by Steve Bailey

When Roy Jackson closes his eyes, he still can vividly envision his 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Barbaro racing into history.

“My memory is of him running down the stretch six lengths ahead with all four feet off the ground,” said Jackson, who bred and campaigned Barbaro with his wife, Gretchen.

Barbaro's life was cut tragically short after shattering his right hind leg in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and waging a heartbreaking struggle to overcome laminitis.

The Dynaformer colt survived another eight months as his leg healed and he fought to overcome laminitis in his left hind foot, a battle that captivated racing fans and inspired millions of non-racing fans that followed his emotional, daily struggle.

On January 29, 2007, after he began to show signs of laminitis in his fron feet, the Jacksons made the decision to euthanize Barbaro at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, prompting an outpouring of grief and support from around the world.

The Jacksons announced during a news conference on Tuesday that Barbaro’s remains—he was cremated shortly after his death—would be interred at Churchill Downs and marked at the entrance to the historic Louisville track by a bronze statue in a large elevated space enclosed by bricks. The space currently is used as a garden.

Barbaro will become the only horse buried on the grounds of Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby Museum, adjacent to the track, now holds the remains of four Derby winners—Sunny's Halo (1983), Carry Back ('61), Swaps ('55), and Broker's Tip ('33).

The Jacksons hope the memorial at Churchill, the site of Barbaro’s greatest triumph, will allow fans around the globe to share in his memory and honor the gutsy Derby winner.

The Jacksons said they considered several other sites for Barbaro's remains, including the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington and Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland. In the end, they kept coming back to Churchill Downs.

“This is a very exciting day for us and it’s nice to be able to take a deep breath and know we’re finally able to let people know where Barbaro is going to go,” Gretchen Jackson said.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response, and we thought we needed to choose a public place where he could be visited by his many fans. What better place than Churchill Downs?”

The Jacksons said they are waiting on several models of proposed designs for the statue and hope to select an artist within the next few months. The formal unveiling and dedication of the memorial is expected some time in 2009, and Churchill Downs officials plan to install a bronze marker in the garden within the next few weeks to designate where Barbaro’s ashes and the statue will be placed.

“Churchill Downs is deeply honored to be selected as the final resting place for Barbaro, who first captured our hearts with his impressive win in the 132nd Kentucky Derby and who demonstrated strength and determination in his long battle to overcome both injury and illness,” Churchill Downs President Steve Sexton said.

“Barbaro took his place in history on the first Saturday in May 2006 with a brilliant Kentucky Derby victory, but his accomplishments as a racehorse are certainly rivaled by the courage and resolve he displayed after his injury. We are grateful to the Jacksons for entrusting their beloved Derby champion to us.”

Prior to the news conference, which was held in an open rotunda inside the track’s Jockey Club suites area, a huge screen flashed images of Barbaro’s short but brilliant racing career as well as his drawn-out fight for survival.

Before the Jacksons made the announcement, a moving video tribute called “Barbaro—A Child’s Tribute” was shown on the screen. It included children from elementary schools in the track’s neighborhood explaining how they became aware of and attached to the horse, holding up drawings, cards, and poems as they spoke.

“He’s in a better place because he can rest now and doesn’t have to be hit in the butt by jockeys with sticks,” one young girl said. “He’s a lot better now, and he’s not in any pain.”

Several of the children from the video tribute attended the news conference and spent several moments chatting with the Jacksons prior to a charity autograph session featuring the couple at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

“Barbaro means a lot to me because after he got hurt it inspired me to become a veterinarian,” said 13-year-old Heather Jefferies from nearby Stuart Middle School. “I want to be able to help horses that got hurt like he did.”

Roy Jackson said he and his wife still receive mail daily from grieving fans, including many children, all over the world.

“We get very articulate letters saying what he meant to them,” he said. “It’s been overwhelming.”

As the days count down to the second anniversary of Barbaro’s Kentucky Derby triumph, Gretchen Jackson said she has taken solace in following the progress of Barbaro’s two full siblings—a two-year-old colt named Nicanor and a yearling they have decided to call Lentenor.

“We went down and saw Nicanor just last week, and he’s looking great … doing fine,” she said. “He’s coming along just as the average two-year-old would … except he’s carrying a tremendous amount of baggage.”

Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times