Deadspin: Barbaro

Deadspin Classic: Letters To Barbaro

Deadspin 2006 — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:15:32 EDT

Originally published May 25, 2006 More »

Deadspin Hall Of Fame Inductee: Barbaro

Will Leitch — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Presenting the final 2009 inductee to The Deadspin Hall Of Fame ... More »

Deadspin HOF Nominee: Barbaro

Will Leitch — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:00:25 EDT

Oh, like he wasn't going to get a nomination. Barbaro will be nominated until you guys finally come to your senses and elect him. More »

And For His Next Trick, Sun Tzu Will Write The Sequel To All The Pretty Horses

Ben Cohen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EDT

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"The strain, my dear, the strain. I have attended wars which seemed less emotional experiences than Pony Club polo matches." Note to columnists: War is never a good analogy. Especially when you're writing about tony ponies. [Daily Mail] More »

Now Batting Cleanup For Your Atlanta Braves: Barbaro

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:03 EDT

He is risen. Barbaro Canizares is his name. The Braves just called him up from Triple-A Gwinnett, and he's hitting behind Chipper Jones at this very moment. At the plate, he is, by all accounts, a stud. More »

There Is Another: Brother Of Barbaro Romps In First Win

Tommy Craggs — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:15:00 EDT

Barbaro's full brother, 3-year-old Nicanor, broke his maiden Wednesday by 15 1/4 lengths at Delaware Park. Fans of the late Barbaro reacted with typically cool understatement. One told the New York Times: "Wahhhooooo!" More »

Deadspin Is Your Home For The Only Horse Racing News That Matters

Pete Gaines — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

How did we miss this? Last week, Churchill Downs unveiled a life-sized statue of Deadspin's 2006 Sports Human of the Year Barbaro, who was a horse. My love. Affirmed. NEVER FORGET. [CBS News] More »

Time For 2008 SHOTY Nominations

Will Leitch — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:30:59 EST

The time has come, ladies and gentlefolk. (We're actually starting a little bit late.) The 2008 Sportshuman Of The Year awards are about to grace you with their presence, and, as always, we need your nominations over here. More »

Deadspin HOF Nominee: Barbaro

Will Leitch — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:00:46 EDT

One SHOTY winner looks like he's gonna make it into the Hall this year. The other is up for an unprecedented third time. Is this the year? Can't a dead horse catch a break? More »

Dee Mirich Says Goodbye To Our Editor In Her Own Special Way

Rick Chandler — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:30:25 EDT

She doesn't actually mention him by name, but we know that prolific Internet horse poet Dee Mirich has been touched in a profound way by Will's imminent departure. Just read between the lines of her latest poem and you'll find a stirring tribute to Will, Deadspin, and of course Grade II Peter Pan Stakes winner Casino Drive. But I caution you: Be sure to have a handkerchief close by. And also a sandwich (it's very long). More »

Prepare Thyself For Impending Debut Of Barbaro's Brother. Oy

Rick Chandler — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:30:07 EDT

Just because you have a famous brother doesn't mean that you will approach the heights of greatness yourself, as anyone who has seen a Daniel Baldwin movie will readily attest. We've previously written about Barbaro's younger brother, of course, but now the horse — named Nicanor — is ready to make his racing debut. And the best part is that nobody has the faintest clue as to if he's any good. Hmm; I feel a poem coming on ... More »

Dee Mirich Cranks Out The Classic Of All Classics

rickchand — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:35:00 EDT

Many of us have wondered why prolific message board poet Dee Mirich has remained silent on the tragic Eight Belles Kentucky Derby accident. After all, when Barbaro fell, you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one of her offerings. But now all is clear: Ms. Mirich had been working feverishly on her magnum opus; a poem that would resonate through the vast reaches of time, perfectlly capturing the mood of a nation. More »

It's Getting Crowded In Horse Valhalla

rickchand — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:10:00 EDT

Eight Belles is probably in Heaven by now, galloping in fields of clover on four sturdy legs and eating tasty apples. No, I'm not sure which friends she's romping about with up there (a safe bet; one of them is not Christopher Reeve). Down here on earth, though, things are quite unsettled. Who is to blame? Could the tragedy have been avoided? Does anyone know the whereabouts of Jeff Gillooly? More »

