KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Amid the public outpouring of sympathy for Barbaro and his owners' hopes that “someday all of you will be able to see little Barbaros running around the track,” there remains an underlying question:

Would all this money and time be spent on a horse's recovery if he were not the Kentucky Derby winner and expected to gain millions in stud fees?

“If this horse were a gelding these owners would have definitely done everything to save this horse's life,” said Dr. Dean Richardson, who pinned together the leg bones the 3-year-old shattered in the Preakness. “If this horse could have absolutely no reproductive value, they would have saved this horse's life.”

Even if Barbaro becomes a stallion, there still would be questions concerning his ability to cover mares because of the catastrophic injury to his hind leg.

“But that's a long way from now,” Richardson said. “If he's doing well, it's conceivable he could possibly be breeding mares next year, but that's way ahead of it. He's just a few days into post op.”

Even so, there was more good news Tuesday from the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, where Barbaro was transported Saturday night directly from Pimlico Race Course.