This isn't quite when Secretariat died and the commentator for CBS (or NBC or whatever station it was) literally starting crying, but it's certainly emotional.
Fish, you mentioned the obvious question... how many people here really care about animals... it's not about an animal. This was also an athlete. This horse had the shot to do something that no one has done in a long time. Though I don't think he stood a shot at the Triple Crown, we'll never really know. That horse was special though. I mean, even as recently as a few years ago, that horse would've been put to sleep within 24 hours. This was truly a great survival story that unfortunately had a sad ending to it.
Someone else mentioned that horses die every day. Tis true... I'm sure quite a few of them do. But quite a few humans die every day as well. We don't take the time to recognize each and every one of them, but if a famous athlete dies, the whole country, and in some cases, the world world stops to take notice.
Barbaro was more than just your average horse. Barbaro was the winner of the Kentucky Freakin' Derby... Just like the winning QB in the Super Bowl, the winning pitcher in the clinching game of the World Series, the goalie in the Stanley Cup, etc.
I remember I was en route to Austin during the race. I was on the phone with my father while I was sitting in Atlanta's airport getting the call of the race from him. He didn't tell me who won. All I kept hearing was "Fuck, Barbaro broke his leg. They're gonna have to put that horse down."
I was born on Derby Day '85 (Spend a Buck) and grew up a short drive from Belmont Racetrack, so horse racing will always have a special place in my heart. I can only hope this horse was put to rest before the worst of the pain set in and not a moment too late.