One Year Since We Lost The Horse That Cured Cancer

Leitch — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:40:03 EST

By now, you've surely heard: Barbaro will be buried at Churchill Downs. You really need to see how poorly everyone handled it at the press conference. More »

Barbaro To Live On (Upside Down) In Central Park

Leitch — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:40:59 EST

We had made a vow that we would go at least a month without mentioning Barbaro. And then we learned that they're making an upside down statue of Barbaro to be placed in Central Park. And we realized that resistance was futile. More »

Hey, Everyone! They're About To Bury Barbaro! Finally!

Leitch — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:10:58 EST

We're just a couple weeks away from the year anniversary of the day Barbaro galloped off this mortal coil, and no one has decided yet what to do with his ashes. It's a big concern. Really. More »

There's Something About Mirich

rickchand — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:35:39 EST

I used to think that I knew what Dee Mirich was writing about. I would read her impassioned, fractured poetry on various horse racing message boards, and nod knowingly. "Yes," I would say to myself, "Angels DO prefer hitching their horses to rainbows." But lately, Dee has been listing toward crazy even more than usual ... these days I fear that Miss Daisy is just driving on rims. Anyone in the Merrilville, Ind., area who can stop by and check to see if she's OK? Until then, a team of Navajo codebreakers are working on the message below. More »

Just Two Hours Left To Buy GREAT ART

Leitch — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:20:03 EDT

We really don't know any other way to put this: You can currently buy a painting of Michael Vick riding Barbaro. Worlds collide, combine and explode. More »

Parsing The Deadspin HOF Voting

Leitch — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:35:29 EDT

So, we only had one entrant in the Deadspin Hall of Fame this year. Some have called for us to automatically induct some popular picks, like we did last year with YWML and Carl Monday, but that seems against the spirit of matters. (We don't think anyone would argue they wouldn't have made it, had it been up for a vote; we just wanted those two to have a special honor.) We are populists at heart, and we do believe the people have chosen. More »

Deadspin Film School Continues

rickchand — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:40:08 EDT

Our next Deadspin Hall of Fame campaign film involves Barbaro and comes from the fertile mind of commenter Athletic Supporter, who, like all good directors, ties everything together with some compelling scenes at the end. More »

Deadspin HOF Nominee: Barbaro

Leitch — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:45:37 EDT

Our only returning nominee, the circumstances have certainly changed a little bit since Barbaro garnered only 31.1 percent of the vote in Hall of Fame balloting. More »

The big screen version of Barbaro's tale...

Leitch — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:55:15 EDT

The big screen version of Barbaro's tale — directed by the guy who played Linda Fiorentino's hick stud in The Last Seduction! — is gonna hit the big screen. We are already in line. Someone please bring us a sandwich, or at least some oats. [Variety] More »

You Know You Would Have Pinned The Cover To Your Wall

Leitch — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:00:49 EDT

Via The Blog Of Hilarity, a fascinating tidbit from The New York Post: The cover of this month's Vanity Fair was not supposed to be Transformers "star" Shia Lebeouf. It was supposed to be the great Barbaro. More »

Watch, Hoof, Watch!

Leitch — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:45:19 EDT

You've sat through "The Sopranos," waiting for them to just settle the whole matter already so you can stop seeing ads for it. You ordered HBO for one reason only. And the night you've been waiting for is among us: It's the HBO Barbaro Documentary. More »

The Less Majestic Barbaro

mjdeadspin — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:42:01 EDT

Proving once again (gosh, how much proof do you people need?) that he is blessed with other-worldly powers, Barbaro has expedited the reincarnation process and has gotten himself back into the world of competitive athletics. Barbaro had a boxing match last night in San Jose. More »

We Will Cherish Him, And Keep Him Warm

Leitch — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:25:56 EDT

You might remember, from a couple months ago, that famous eBay auction in which we discovered that Barbaro lives on forever through snack food. To remind, from the seller: More »

Drink, Hoof, Drink

Leitch — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:00:50 EDT

It was only a matter of time until this happened: Barbaro-branded bourbon. More »

Live From Churchill Downs...

