Barbaro (USA)
April 29, 2003 – January 29, 2007
Dynaformer (USA) x La Ville Rouge (USA), by Carson City (USA)
Family 16-h
April 29, 2003 – January 29, 2007
Dynaformer (USA) x La Ville Rouge (USA), by Carson City (USA)
Family 16-h
Barbaro looked like a superstar in the making as the unbeaten colt scored an emphatic victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (USA-G1). Two weeks later, the colt was suddenly in a fight for his life after shattering a hind leg during the opening quarter of the Preakness Stakes (USA-G1). His valiant battle to overcome the fracture and its complications ended eight months later in his euthanization after a roller-coaster ride that for a while held hopes that he could be saved for a comfortable retirement or even to stand at stud. Barbaro’s life-and-death struggle, though eventually unsuccessful, benefited other horses as it led to an upsurge in donations to equine veterinary research.
Race record
7 starts, 6 wins, 0 second, 0 third, US$2,302,221
2005:
2006:
Honors
Eclipse Award finalist, American champion 3-year-old colt (2006)
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 2005, 12 pounds below champion Stevie Wonderboy.
Barbaro earned a rating of 126 pounds on the 2006 World's Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings for his Kentucky Derby performance, 3 pounds below overall highweight Invasor and 2 pounds below the top-rated 3-year-old male on dirt, Bernardini.
As an individual
A big, powerful, masculine colt, Barbaro was intelligent with a dominant but not vicious personality. While racing, he tended to climb in front while driving powerfully off his hindquarters to create a big, bounding stride, gait mechanics that many observers thought might be better suited to running on turf (the surface on which Barbaro won his first three races).
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Barbaro was bred and owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables. He was trained by Michael Matz and was ridden to his Kentucky Derby triumph by Edgar Prado. After Barbaro’s death, the Jacksons arranged to have him buried just outside one of the main entrances to Churchill Downs, so that fans could visit the burial site without having to pay an admission fee.
Pedigree notes
Barbaro is inbred 4x5 to 1955 American Horse of the Year Nashua. He is a full brother to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Margano and to minor stakes winner Lentenor. He is also a half brother to minor stakes winner Holy Ground (by Saint Ballado).
Barbaro is out of Grade 2-placed La Ville Rouge, whose full sister, multiple listed stakes winner Lucky Lavender Gal, is the dam of listed stakes winner Lavender Lass (by Skip Trial). She is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Green Alligator (by Gate Dancer). La Ville Rouge is also a half sister to Sentimental Saga (by Akureyri), dam of Brazilian Group 3 winner Wild Emotions (by Wild Again) and second dam of 2012 Prioress Stakes (USA-G1) winner Emma’s Encore, and to Elsoma (by Tri Jet), dam of Grade 3 winner Annie Cake (by Gate Dancer). In addition, La Ville Rouge is a half sister to Given Us Hope (by Gate Dancer), dam of Puerto Rican listed stakes winner Frontier Tour (by Canadian Frontier).
La Ville Rouge was produced from juvenile stakes winner La Reine Rouge (by King’s Bishop), whose Grade 3-winning full sister La Reine Elaine is the dam of multiple listed stakes winner La Reine’s Terms (by Private Terms) and minor stakes winner Sunset Party (by Twilight Agenda). La Reine Rouge is also a full sister to La Reine Blanche, dam of listed stakes winner Crumpton (by Horatius), and a half sister to Marlodge (by Tentam), second dam of multiple Grade 2 winner During.
La Reine Rouge and her sisters are out of the Nearctic mare Silver Betsy, a winning half sister to multiple stakes winner Silver Doctor (by Restless Native). The next dam in Barbaro’s tail-female line, Silver Abbey, is a winner by Djeddah out of the unraced Burg-el-Arab mare Goldarette, a half sister to 1954 Charles W. Bidwill Memorial Handicap winner Vantage (by Okapi).
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: February 11, 2022
Race record
7 starts, 6 wins, 0 second, 0 third, US$2,302,221
2005:
- Won Laurel Futurity (USA-G3, 8.5FT, LRL)
2006:
- Won Florida Derby (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (USA-G1, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Tropical Park Derby (USA-G3, 9FT, Calder)
- Won Holy Bull Stakes (USA-G3, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
Honors
Eclipse Award finalist, American champion 3-year-old colt (2006)
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 2005, 12 pounds below champion Stevie Wonderboy.
Barbaro earned a rating of 126 pounds on the 2006 World's Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings for his Kentucky Derby performance, 3 pounds below overall highweight Invasor and 2 pounds below the top-rated 3-year-old male on dirt, Bernardini.
As an individual
A big, powerful, masculine colt, Barbaro was intelligent with a dominant but not vicious personality. While racing, he tended to climb in front while driving powerfully off his hindquarters to create a big, bounding stride, gait mechanics that many observers thought might be better suited to running on turf (the surface on which Barbaro won his first three races).
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Barbaro was bred and owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables. He was trained by Michael Matz and was ridden to his Kentucky Derby triumph by Edgar Prado. After Barbaro’s death, the Jacksons arranged to have him buried just outside one of the main entrances to Churchill Downs, so that fans could visit the burial site without having to pay an admission fee.
