Sad news from outside of golf - Rest In Peace, Barbaro

My heart is heavy with grief as I read the news that Barbaro, the beautiful dark bay colt that was injured at the Preakness race last May, was euthanized this morning.

He was a beautiful, intelligent horse, and my heart goes out to those that fought so hard on his behalf at the U Penn Veterinary Hospital, and his owners and supporters.

Personally, I don't enjoy the horse races because I can't bear to see them break down, or the way the jockeys go to the whip, but lots of people say that these horses are born to run, and enjoy the activity...

In any event, I was saddened last May, kept praying for his recovery and survival, encouraged as he rallied, and am now just heartbroken at hearing of his recent setback, his suffering and that terribly difficult decision to end his suffering this morning.

Godspeed Barbaro...you touched a lot of people outside of the horseracing world with your spirit, your toughness, your intelligence and your beauty...

In Barbaro's memory, I've made a small memorial contribution to the UPenn Vet school here....if you want to make a similar donation to a West Coast University, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine does similar work with equine veterinary care, and companion animal research, too...the UC Davis gift site is here...

Epilogue: As I've been doing more research into Barbaro's initial injury, I read that Dr. Dan Dreyfuss, older brother of a lifelong childhood friend of mine was the attending veterinarian at the racetrack when Barbaro was initially injured. "Dr. Dan" is the best in all ways possible, and I got CHILLS reading the stories here, here, here, here and here...

Epilogue Part II: If you want to see the outpouring of love and feel the admiration that this glorious creature inspired in hundreds of people, read the comments here at TimWoolleyRacing.com - but make sure you have a Kleenex handy...or a box....click here for a beautiful slideshow overview of his courageous recuperation and a touching tribute. He was a beautiful horse, with a heart and spirit of gold...the more I read about him, the sadder I become...but apparently laminitis had begun to develop in his front hooves now, and his quality of life had deteriorated...

Epilogue Part III: Having recently lost a beloved animal companion myself, this story was a real heart-tugger...

Rest In Peace, Champ....