BALTIMORE -- Less than an hour after Barbaro's legacy was
honored with his own stakes race Saturday, tragedy struck again at
Pimlico Race Course.
Mending Fences was euthanized on the track after breaking down
in the Dixie Stakes, a preliminary to the Preakness, which was
Barbaro's downfall a year ago.
A 5-year-old stallion with seven wins in his career, Mending
Fences sustained a compound fracture of his right front leg.
"The horse was put down," Pimlico vice president Mike Gathagan
said.
A green screen was put up in front of the stallion to shield the
procedure from a stunned crowd of more than 100,000.
Mending Fences was leading as he approached the end of the
backstretch, with less than a half mile to go in the turf race.
Suddenly, he tumbled over headfirst, throwing jockey Eddie Castro.
"The horse broke his leg," Castro said. "I don't know what
happened."
Another horse, Einstein, threw its jockey, Robby Alborado, and
continued around the track without a rider while medical personnel
raced to the scene of the fallen horse and the two riders. Both
jockeys were able to walk away; neither appeared to be seriously
hurt, though they rode off in an ambulance.
Alborado was set to ride Curlin, one of the top contenders in
the Preakness.
"This is just unfortunate," Alborado said. "I had the option
to go [inside] or go out. He stumbled and I fell off. It's too
bad."
The breakdown was another blow to a sport still reeling from the
death of Barbaro, who was euthanized in January after extensive
treatment failed to save him from a devastating injury seconds
after the start of last year's Preakness.
The fatal injury to Mending Fences came in the race that
followed the inaugural Barbaro Stakes, which was supposed to bring
a bit of closure to last year's heartbreak. Barbaro's owners, Roy
and Gretchen Jackson, were on hand to present a crystal bowl in the
winner's circle.