Surgeon Concurs Barbaro Likey Bumped In Race- Ends Rumors!

By DICK JERARDI

jerardd@phillynews.com

Dr. Dean Richardson is much more interested in the now and the next than the then, but the surgeon who operated on Barbaro said, "My impression from the beginning was that the horse was bumped right before the injury."

While saying "I'm not a forensic scientist" and "This isn't 'CSI: Pimlico,' " Richardson thinks Pimlico executive Lou Raffetto's theory that Barbaro's right rear hoof was inadvertently struck by Brother Derek's right front hoof during the first few hundred yards of the Preakness is "the most reasonable explanation."

Raffetto, after thoroughly scrutinizing the tapes, said in Tuesday's Daily News he is "80 percent certain" that the two hooves coming together might have caused Barbaro's foot to twist awkwardly, resulting in the three fractures Richardson repaired.

"I did not examine the tapes," Richardson said. "But if this helps dispel all the notions that he was lame going to the gate, that is a good thing."

Richardson understands that when something so unexpected happens, everybody wants an explanation, even one not terribly satisfying.

"It is just possible to have a catastrophic accident, and that is all there is," Richardson said.

Like trainer Michael Matz, Richardson, chief of surgery at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, where Barbaro continues his remarkable recovery, is much more interested in the recovery than the reasons for the accident.

"I completely agree with Michael that it is not important in terms of assigning any blame, but it might help lay to rest some of the concerns about the horse injuring it while breaking early from the gate," Richardson said. "The concept of just bad racing luck is difficult for some to grasp."

Richardson has seen enough races to know that "horses come together all the time." With 1,000-pound animals running 35 mph in tight spaces, this happens in races every day at every track.

Almost always, nothing more happens. This time, something terrible happened. That is the really bad news.

The really good news is that, according to Richardson, Barbaro continues to be "more comfortable than I had hoped" at this point of his recovery. And each day that goes by gives just a bit more hope that what looked so ominous on May 20 may very well have the happy ending everybody had hoped tosee on a race track.