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Zenyatta and the 2009 Breeders Cup Classic “Zenyatta is over rated”, “Zenyatta never beat a quality horse”, “Zenyatta doesn't have the speed to win”, “Zenyatta peaked last year” and “Zenyatta is all hype”. Perhaps most insulting of all “Zenyatta is racing in the Classic so her lose there will not be as damning as her certain lost to Careless Jewel or Music Note in the Lady's Classic”. It is a good thing horses don't read news papers or blogs. Perhaps she did and that's the reason she did not want to go into the gate at the Breeders Cup Classic....

An exuberant Calvin Borel expressed confidence that Mine That Bird will win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) after working the diminutive gelding a half-mile in :50 on a warm, sunny June 1 morning at Churchill Downs. “Perfect,” said Borel, who won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with the son of Birdstone trained by Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. for owners Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach. “He’s ready. We’re going to win. No questions asked.” The boast by the hard-working, likable Borel was similar to the one he made previous to winning the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (gr....

race coverage begins at 3:00 central, Preakness winner Rachel Alexanda will not run at least until the Breeders Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra will not run in the Belmont Stakes, opening the way for jockey Calvin Borel to return to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in his quest for a personal Triple Crown. Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra’s co-owner, said Friday the spectacular filly “deserves a well-earned vacation.”

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — Jockey Rene Douglas may be paralyzed after being thrown from his horse during a race at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago, his agent said. Agent Dennis Cooper said Douglas spent seven hours in surgery on Sunday at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital and afterward doctors told him the jockey could not feel his lower limbs. Cooper said doctors won't know Douglas' status for certain until swelling reduces in about two weeks.

The Monday after the Kentucky Derby, you’d think ABC would know which way horses run around an American racetrack—counter-clockwise—as you’ll see in the photo of Mine That Bird’s stunning triumph the Run for the Roses. But have a look at the Dem and Republican horses in the animation that Good Morning America used today to illustrate James Carville’s theory of why Democrats, according to his new book, are positioned to rule for 40 years. Yup, they’re running clockwise. View video here.

TODAY'S MAJOR KENTUCKY DERBY PREP RACES... Toyota Blue Grass Stakes Grade: I, Purse: $750,000, Distance: 1-1/8 miles Track: Keeneland Saturday, April 11, 2009 @6:00 PM ET Blue Grass packed with questions By Marty McGee, Daily Racing Form, April 09, 2009 LEXINGTON, Ky. - The multitude of questions that surround the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes might well be answered with even more questions. Such is the nature of the Polytrack surface at Keeneland, which two years ago produced the Kentucky Derby winner in Blue Grass runner-up Street Sense but last year gave the Derby its last-place finisher in Blue Grass...

TODAY'S MAJOR KENTUCKY DERBY PREP RACES... 6th Race, SANTA ANITA PARKSanta Anita Derby (TELEVISED LIVE ON NBC, BEGINNING AT 2PM PDT, 5PM EDT) Post Time: 2:40 PM (local time) Distance/Restrictions: 1 1/8 Miles, Dirt, 3 Year Olds, Purse: $750,000 Grade: 1 FREE PAST PERFORMANCES FOR SANTA ANITA DERBY: (direct link to pdf file from EQUIBASE -free/no catch)http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=SA&rd=04/04/2009&cty=USA&de=D&rn=6 ________________________________________________ 7th Race, HAWTHORNEIllinois Derby Post Time: 4:15 PM (local time) Distance/Restrictions: 1 1/8 Miles, Dirt, 3 Year Olds, Purse: $500,000 Grade: 2 FREE PAST PERFORMANCES FOR ILLINOIS DERBY: (direct link to pdf file from EQUIBASE -free/no catch)http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=HAW&rd=04/04/2009&cty=USA&de=D&rn=7 ________________________________________________ 9th Race, AQUEDUCT, NEW...

2009 Derby Contenders:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contenders Contender PP's (Past Performances):Brisnet's weekly updated PDF past performance file of Kentucky Derby hopefuls:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contender-pps For more info at the site (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/), hover your mouse pointer/cursor over "Racing Information" and select from the drop-down menu. --------------------------------------------------------- Prep race schedule from mid-March to Derby Day, May 2ndMarch:Mar 14 2009: Louisiana Derby - Fair Grounds, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $600,000Mar 14 2009: San Felipe - Santa Anita, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $200,000Mar 14 2009: Rebel - Oaklawn, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $300,000Mar 14 2009: Tampa Bay Derby - Tampa Bay Downs, Grade III, 1 1/16 miles, $300,000Mar...

