barbaro – Sportscolumn Blog

$1M Barbaro Bonus at stake in the Preakness

Not to be outdone by those promotional whores from the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness folks have created their own Barbaro tribute. There will be a $1 million bonus at the Preakness on Saturday if a horse breaks his leg within 6 1/2 lengths — the same area where Barbaro broke his leg last year.

The bonus would be divided among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent, it was announced on Monday. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

The so-called Bamfecta will be paid by Purina Brands, the Preakness’ presenting sponsor for the second consecutive year and subsidiary of Nestle. To pay the bonus, the Missouri company took out an insurance policy.

Scott Lunders, VP of Marketing and Promotion said, “There’s no way you don’t see Barbaro coming out of that starting gate, coming down that track. We wanted to make sure the memory of Barbaro was preserved by putting a bonus in place in case it happens again. It would be an ultimate tribute to Barbaro if a horse would collapse out of the starting gate and that horse deserves a bonus.

Barbaro could not be reached for comment.

Links:
[Chicago Sun Times]: Visions of Barbaro take center stage

Barbaro needs to die already… oh wait

We don’t hate the whole Barbaro thing as much as the guys over as Deadspin but we do think it’s really silly. The latest Barbaro news? The field at the Kentucky Derby this year will be racing against the ghost of Barbaro past. If the winner of the Derby wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths (the margin of Barbaro’s victory), the winning trainer, jockey, owner, and a charity will each received 25% of a $1M bonus.

It’s certainly creative, it’s certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,” Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. “What’s really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.

Force us to remember Barbaro? I think the media is doing a thorough enough job of that. It is impossible to read a single story on the Kentucky Derby without hearing about Barbaro. Look, it was a sad story. We pulled for Barbaro to make it through surgery. But when he was euthanized, that was the end of that story. Why is Barbaro’s death that important? Because he was a pretty horse? Please. There’s less public remembrance of athletes who died last year.

Links:
[ Cincy Post]: Sponsor offers $1M bonus