Gretchen and Roy Jackson, owners of Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, hope to keep his memory alive by pledging $3 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine to support research that will benefit generations of horses to come.
The agonizing decision to euthanize Barbaro came after a particularly painful bout of laminitis struck the bay colt. Barbaro had been recuperating at UPenn’s School of Veterinary Medicine after suffering a broken leg during the Preakness. But on January 29, after consultating with Barbaro’s attending surgeon, the Jacksons determined the horse’s quality of life had reached a point of no return.
“Grief is the price we all pay for love,” Gretchen Jackson said. “I hope we can turn our love into an energy that supports horses throughout the world.”
Other funds in memory of Barbaro have been established as well. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has created a Barbaro Memorial Fund to raise awareness and money for equine health and safety research, with a specific target toward research projects that focus on laminitis.
Each year, thousands of horses are euthanized due to laminitis. Both the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the United States Department of Agriculture list laminitis as a priority area for equine research and funding.
The American Quarter Horse Association, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the Morris Animal Foundation have all listed laminitis a priority for research funding.
For more information on what you can do to help further laminitis research, visit:
American Association of Equine Practitioners; www.aaep.org
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine; www.vet.upenn.edu
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association; www.ntra.com
American Quarter Horse Foundation; www.aqha.com/foundation
Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation; www.grayson-jockeyclub.org
Morris Animal Foundation; www.morrisanimalfoundation.org