Barbaro put down

last updated 8 January 2015

Kennett Square, Pa.

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, whose struggle to recover from a broken right hind leg was cheered on by millions, was euthanized this week. The 4-year-old colt was gravely injured while racing in the Preakness Stakes last May, two weeks after his triumph in Kentucky. Following surgery this week at the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary center in Kennett Square, Barbaro was in obvious discomfort, aggravated by an inflammatory condition known as laminitis in both front hooves. “We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain,” co-owner Roy Jackson said. After a last meal of grass, Barbaro was administered an overdose of anesthetic and died peacefully. Had he survived, Barbaro stood to earn tens of millions of dollars in breeding fees.