Pedigree notes
Barbaro is inbred 4x5 to 1955 American Horse of the Year Nashua. He is a full brother to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Margano and to minor stakes winner Lentenor. He is also a half brother to minor stakes winner Holy Ground (by Saint Ballado).
Barbaro is out of Grade 2-placed La Ville Rouge, whose full sister, multiple listed stakes winner Lucky Lavender Gal, is the dam of listed stakes winner Lavender Lass (by Skip Trial). She is a half sister to Grade 3 winner Green Alligator (by Gate Dancer). La Ville Rouge is also a half sister to Sentimental Saga (by Akureyri), dam of Brazilian Group 3 winner Wild Emotions (by Wild Again) and second dam of 2012 Prioress Stakes (USA-G1) winner Emma’s Encore, and to Elsoma (by Tri Jet), dam of Grade 3 winner Annie Cake (by Gate Dancer). In addition, La Ville Rouge is a half sister to Given Us Hope (by Gate Dancer), dam of Puerto Rican listed stakes winner Frontier Tour (by Canadian Frontier).
La Ville Rouge was produced from juvenile stakes winner La Reine Rouge (by King’s Bishop), whose Grade 3-winning full sister La Reine Elaine is the dam of multiple listed stakes winner La Reine’s Terms (by Private Terms) and minor stakes winner Sunset Party (by Twilight Agenda). La Reine Rouge is also a full sister to La Reine Blanche, dam of listed stakes winner Crumpton (by Horatius), and a half sister to Marlodge (by Tentam), second dam of multiple Grade 2 winner During.
La Reine Rouge and her sisters are out of the Nearctic mare Silver Betsy, a winning half sister to multiple stakes winner Silver Doctor (by Restless Native). The next dam in Barbaro’s tail-female line, Silver Abbey, is a winner by Djeddah out of the unraced Burg-el-Arab mare Goldarette, a half sister to 1954 Charles W. Bidwill Memorial Handicap winner Vantage (by Okapi).
Books and media
- Barbaro: A Nation’s Love Story was written by Pamela K. Brodowsky and Tom Philbin. It was released by HarperCollins in 2007.
- Another HarperCollins release about Barbaro is My Guy Barbaro: A Jockey’s Journey Through Love, Triumph, and Heartbreak with America’s Favorite Horse. Written by Edgar Prado and John Eisenberg, it was released in 2008.
- Barbaro, Smarty Jones & Ruffian: The People’s Horses was written by Linda Hanna. It was released by Middle Atlantic Press in 2008.
- Barbaro: America’s Horse was a children’s book written by Shelley Fraser Mickle. A winner of the Bank Street Award, it was released by Aladdin Paperbacks in 2007.
- The Kentucky Derby’s 10th-anniversary tribute to Barbaro, which includes footage from his races, can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVW4edZ1SnI.
Fun facts
- Barbaro was named for one of the foxhounds pictured in a painting owned by the Jacksons. His full brothers Nicanor, Lentenor, and Margano were also named for hounds in the painting.
- When Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby, he had not raced since the Florida Derby five weeks earlier. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby off such a long break between races had been Needles, who in 1956 won the Kentucky Derby after taking the Florida Derby six weeks earlier.
- Barbaro was treated for his fracture and its complications at the New Bolton Center, which is the University of Pennsylvania’s campus for veterinary medicine. After the colt’s death, the Jacksons endowed a chair for equine disease research at the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school. The New Bolton Center also received a large anonymous donation which was used to create the Barbaro Fund for the care and treatment of large animals.
- Barbaro’s life and death are also honored by Gulfstream Park’s creation of three scholarships for veterinary students at the University of Florida and by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities’ Barbaro Memorial Fund, which sponsors work related to equine health and safety.
- Dr. Dean Richardson, who led the team that tried to save Barbaro’s life, was honored with the 2006 Big Sport of Turfdom Award by the Turf Publicists of America.
- The National Thoroughbred Racing Association named the initial announcement indicating that Barbaro might be saved as its “Moment of the Year” for 2006.
- In 2006, Ty Beanie Babies released a limited edition plush toy in the colt’s likeness. Breyer Animal Creations followed suit with a model of Barbaro at full racing speed, which was re-released with a rewritten description on the box after the colt’s death..
- A statue of Barbaro as he appeared when racing down the stretch at Churchill Downs was unveiled at the colt’s burial site on April 26, 2009. The artist who created the statue is Alexa King.
- Both Pimlico and Delaware Park renamed existing stakes races in honor of Barbaro. The first running of Pimlico’s Barbaro Stakes (formerly the Sir Barton Stakes) was won by Chelokee, trained by Michael Matz.
- On the same weekend that Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby, another colt bred by the Jacksons, George Washington, won the Two Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) across the Atlantic for owners and Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor. In a sad irony, this outstanding runner, a two-time European champion, would also die as the result of a racetrack injury as he broke an ankle during the running of the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1).
Last updated: February 11, 2022