Doctor: Barbaro 'Walking Very Well'

Vet Says Derby Winner On His Feet And Has Normal Vital Signs Two Days After Surgery

(CBS/AP) 
Despite the good initial reports, doctors guardedly have given Barbaro a 50-50 chance for survival, Alfonsi reports. There's still concern about infection, including laminitis, an often-fatal disease sometimes brought on by uneven weight balance.

The colt, accustomed to strong early morning gallops at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md., is far, far removed from that routine. His daily regimen now consists of trying to stand comfortably and keeping his weight evenly distributed. It may take weeks or even months before Barbaro is able to do more.

"He will stay here until we're good and ready to send him home," Richardson said. "He's got to be comfortable.

"Bad things can happen anytime with horses, good things take a long time to happen. It will take a long time to know if we have this thing even close to being cured."

Barbaro will spend his long recovery in the intensive care unit of this 650-acre center in the heart of Pennsylvania horse country.

Barbaro was the odds-on favorite to remain undefeated and win the Preakness to set up a Triple Crown try in the Belmont Stakes. But a few hundred yards out of the starting gate, he took a bad step, his leg flared out grotesquely and he veered sideways before jockey Edgar Prado pulled the powerful colt to a halt.

Later that night, he was vanned to New Bolton. Surgery lasted most of the afternoon on Sunday.

"I'm hoping for the best, I'm very optimistic," trainer Michael Matz said. "It's going to be a long time and we just have to take it day by day and keep our fingers crossed."

Barbaro has been receiving antibiotics and pain medication, and is able to move around, or even lie down, in his stall if he chooses.

"For this to be successful, the horse has to be able to stand during the healing stage," said Dr. Corinne Sweeney, the executive hospital director. "Lying down also would be advantageous to healing."

Prado, in an interview with MSNBC on Monday night, said he was "devastated about the whole situation" and planned to visit Barbaro later this week.

"It is like a bad dream," the jockey said. "Unfortunately, that's part of racing. And this is the bad, bad part of the racing."

Barbaro sustained a broken cannon bone above the ankle, a broken sesamoid bone behind the ankle and a broken long pastern bone below the ankle. The fetlock joint, the ankle, was dislocated.

Richardson said the pastern bone was shattered in "20-plus pieces."

The bones were put in place to fuse the joint by inserting a plate and 27 screws to repair damage so severe that most horses wouldn't have survived it.

Horses often are euthanized after serious leg injuries because circulation problems and deadly diseases can arise if they are unable to distribute weight on all fours. Also, money is a factor.

For extensive surgery and recovery, it could cost "tens of thousands of dollars," Richardson said. Many owners choose against trying to save a horse with a serious injury. But in Barbaro's case, the well-to-do Jacksons made it clear they are more concerned with Barbaro's recovery.

Earlier Monday, Richardson emphasized that the horse had a long road ahead, and would never race again.

There is "absolutely no chance of this horse racing again. There's none," Richardson said on The Early Show. "We're salvaging him as a breeding animal. The idea is to try and make him comfortable enough that he could basically go to a stud farm and breed mares. That's what we're trying to accomplish."