Here are a few must-have links for the upcoming Kentucky Derby... (there's even free video of prior races at the site) 2009 Derby Contenders:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contenders Contender PP's (Past Performances):Here is Brisnet's weekly updated PDF past performance file of Kentucky Derby hopefuls:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contender-pps Derby Prep Schedule: (major races leading to the Derby)http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/preps-schedule For more info at the site (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/), hover your mouse pointer/cursor over "Racing Information" and select from the drop-down menu.

I Want Revenge is a horse on a mission. The son of Stephen Got Even has traveled across the country to get a head start on his compatriots back home. While they remain in California, content to scamper along on the synthetic surface, oblivious to the test that awaits them on May 2, I Want Revenge is willing to find out right now, once and for all, whether he will get hit by a dirt bomb or take to the loam like a kid to a sandbox. If it turns out to be the latter and he can defeat a...

National Legal and Policy Center Focuses on Next Phase in Blagojevich-Johnston “Pay to Play” Saga Uncovers $183,000 in Additional Contributions to Friends of Blagojevich from Johnston horse racing interests New figures demonstrate more than half of all horse racing contributions from 2002-2007 came directly from Johnston-owned/affiliated interestsFalls Church, Virginia - Today the National Legal and Policy Center publicly released an in-depth analysis of financial contributions made to Friends of Blagojevich from Balmoral and Maywood race track owner John Johnston and other Johnston-owned/affiliated interests. The new analysis reveals that previous accounts of Johnston contributions to Friends of Blagojevich greatly under-reported the...

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange...

I mean in the Melbourne Cup. Which horse should I bet on? Any inside scoop?

Big Brown Retired After Workout Injury Updated: Monday, October 13, 2008 11:19 AM Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 10:34 AM By Karen Johnson and Steve Haskin Dual classic winner Big Brown has been retired after sustaining an injury during a workout at Aqueduct the morning of Oct. 13. The winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) had worked in company with Kip Deville over the turf course, with the stablemates finishing together in final time of 1:12 4/5 for six furlongs. Afterward, it was determined that the colt had grabbed a...

Each day brings new entries in the "Brown Shoe Diaries." The latest photos from the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) reveal Big Brown was stepped on by Guadalcanal leaving the gate, and that the shoe did not re-set itself during the race as previously thought; the colt ran the entire way with the shoe dislodged and the nail protruding from it. Even trainer Rick Dutrow, who had a hard time accepting the possibility that the incident hampered the colt, now believes after seeing the photos that it could have been an issue. In a photo (shown below) that originally appeared as...

A photo taken during the early stages of the Belmont Stakes has revealed Big Brown was running with a loose shoe as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner attempted to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1979, Newsday reported Monday.

For the second time in this year's Triple Crown series, animal rights activists faced racing fans to draw attention to what they believe is the cruel side of a sport many consider glamorous. About 100 men and women, many of them holding photos of the fallen filly Eight Belles, responded with waves to car horns and the occasional jeer along a sweltering stretch of Hempstead Turnpike outside Belmont Park in Elmont. Last month, a smaller group of demonstrators was outside Maryland's Pimlico Race Course before the running of the Preakness Stakes. Amanda McCall, 27, of Manhattan, said she was drawn...

NEW YORK -- Big Brown failed in his bid to become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown winner when he finished dead last to Da' Tara in the Belmont Stakes. Da' Tara went wire to wire to beat eight other thoroughbreds over 1½ miles, the longest and toughest of the three classics. "I had no horse," said Big Brown's jockey, Kent Desormeaux. All week long, Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr. said the horse's victory was "a foregone conclusion." He turned out be wrong. The bay colt's disappointing performance followed convincing victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He failed on...

Longtime turf writer, handicapper and former Maryland Jockey Club oddsmaker Clem Florio died on May 25 at Memorial Regional South Hospice in Hollywood, Florida, following a battle with lung and pancreatic cancer. He was 78. The colorful scribe began his lifelong career in racing as a groom for Racing Hall of Fame trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons. He later worked as a handicapper for the Miami News before moving to the Baltimore News-American where he handicapped and covered Maryland racing from 1965 through '78. Florio later spent ten years in a similar position with the Washington Post and later served as...

Big Brown, who will be seeking the coveted Triple Crown in the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), has a "slight" quarter crack on the inside of his left front foot, trainer Rick Dutrow said Sunday, May 25. Dutrow said he noticed a small spot on the colt's foot Friday afternoon and notified hoof lameness specialist Ian McKinlay, who treated it. By Saturday, it had turned into a slight quarter crack, five-eighths of an inch long. McKinlay applied iodine solution and said he’s confident it is very minor. He will “lace it up,” and if everything is good, the colt...

