Garry Jones / AP

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is trying to reach full recovery after breaking his leg at the Preakness Stakes in May.

updated 5:10 p.m. ET Dec. 21, 2006

BALTIMORE - The Sir Barton Stakes will be renamed the Barbaro Stakes in honor of the Kentucky Derby winner recovering from a broken leg suffered in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Thursday.

The mile and a sixteenth race for 3-year-olds will be run before the Preakness Stakes in May.

“We thought it was the right thing to do,” said Lou Raffetto, president and chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club. “Barbaro has become the most popular racehorse in the country because of his courageous battle to overcome such a severe injury. This change will allow the next generation of race fans to reflect upon this magnificent and beloved champion during Preakness Day at Pimlico.”

The Sir Barton Stakes, named after the first horse to capture the Triple Crown in 1919, debuted at Pimlico in 1993. The newly named Barbaro stakes is one of eight money races on the Preakness undercard.

Earlier this month, Barbaro’s surgeon said the Derby winner’s long hospital stay finally may be winding down.

Dean Richardson, chief surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, said Barbaro’s progress depended on a number of factors, but he anticipated he would be able to leave in the “not so distant future.”

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