Barbaro Is Now Eternally Flying Toward the Finish at Churchill Downs

by Fran Jurga | 1 May 2009 | The Jurga Report

Barbaro memorial statue at Churchill Downs, originally uploaded by Rock and Racehorses.

I'm sure you will see this on the telecast of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday but check this out: the new statue of Barbaro outside the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs features a larger than life sculpture of the 2006 winner...and not one of his feet touches the ground! The sculpture is somehow suspended from the rail so the horse flies. Thanks to lucky-to-be-there New York photographer Sarah K. Andrew for sharing this photo.

Barbaro's Feet Won't Touch the Ground in New Memorial Sculpture at Churchill Downs

This 2006 Churchill Downs photo suggests the pose captured by sculptress Alexa King for Barbaro's memorial statue, which will be unveiled this spring at the Louisville, Kentucky racetrack.

The public unveiling of a larger-than-life bronze statue to celebrate the life of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky on the morning of Sunday, April 26, as the 2009 Derby Week begins in the city.

Production of the bronze statue is nearing its final stages under the direction of sculptor Alexa King. Her design captures Barbaro and jockey Edgar Prado in mid-flight between strides nearing the finish line, on their way to a dramatic victory in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

The unique statue will be mounted on a horizontal bronze rail that will support the 1,500-pound artwork, creating the impression that Barbaro and his rider are suspended in air. It is the first time that an equine statue of this size and scope has been presented with all four of the horse’s feet off the ground.

The statue will become the focal point of Barbaro’s official memorial and burial site at Churchill Downs. It will be placed outside Churchill Downs’ Gate 1 and near the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum along with Barbaro’s ashes, which will be interred beneath the bronze. Currently, a bronze marker, featuring Barbaro’s likeness, marks the location of the future memorial site beneath a large magnolia tree.

The 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands is scheduled for Saturday, May 2.

Churchill Downs Turns Pink, from the Spires to the Backside

posted by Fran Jurga | 17 November 2008 | The Jurga Report on Equisearch.com

If they had run the Derby yesterday, the blanket of roses draped over the winner's withers would have been pink instead of the traditional red ones.

Yesterday was not "business as usual" at the iconic Louisville racetrack, as 900 breast cancer survivors joined the state's First Lady, Jane Beshear, in raising awareness and funds for the prevention of breast cancer among the racetrack's employees.

Beshear's "Horses and Hope" program has been hosting awareness events at Kentucky's racetracks through October. Beshear has built on her relationships in the equine industry to deliver breast cancer education and services to racetrack workers and their families by hosting fundraising events at the state's tracks. So many supporters showed up at Churchill Downs that a second dining room had to be turned over to the group!

"There are over 80,000 equine related employees across the Bluegrass, many of whom are uninsured or underinsured," Beshear points out. "These individuals are the backbone of our signature industry and I am committed to giving back to the people that help to make Kentucky the horse capital of the world."

A committee of women who work in the equine industry is the engine that drives the program. It's called "The Pink Stable" and yesterday they turned the racetrack pink! Pink is the symbolic color of breast cancer awareness and fund-raising and not a color normally seen at the racetrack. All that changed yesterday!

Jockeys, outriders and grooms wore pink clothing or accents, and a pink cosmopolitan was the drink of the day. Winston, the mascot horse of the Kentucky Derby Museum, wore panniers as he circulated through the crowd so that donations to cancer research could be deposited in his saddle bags. A feature race was the "Horses and Hope" Stakes, and cancer survivors were invited to pose for the win photo in the winners circle.

While the fundraising group partied in the clubhouse, a mobile medical unit was set up in the stable area, offering breast cancer awareness information and free mammograms to women working in the barns and at the track.

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the twin spires of Churchill Downs have been swathed in pink spotlights.

It's wonderful to see an initiative like this to help racetrack workers. The event also brought 900 racegoers, mostly women, to the racetrack to meet Jane Beshear and be part of the fundraiser. Many of those women are probably not regular visitors to Churchill Down, so horse racing won, too!