact family name escapes me--but it is a name that is extremely well known). Stud fees would have been great ... but Barbaro was insured for over 40 million ... which means that the pay day will still going to be pretty solid. So--I would say that your theory holds no weight.

 

Barbaro is about something different for people. I do agree that there are extremist--who don't understand that this happens every day in horse racing (or who want racing to end for this reason).

 

I see it as something different. I see it as the first athlete and "team" (or group of people) who did everything possible to win. The horse was nothing but a winner--and his fighting spirit is something that will always stick out to me. His connections did everything possible to give the horse a chance to live (regardless of whether you think it was for stud fees or not--which is pretty funny--because there are only a handful of horses--most of which are NOT derby winners or even classic winners which command huge stud feeds). Even with huge syndication fees--no one could say that it equaled more than the insurance policy).

 

I sit here every day ... and have to listen to stories about losers like Chad Johnson. People defended that idiot forever--until he finally went far enough to get people to turn on him. Well, Barbaro never did any of that. The horse was bred to be a winner. In that time period, we also figured out that he was a not just a winner--but a fighter. And when you see people band together to do everything possible to give any living thing a shot ... it is going to stick with some people. You can put things however you want ... but you can't get around that.

 

My advice to all of you that don't want to hear about Barbaro ... quit listening. There are a lot of things that you probably like .. that I don't (as well as other people). I don't see anyone complaining about that kind of stuff.

 

Barbaro is one of the last "real" athletes that we will ever see, or at least--be fortunate enough to know about. This age of professional sports is too far gone for an actual human to take a Barbaro type "role". If you don't have respect for that ... that is your decision.

 

I am fortunate enough to be in the public eye on occasion. For me--it is, and will continue to be an opportunity to speak about my inspiration for continuing on in the pursuit of athletic excellence. Meaning--I plan to keep Barbaro in the public eye for as long as people ask me why I am in the business that I am in. So you may as well get used to it.