mjdeadspin — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:05:12 EDT

I was under the impression that this thing would be run at around 5 p.m. Not the case, as it turns out ... NBC's coverage starts at 5, but they don't start actually beating the horses until around 6. Somehow, I had forgotten that that a 2-minute requires 6 hours of pregame preparation. More »

None Of These Boys Look Particularly Big Or Bossy

mjdeadspin — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:15:00 EDT

About 45 minutes from now, the Kentucky Derby will get underway, and Barbaro will attempt to defend his crown ... wait, what? Dammit. Oh well. More »

ESPN Trots Out The Barbaro Crazies Again

Leitch — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:30:47 EDT

We have enjoyed, in this week of Barbaro remembrance, the new focus on the kind, not-at-all-unbalanced souls who worship at the altar of the great lost champion, the ones we've been following with somewhat concerned fascination over the last year. Without fail, every reporter who talks to the Dee Miriches of the world ends up charmed by them, though it's possible they're just disoriented by all the cat hair. More »

You Can't Stop Barbaro, You Can Only Hope To Put Him Down

Leitch — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:45:12 EDT

Expect, in the next week, Madison Square Garden to be haunted by the ghost of a rather pissed Barbaro; the overtime in the Rangers-Sabres game yesterday caused the Barbaro documentary to be postponed and rescheduled for the vastly unworthy CNBC this Friday. Jeez, why don't you just put the damned thing on Versus? CNBC? Maybe Jim Cramer can host. More »

Silence For Barbaro

mjdeadspin — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 17:30:00 EDT

Today, of course, is Barbaro's birthday, and I would like to mark the occasion with a moment of silence ... I'm not sure how to do a moment of silence on a blog, other than to just run a giant artist's rendering of a sad horse. I think I'm just going to ask you to silently ponder this piece and think about what it means to you. Do this until the Barbaro special starts at 5:00 on NBC. More »

On Sunday, It's Horse Christmas!

Leitch — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:45:43 EDT

Friends, we are only three days away from a historic day: The big fourth birthday party for Barbaro. Nevermind that Barbaro is as aware of his birthday party right now as he would have been had he been alive; it's time to lament the passing of a non-sentient legend. More »

Barbaro's Brother Needs A Name

mjdeadspin — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:46:30 EDT

In case you missed the news yesterday, Barbaro now has a baby brother. He was brought into this world yesterday, and good news: he looks exactly like Barbaro. They're both brown and have really long faces. More »

Barbaro Gets The Soft Focus Treatment

Leitch — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:15:56 EDT

America, get your hankies ready. More »

He Has Risen, And Is Demanding Oats

rickchand — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:30:36 EDT

You know, we mocked the Barbaro message boarders when they claimed that Big Boss Horse was appearing to them from the afterlife. Yeah, we had a good laugh over that. But then a reader got to looking closely at our Jesus bowling post from last week, and made a startling discovery. Just look at the image above, without clicking on it, and tell us that you don't see Christ morphing into the ghostly head and neck of everyone's favorite three-legged racehorse (complete with mane). More »

For Sale: Game-Worn Barbaro Saddle

mjdeadspin — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 19:15:00 EDT

Soon, you'll have a chance to bid on the saddle that was used to ride Barbaro in the Kentucky Derby. It's being auctioned off at the Mint Jubilee Gala (I wonder what they serve at those things) the night before the next Kentucky Derby. More »

Think You Can Avoid The Legend Of Barbaro? Go Ahead, Try

rickchand — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:30:38 EDT

Two months after he cantered off of this mortal coil, further proof that the Barbaro phenomenon is still bigger than all of us. More »

Barbaro Lives On Through Snack Food (But Not In The Way You're Thinking)

Leitch — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:45:54 EDT

Hope, friends, hope! There's hope for those who refuse to believe that Barbaro has hobbled off this mortal coil. More »

Pre-Order Your Barbaro Books Now!

Leitch — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:45:25 EST

We are less than two weeks away from the release of the most-anticipated literary venture into the mind of a horse since Seabiscuit, or at least Sex And The City. It's Barbaro: A Nation's Love Affair, which, fortunately, is only a metaphorical love affair. More »