Big Brown looks like a Tripe Crown cinch. He wasn't even challenged today. This horse is a monster. Visions of Secretariat.

Please note: this is NOT spam. It's just material I've gathered on my own to prepare for Saturday's Preakness (I'm a regular poster here). All of the tools below are absolutely free, including the PPs (Past Performances) and video. They usually let you download stuff like this for free for the major stake races. Official Past Performances for 2008 Preakness Stakes (on pdf file):http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=PIM&rd=05/17/2008&cty=USA&de=D&rn=12 Official website of the 2008 Preakness Stakes:http://www.preakness.com/ Videos of each of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown's 4 prior starts, including this incredible first-time-out shocker on the grass at 14-1! (they must have somehow hid his workouts...

Please note: this is NOT spam. It's just material I've gathered on my own to prepare for Saturday's Preakness (I'm a regular poster here). All of the tools below are absolutely free, including the PPs (Past Performances) and video. They often let you download stuff like this for free for the major stake races. Official Past Performances for 2008 Preakness Stakes (on pdf file):http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=PIM&rd=05/17/2008&cty=USA&de=D&rn=12 Official website of the 2008 Preakness Stakes:http://www.preakness.com/ Videos of each of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown's 4 prior starts, including this incredible first-time-out shocker on the grass at 14-1! (they must have somehow hid his workouts...

The trainer of euthanized filly Eight Belles said Monday his jockey handled the horse properly during her second-place finish at the Kentucky Derby. Trainer Larry Jones said from Lexington that if the Derby were run again tomorrow, he'd put jockey Gabriel Saez right back on one of his horses. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for the suspension of Saez, saying the horse must have been injured during the race and he should have pulled her up rather than finish. But Jones said Saez acted exactly as he should have. Saez started whipping the horse to prevent...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling for sweeping reforms and an end to cruelty to race horses after the filly Eight Belles was euthanized at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The horse was euthanized on the track after breaking both front ankles and finishing second in the race, according to the Associated Press. The news service had reported yesterday that PETA was calling for the suspension of the horse’s jockey, Gabriel Saez. The animal rights group faxed a letter Sunday to Kentucky’s racing authority claiming the horse was “doubtlessly injured before the finish” and asked that Saez...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A quarter mile past the finish line in the Kentucky Derby, a gallant runner-up effort by the filly Eight Belles was forgotten in an instant. In a freak accident that one experienced racetrack veterinarian said he had never seen before, the 3-year-old daughter of Unbridled’s Song apparently snapped both of her front ankles simultaneously as she galloped out after the race, sending her crashing hard to the Churchill Downs dirt racetrack. She was euthanized moments later, after vets determined there was no chance to save her. “She had finished the race and was around the turn at...

The camera cut away from her, but it should have stayed on her. Eight Belles had run herself half to death yesterday, and now the vets were finishing the job as she lay on her side, her beautiful figure a black hump on the track. Horses don't just fall down like that, you thought, as NBC flitted away, cowardlike, from the sickening picture to the more appealing image of the Kentucky Derby victor, Big Brown. There is no turning away from this fact: Eight Belles killed herself finishing second. She ran with the heart of a locomotive, on champagne-glass ankles,...

Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said earlier this week that he could not imagine that a post position could get Big Brown beat on Saturday. That conviction will be put to the extreme test when Big Brown breaks from the outside post in a full field of 20 in the $2,211,800 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) at Churchill Downs. Big Brown drew the 16th pick on Wednesday morning in the traditional pill pull that determined the selection for post positions. Dutrow and owner IEAH Stables had four other options—posts one, two, 18, and 19—by the time they chose their...

The first morning at Churchill Downs brought sunny skies and warm temperatures, as the Kentucky Derby horses began their final stretch to racing’s biggest day. From here on, there is no room for error. We’ll give a brief rundown of the day’s activities and continue with the plusses and minuses of each contender. The majority of activity took place after the renovation break, with the only worker being the Nick Zito-trained Cool Coal Man, who worked a half-mile in company in :47 2/5. The two horses who really filled the eye from a physical standpoint were Colonel John and Adriano,...

Robert LaPenta’s War Pass, the champion 2-year-old of 2007 and winner of the $2 million Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Monmouth Park, has suffered a leg injury that has knocked the colt out of the $2 million guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Trainer Nick Zito said Saturday that X-rays had revealed a small fracture in the sesamoid in the colt’s left front ankle. Veterinarian Dr. Rick Fischer discovered the fracture that Zito said would likely require War Pass to be on the sidelines for “a few months.” Zito said equine surgeon Dr. Larry...

