Prado breaks silence in wake of Barbaro's injury

Prado breaks silence in wake of Barbaro's injury

Updated 5/24/2006 1:15 PM ET

By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
Jockey Edgar Prado, so shaken by the tragic injury that caused him to pull up Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro during the Preakness that he refused interview requests, ended his silence Wednesday morning to express regret about what occurred.

"I want to say to all of the people I'm very sorry for the situation," said Prado in a phone interview with USA TODAY. "I know everybody wanted to have a Triple Crown and to have a smile on their face.

"I never wanted to bring sadness and tears to people I care about so much."

Barbaro suffered a catastrophic injury to his right hind leg shortly after he broke sharply from the starting gate Saturday in the middle leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. He continues to fight for his life after surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center operated for six hours on Sunday and used 27 screws to repair the horse's career-ending injuries.

Prado knows first-hand the horrified reaction of those who watched the enormously popular 3-year-old break down. His wife, Liliana, and two of their children, Patricia, 12, and Luis, 11, were part of the record crowd of 118,412 at Pimlico Race Course.

"Like everybody else, we were shocked," Liliana said. "My daughter, Patricia, reacted really bad. She started to cry and she ran away for a little while." Liliana eventually reached Patricia on her cellphone. The girl had broken away from her mother to try to find her father.

Barbaro had won the Kentucky Derby by 6½ lengths to cap a perfect 6-for-6 start to his promising career and raise high hopes that he could become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

When Prado was asked if he expected his prized mount to become only the 12th horse to complete that sweep, he replied, "Yes. Every time he ran, he was getting better. He was more mature, getting more experience."

The rider sensed the colt was primed for another big effort in the Preakness.

"I was very glad when I saw him in the post parade," said the native of Peru. "He looked alert and bright. I was very eager to go to the gate and get the job done."

Barbaro was so anxious that he broke through the starting gate before it was released. There has been some speculation that he might have hurt himself in the process. Prado doubts that was the case and said he took every precaution.

"I don't have X-ray vision. I jogged him and took my time (returning to behind the gate). We checked his knees and legs and it seemed everything was fine."

Prado emphasized that, even with so much at stake, he would never have knowingly jeopardized himself or the horse if he had any doubts about his mount's soundness.

"I'm a horse lover, more than anything else," he said. "If something was wrong with the horse, I would have scratched him, even with the Triple Crown. I would have scratched, and we live to fight another day."

Prado's quick reactions are credited with giving Barbaro a chance to survive. Instead of bailing, he did everything he could to pull up the horse and keep him from doing more damage.

"If he had jumped off, my guess is we would have lost the horse," said noted veterinarian Larry Bramlage, who attended the Preakness.

Prado said Barbaro helped his cause by showing intelligence to go with his enormous athletic talent.

"He was full of run," he said, "but he knew he was in trouble. He knew something was wrong. He didn't give me resistance. I have had horses that just keep going."



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