They don't necessarily shoot horses any longer. Barbaro won the Derby by as much of a lead as anyone could remember. He might have won the Triple Crown. But he totally shattered his leg in the Preakness on Saturday, and wound up in six hours of surgery at U Penn's veterinary hospital.
Barbaro got
better treatment out of Penn than I did, but maybe his problem was worse - initially he was given a 50-50 chance of making it through. This morning they say he's doing much better and so they are much more optimistic. He's actually putting the weight of a horse on that leg - on that massive stitching of pins.
The "before".
After surgery he spent some time in a pool before going back to a stall.
A lot of people who seem to know, say that Barbaro's owners would have done the extensive surgery for any of their horses. But the payout on these odds is much higher - if he makes it to Stallionhood, Barbaro will fetch some high fees as a stud.