With the final Derby preps approaching, there is no more room for error. It’s time to earn your way into the Run for the Roses or pack up and go home. The three graded stakes this weekend – the grade I Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial and grade II Illinois Derby – offer intriguing plot lines that will make or break aspiring Derby hopefuls. Those plot lines include some juicy questions: Can last year’s champion 2-year-old War Pass rebound in the Wood Memorial following a dreadful performance at odds of 1-20 in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III)? Will...

Z Humor, a gutsy dead-heat winner in the Dec. 7 Delta Jackpot (gr. III), and Smooth Air, who captured the Jan. 5 Hutcheson (gr. II) but will stretch out beyond seven furlongs for the first time, lead a field of nine in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes Feb. 16 at Tampa Bay Downs. The 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis is a test for 3-year-olds on the dirt. One of five Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) hopefuls trained by Bill Mott, Z Humor is a well-bred son of Distorted Humor--Offtheoldblock, by A.P. Indy. After breaking his maiden...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—The filly Eight Belles finished second behind favorite Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, then collapsed with two broken front ankles and was euthanized after crossing the wire. The field of 20 horses was galloping out around the first turn at Churchill Downs when Eight Belles suddenly went down on both front legs and jockey Gabriel Saez slid off. “When we passed the wire I stood up,” said Saez, a first-time Derby rider. “She started galloping funny. I tried to pull her up. That’s when she went down.” An equine ambulance reached her on the track...

From KentuckyDerby.com, in depth info on every horse in the 20-horse field (inc free video and charts of prior races):http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2008/contenders *FREE* Equibase Past Performances on pdf file (they give free ones out on occasion for major stake races):http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=CD&rd=05/03/2008&cty=USA&de=D&rn=10 ESPN's special page for horse racing (source for the free Equibase past performances pdf):http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/index National Thoroughbred Racing Association (main page):http://www.ntra.com/

The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) attracted 24 entries on Wednesday morning, and the connections of likely favorite Big Brown, impressive winner of the Florida Derby (G1), will draw 16th at the post position draw later this afternoon in Louisville. "It's going to leave us with just a few options," said Michael Iavarone, co-managing partner of IEAH Stables, which owns Big Brown. "Either way, he's going to have to break to win this race, whether we draw inside or outside."

Barbaro's ashes to be interred at Churchill Downs By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer January 29, 2008 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Barbaro will be buried at the site of his greatest triumph. The 2006 Kentucky Derby champion, who was euthanized Jan. 29, 2007 from complications of a breakdown suffered at the Preakness, will have his ashes interred at Churchill Downs. Barbaro's remains will be placed outside of an entrance gate in a large elevated space enclosed by bricks. The site will also include a bronze statue commissioned by owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson and loaned to the track as part...

The Chinese government is set to legalise horse racing, and even betting, as the ruling Communist Party loosens controls on practices it once banned as feudal, colonial and backward. The sprawling industrial city of Wuhan in central China, once a European "concession" or colonial settlement, will be the first to open a race-track next year. Gambling, apart from a state sports lottery, has been banned on the mainland since the Communist takeover in 1949. The decision is a response to a market-driven explosion in traditional popular culture, at least where it does not touch on politics. The Orient Lucky Horse...

NEW YORK (AP) - Rags to Riches is racing's queen for a day. The fabulous filly outdueled Preakness winner Curlin in a breathtaking stretch run and won the Belmont Stakes by a head Saturday, becoming the first of her sex in more than a century to take the final leg of the Triple Crown.

A Worldwide Push To Bring back chariot Racing THE WALL STREET JOURNAL May 24, 2007 SAO SIMAO, Brazil – On a drowsy May day in the country, tractors and combines were lumbering down dirt roads when, suddenly, a cloud of dust rose up on the horizon. Birds scattered. Rumbling across the green landscape came seven racing chariots, each pulled by four horses. Riding in the chariot decorated with an engraving of Alexander the Great was Luiz Augusto Alves de Oliveira, a 50-year-old sugar-cane farmer who has an epic plan: returning chariot racing to its ancient glory. In this May Day...

