Before 2006, the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center (NBC, formally the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals) was just one on a list of well-respected large-animal veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States.

And then came Barbaro.

The Thoroughbred racehorse and Kentucky Derby winner broke down that May during the Preakness Stakes in Maryland. He was transported to the Kennett Square, Pa., facility for emergency surgery and months of intensive care.

During his time at NBC, Barbaro amassed a global following of supporters, who left fan letters and care packages at the normally quiet, bucolic campus. Barbaro’s veterinary team and the NBC itself became mainstream-media regulars during the horse’s eight-month battle for survival. Laminitis finally forced Barbaro’s euthanasia in January 2007