Barbaro, broke through the gate before the start of the race and had to be re-loaded into his number six post position.
When the gates opened, Barbaro eased his way toward the rail and was in the middle of the pack of nine starters. Less than a few hundred yards into the race, he suddenly dropped back.
Edgar Prado, the colts Jockey, knew that something was wrong, Barbaro was favoring his right rear leg. Prado pulled Barbaro to a stop just past the finish line and jumped off.
Dr. Larry Bramlage, the attending veterinarian for the race, said Barbaro suffered a fracture above and below the ankle.
“It’s a serious fracture. This will require pretty major surgery. … Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer,” he said.
Trainer Michael Matz bolted from his seat and ran onto the track where he embraced Prado. The jockey went over to owner Gretchen Jackson and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
She put an arm on his shoulder and said, “You did a great job.”
Fans were crying in the grandstand as the unbeaten 3-year-old was loaded into an equine ambulance and taken away, his injured leg in an inflatable cast.
“You never expect it,” Jackson said as she walked back to the barn.
Prado pulled Barbaro to a stop just past the finish line and jumped off.
The devastating development took all the excitement from a Pimlico crowd expecting a victory by Barbaro that would have set the stage for a Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
All the Triple talk is over now.
Lightly raced, Bernardini, owned by Darley Stable and Dubai’s Sheik Mohammed went on to win the race.
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