Barbaro’s uncertain prognosis

Kennett Square, Pa.

Barbaro, the previously undefeated thoroughbred who won the Kentucky Derby, survived delicate surgery after breaking his ankle in the early going of last week’s Preakness Stakes. Surgeons attempted to fuse the shattered bones with 23 screws anchored to a titanium plate. After the procedure, Barbaro was returned to a stall, where “he was doing all the things a horse should do, including eating and nickering at the mares near him,” said chief surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson. But equine veterinarians cautioned that Barbaro has only a 50-50 chance of survival. If he does make it, his racing career is over, but he could earn tens of millions of dollars at stud.