Barbaro Stands on Road to Recovery

Barbaro was on his feet Monday in his 12-by-12 stall in Kennett Square, Pa., and that’s where he’ll be for the next few days, the next few weeks and probably the next few months.

With a fiberglass cast on his right hind leg and a staff of veterinarians keeping a 24-hour watch, standing is the best thing, the only thing, the stricken Kentucky Derby winner can do.

A day after surgeons spent more than five hours pinning together the leg bones he shattered in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 3-year-old was adjusting to his new life as a rehabilitation patient.

“He got through the night very well, Day 1 and into Day 2 is going as well as expected,” said Dr. Corinne Sweeney, executive hospital director at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. “He is standing on the leg, and with the appropriate amount of weight on it.”

Despite the good initial reports, doctors have given Barbaro a 50-50 chance for survival.

Barbaro was the odds-on favorite to win the Preakness and set up a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes. But a few hundred yards out of the starting gate, he took a bad step, his leg flared out grotesquely and he veered sideways before jockey Edgar Prado pulled him to a halt.

As Barbaro embarks on the risky path to recovery, there are two immediate concerns: infection and preventing laminitis, an often-fatal disease sometimes brought on by uneven weight balance. The colt has been receiving antibiotics and pain medication, and is able to move around -- or even lay down -- in his stall if he chooses.

“For this to be successful, the horse has to be able to stand during the healing stage,” Sweeney said. “Lying down also would be advantageous to healing.”

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The field for the Belmont Stakes on June 10 will be without many of the top names from the early part of the Triple Crown season.

Barbaro’s racing career is over. Preakness winner Bernardini is uncertain for the Belmont as trainer Tom Albertrani awaits a decision from Darley Stable about whether the horse will run in the 1 1/2 -mile race in Elmont, N.Y.

Brother Derek, fourth in the Preakness after dead-heating for fourth in the Derby, will remain in California and regroup, trainer Dan Hendricks said. Sweetnorthernsaint, second in the Preakness, sustained a minor hoof injury in the race and is uncertain for the Belmont.

Derby horses that skipped the Preakness but are expected to run in the Belmont include second-place Bluegrass Cat, third-place Steppenwolfer, Jazil and Bob And John.

-- Robyn Norwood