The news continued to be promising for Barbaro Thursday. Dr. Dean Richardson reported that the colt was “progressing nicely, has totally normal vital signs, and is in excellent condition” at the the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the University of Pennsylvania‘s New Bolton Center.

Richardson, who is the chief of surgery at the hospital, led the team that operated on Barbaro Sunday to repair the multiple fractures that the colt suffered to his right hind leg during the May 20 running of the Preakness (gr. I). The injuries were career-ending and life-threatening, requiring 27 screws and a metal plate to repair