No runner ever beat Barbaro — unless you want to count the ill-begotten Preakness Stakes in which he ran all of 200 yards.

Later, in retirement, the gallant horse emerged a symbol.  He inspired thousands to join him in a struggle against the odds.  He fought through a grueling surgery, overcame laminitis — a deadly disease, and remained treatable through setback after setback, as hundreds, maybe thousands, of compassionate Barbaro watchers kept their vigil.

In their efforts to keep Barbaro alive, the Jacksons became the embodiment of goodness. For all that the Jacksons did for him, they fulfilled our vision of how people should act toward each other, not just of how humans should relate to other living things.

In Dean Richardson, Barbaro’s soft-spoken surgeon, we witnessed an expert at work.  He gave generously of his time, in the same way that the Jacksons gave generously of their money, and his reports from New Bolton Center gave us reassurance that whatever could be done was being done.

And, lastly, there were Barbaro’s fans to admire. For them, the daily news of the up and down struggle of the horse’s convalescence might have been a balm, but their infectious involvement in the lives of Barbaro, the Jacksons and Richardson was staunch. In times when the unanimity of humanity is unfound, the collective and unswerving support that they lent Barbaro and each other was admirable.

Many people might see Barbaro’s passing as nothing more than another sad turn in a sport already too burdened by tragic accident for its own good. Some may even turn bitter to horse racing as a result of the steady focus that Barbaro’s fight for life gave to the problem.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos

Nevertheless, Barbaro’s death will have a resounding effect that over the years will only grow larger and more phenomenal than it is already. The definition of greatness is found in the moments of transcendent effect similar to what happened Monday.

With the passing of Barbaro, for many reasons, the sport of horse racing lost a great one.  Tomorrow, like the meaning of the image in a photo, his myth begins.