By John Scheinman
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, May 15, 2007

David Zipf has administered the lethal injection that ends a broken horse's life on the racetrack many times since he began working as a veterinarian in Maryland 42 years ago, but his voice can still choke with emotion when he talks about Barbaro.

"Almost every day, there are certain things that occur that cause you to reminisce. Little things, like loading horses in the gate," said Zipf, the chief state vet on duty last May for the Preakness Stakes, when Barbaro made his tragic run. "Hardly a day goes by that you don't recall some of what happened. It never goes away."

A new field will assemble for the 132nd running of the Preakness this Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, but the race will be haunted by what occurred last year. With a crowd of 118,402 watching at the track, and millions more by television, the Kentucky Derby winner's right hind leg shattered less than 50 strides out of the gate, beginning a story of horror, hope and, finally, sadness when the effort to save Barbaro ended Jan. 29 at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center animal hospital.

For Zipf and others involved that day, the effort to move on is driven by memory. Barbaro clung to life for nearly nine months at New Bolton, in Kennett Square, Pa., through complicated surgeries, glimmers of progress and crushing setbacks. The saga proved riveting and exhausting, and even the tiniest change in the colt's condition touched off a round of prominent news stories and well-wishes pouring into the hospital.

When this year's Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and his challengers line up Saturday, it will be hard not to think back to last year, when racing's best story spiraled out of control.

"It's going to be hard to watch the starting gate open and not think about it, and everyone will breathe a huge sigh of relief when they make it all the way around, knock on wood," said Steven Crist, the publisher of the Daily Racing Form. "It's not like there have been 20 important races at Pimlico since to wash away the memory."

For jockey Edgar Prado, who earned his first Kentucky Derby victory on Barbaro only to have the horse break down under him two weeks later on the track on which he rose to stardom, riding in the Preakness this year will be an exercise in maintaining professionalism.

"I will concentrate on doing the best job I can," said Prado, the Eclipse Award-winning jockey, who will ride long shot C P West for trainer Nick Zito. "I cannot carry things that happened in the past. It wouldn't be fair for the new people I ride for.

"For me, as a rider, Barbaro brought me the biggest race in my career and my biggest thrill, but it's time to find another horse to bring new memories or revive those memories. It's time to move on."

Michael Matz, who trained Barbaro, also is trying to focus on the future, even as the world around him appears intent on reminding him of the past. Matz, who is based at the Fair Hill Training Center, has been mulling running his colt Chelokee in the Preakness, but instead likely will run in a lesser stakes for 3-year-olds on the undercard.

That race used to be called the Sir Barton, in honor of the first Triple Crown winner, but last December the Maryland Jockey Club renamed it The Barbaro Stakes.

Matz, who in 1989 survived a plane crash in Iowa that killed 111 people, said he would not be apprehensive running in either the Preakness or the Barbaro Stakes.

"I've run some horses at Pimlico since it happened. It's finished and that's it," Matz said. "I'm sure it's going to be in the back of everybody's mind, but in a memory way; I don't think in a nervous way. We know it happened there last year, and it's something . . . it's a bad memory."

The plight of Barbaro triggered an outpouring of charitable contributions for the study of horse-related injuries. The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation will distribute more than $1 million in research grants this year, including for the study of laminitis, the hoof malady that led to Barbaro's demise. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities -- Barbaro Memorial Fund raised more than $230,000 selling $2 blue "Riding With Barbaro" wristbands at tracks around the country Kentucky Derby week. In February, Barbaro's owners Gretchen and Roy Jackson donated $3 million to the New Bolton Center to endow a chair in the name of Dean Richardson, the chief of surgery at the hospital who cared for the colt.

"The money is coming in like crazy," Zipf said.

The Jacksons are expected to present the trophy after the Barbaro Stakes, possibly to Matz, and the Maryland Jockey Club will honor Prado and Richardson at the annual Alibi Breakfast on Thursday in the track's dining room.

"When one is talking about the Preakness card or NTRA charities raising money, one can't help but thinking about the horse," Pimlico President Lou Raffetto said. What we're trying to do is move beyond that. We don't want to dwell on the negatives and move forward."

Preakness Notes: Circular Quay, sixth in the Kentucky Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher, is being considered for the Preakness after working four furlongs in 48 2/5 seconds yesterday at Belmont Park. The top finisher of Pletcher's five Derby entrants, the late-running Circular Quay won the Louisiana Derby earlier this year.

Pletcher already has committed Santa Anita Derby runner-up King of the Roxy to the Preakness . . . Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense galloped 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs yesterday and will arrive at Pimlico on Wednesday afternoon.

"I feel good about him. This is a tough race, though," trainer Carl Nafzger said. "This is going to be one of the best Preaknesses we've had in a long time."

As the new field assembles for the 132nd running of the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course on Saturday, the race will be haunted by what occurred a year ago.