There were few surprises in Friday’s early wagering on Saturday’s Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico Racecourse. Predictably, Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Street Sense opened at 9-5 odds, just slightly higher than his 7-5 morning line odds. Next in the advance wagering was Derby runner-up Hard Spun, 7-2 after Friday’s wagering, also consistent with his 5-2 morning line. The complete advance odds, with morning line odds in parenthesis, for the Preakness field, in post position order: 1—Mint Slewlep, 31-1 (30-1) 2—Xchanger, 14-1 (15-1) 3—Circular Quay, 5-1 (8-1) 4—Curlin, 3-1 (7-2) 5—King of the Roxy, 17-1...

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his gruesome breakdown at last year's Preakness, ending an eight-month ordeal that prompted an outpouring of support across the country. "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain," co-owner Roy Jackson said. "It was the right decision, it was the right thing to do. We said all along if there was a situation where it would become more difficult for him then it would be time." A series of ailments, including laminitis in the left rear hoof and a...

THE E-MAIL did not have an urgent tag on it, but it certainly could have. It was from an upstanding owner, and he had a problem--a big problem. He was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, which in itself is not big news. It happens to horse people all the time, simply because they are horse people. This owner had followed all the rules to assure that he was an active participant in his horse business, and he went into the audit with confidence. [snip] A call to Stanley Gillman, C.P.A., who writes the "Tax Matters" column in this...

Tim Fitzgeorge-Parker, who died on August 14 aged 86, was a well-known personality in the world of horse racing; after a “good war” with the Royal Scots Greys he enjoyed a brief career as a trainer before becoming a racing journalist and prolific author. Fitzgeorge-Parker was one of those people to whom stories accrued. In 1946, while still a serving soldier, he was supervising the reconstruction of the bomb-damaged German Derby course at Hamburg when he was asked to help locate bloodstock which had been looted from France by the Germans. The investigation took him to a stud in Schleswig-Holstein...

KENNETT SQUARE, Penn. It's been just over three months since Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was severely injured, breaking his leg while running the Preakness. Though his recovery has been slow and anything but steady, the colt's doctors are very encouraged by his recent progress, according to The Early Show's resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner. She went to New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine in Kennett Square, Penn., to visit Barbaro and his surgeon, fellow veterinarian Dr. Dean Richardson, and filed an exclusive update on the thoroughbred's condition. From the start, Turner said, Barbaro has...

Horse of the Year Saint Liam, who completed his first year at stud at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky., suffered a fractured hind leg while being led to his paddock Tuesday. The 6-year-old son of Saint Ballado was immediately examined and treated by Dr. Peter Pryor at Lane's End and then transported to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital near Lexington, where he was examined by Dr. Larry Bramlage. Due to the extent of the left tibial fracture, no surgical repair was possible and the stallion was euthanized later in the day. Saint Liam was voted 2005...

Ferdinand, 'Death Of A Derby Champ'A push to end horse slaughter in the U.S. continues to be fueled by a former Kentucky Derby winner whose life came to an end four years ago in a Japanese slaughterhouse. Ferdinand won the 1986 Kentucky Derby as a 17-1 longshot. He was slaughtered after being deemed worthless as a stud by the farm in Japan (Arrow Stud Farm) that had owned him for the final years of his life. Ferdinand was originally owned by the Howard Keck family, but was sold to Arrow Stud in 1994. Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield has taken the...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- Barbaro was doing "much better" Friday morning, a day after his veterinarian said the Kentucky Derby winner was a "long shot" to survive a potentially fatal hoof disease. "He had a good night last night, and even slept on his side," Dr. Dean Richardson told The Associated Press early Friday before re-entering the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals to check again on the 3-year-colt. "He's doing much better." Richardson appeared a bit more upbeat than he was Thursday, when he told a packed news conference that Barbaro has a severe case of the...

For nearly 6 weeks after the catastrophic injuries Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered in the May 20 Preakness, the colt's recovery from the May 21 surgery on his right hind leg had gone better than even the most optimistic had hoped. From the start, Dr. Dean Richardson, who performed the surgery, warned everyone that it could turn the other way at any time. In the last week, almost nothing has gone right for Barbaro. Last night, Richardson said the colt has developed "potentially serious'' complications, including an infection in the leg. When asked how he thought this might play out,...

KENNETT SQUARE, PA. -- His coat gleaming and muscles rippling, Barbaro still has the look of a champion. One month after the Kentucky Derby winner's life-threatening breakdown in the Preakness Stakes, the colt remains cooped up in the intensive care unit at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at New Bolton Center. But he's making such steady improvement, even surgeon Dean Richardson can't help but smile when discussing the world's most famous equine patient. "This horse has had a remarkably smooth progression of events, he's just done everything right so far," Richardson said. "He's a lively, bright, happy...