"It's amazing," she said. "I could say he's a splendid-looking horse. He has a presence to him. He has a very noble, gallant look about him when he's on the track, but it has to be more than that.

"I think people saw everybody support the horse and love it through its injury rather than discarding it," said Jackson. "Everything is disposable in society now and maybe people saw this as something that isn't disposable. It's valued."

HOSPITAL BILLS

Jackson bristles at suggestions Barbaro was saved for the millions of dollars he could earn as a stud.

"We don't even know if he's potent," she said. "He's never been tested. And wouldn't it have been simpler to collect the insurance and just walk away? We wouldn't have had to deal with all that we've been dealing with.

"And God knows what the (hospital) bills are going to be like. Yes, it would have been a lot simpler to walk away."

Two enduring images of Barbaro are emblazoned on the public's mind. The first is his stirring 6 1/2-length triumph at the May 6 Kentucky Derby, the largest winning margin in 60 years.

The second is a distraught Barbaro struggling with his shattered leg two weeks later at Pimlico, a horse wanting to run but unable to lower his foot on the track.

Richardson remains guardedly optimistic about Barbaro's chances of survival.

"He's in the process of regrowing his hoof," he said. "And that's not a sure-fire proposition that it occurs adequately on any horse at any time. He has a long way to go. He is certainly not out of the woods. But we're hopeful."

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