On May 20, Barbaro was rushed to the New Bolton Center, about 30 miles from Philadelphia in Kennett Square, hours after shattering his right hind leg just a few strides into the Preakness Stakes. He underwent a five-hour operation that fused two joints, and Richardson called the colt’s chances a “coin toss.”

The recovery, though, seemed to go well. The bones that had shattered in the Preakness were healed and the only major concern was in Barbaro’s left rear leg, where 80 percent of the hoof had been removed in July when he developed laminitis.

Then a deep abscess in the right hind hoof began causing discomfort last week, and surgery was required to insert two steel pins in a bone to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing right rear foot.

“This horse was a hero,” said David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. “His owners went above and beyond the call of duty to save this horse. It’s an unfortunate situation, but I think they did the right thing in putting him down.”

When Barbaro broke down, his right hind leg flared out awkwardly as jockey Edgar Prado jumped off and tried to steady the ailing horse. Race fans at Pimlico wept. Within 24 hours fans across the country seemed to be caught up in a “Barbaro watch.”

Well-wishers young and old showed up at the New Bolton Center with cards, flowers, gifts, goodies and even religious medals, and thousands of e-mails poured into the hospital’s Web site. The biggest gift has been the $1.2 million raised since early June for the Barbaro Fund, money to be put toward needed equipment such as an operating room table and a raft and sling for the same pool recovery Barbaro used after his surgeries.

The Jacksons, who own about 70 racehorses, broodmares and yearlings and have been in the business for 30 years, spent tens of thousands of dollars hoping the best horse they ever owned would recover.

“Everything was looking really, really good, and, of course, I honestly thought that the horse was going to pull it off,” said breeder Bill Sanborn at Springmint Farm near Nicholasville, Ky., where Barbaro was foaled and raised.

La Ville Rouge, Barbaro’s dam, remains pregnant at Mills Ridge Farm in Lexington with a full brother to Barbaro. The foal is expected in the early spring.

A son of Dynaformer, Barbaro started his career on the turf, but trainer Michael Matz knew he would have to try his versatile colt on the dirt. He had to find out early if the horse was good enough for the Triple Crown races.

Barbaro was good enough, all right. After winning his first three races on turf with authority, Matz drew up an unconventional plan for a dirt campaign that spaced out Barbaro’s races to save him for the entire Triple Crown, three races in five weeks at varying distances over different tracks.

In his dirt debut, Barbaro won the Holy Bull Stakes over a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 4. After an unusually long eight-week break, he won the Florida Derby by a half-length over Sharp Humor and it was on to Churchill Downs, though not without criticism that Barbaro couldn’t win the Kentucky Derby off a five-week layoff. After all, it had been 50 years since Needles won the Derby off a similar break.

Not only did Barbaro win the Derby, he demolished what was supposed to be one of the toughest fields in years. The 6½-length winning margin was the largest since 1946, when Assault won by eight lengths and went on to sweep the Triple Crown.

Barbaro would never get his chance at a Triple. His career, which earned $2,302,200, would end in the Preakness, where that horrible misstep would lead to his only loss in seven starts.

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