updated 12:12 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2007

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Barbaro’s owners will take their time before determining the final resting place for their beloved Kentucky Derby winner.

It could be the Kentucky Derby Museum, just a few hundred yards from the scene of his greatest triumph in the 2006 Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Or it could be in the bluegrass of Lexington, Ky., at the 1,200-acre Kentucky Horse Park.

Barbaro’s final home might even form the basis of a regional racing museum in Pennsylvania.

“There’s a concept for some kind of museum for horses from this area,” Barbaro’s co-owner Gretchen Jackson said Wednesday. “We’ll be looking at that the next few days before deciding where Barbaro goes.”

Barbaro, who had been at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center since shattering three bones in his right hind leg in last May’s Preakness, was euthanized Monday.

“He was cremated,” Jackson said. “I assume it has taken place.”

Gretchen and Roy Jackson thought about burying Barbaro’s ashes at their 190-acre farm in West Grove, Pa., a few miles from New Bolton Center.

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“But he was so loved by the public, we’ve always said we wanted him in a place where people could visit,” Gretchen Jackson said. “It wouldn’t feel right with people coming in and out of here.”

The Jacksons are thankful the Derby museum and the horse park are interested in helping, but burying Barbaro’s ashes at a local racing museum is appealing, too.

One issue Jackson cleared up is that no sperm was taken from Barbaro before he was euthanized. Precise rules have been established that thoroughbreds must breed with mares naturally.

“We don’t even know if he was potent,” Jackson said. “It would be great to have his babies, but it won’t happen.”

Richardson said future fertility would have been a bonus, but “we only were interested in saving his life.”

Video: barbaro death TODAY Hero horse Barbaro loses gallant battle Jan. 30: Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro is euthanized, ending an eight-month struggle since the colt broke down at last year’s Preakness Stakes. NBC's Peter Alexander reports. MSNBC-TV talks with columnist Celizic Doctor: Barbaro’s death 'very difficult'

Tuesday, subdued staffers at New Bolton tried to get on with business as usual. It wasn’t easy, especially for chief surgeon Dean Richardson, who cared for Barbaro from the start and built a special bond with the colt.

During Richardson’s morning rounds Tuesday, there were no bright eyes staring back at him from the corner ICU stall Barbaro occupied.

“I’ve been getting up before six every morning for the last eight months to look at the horse,” Richardson said, pausing to collect his thoughts. “And he’s not there. It’s kind of tough.”

There was still plenty of work, though. Back in surgery, Richardson popped out briefly in the lobby to give one person a medical update on her horse, cracking a few jokes and putting the owner at ease about her stallion.

“That’s what I do,” Richardson said.

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Still, it might take Richardson some time to get over the loss of Barbaro, who was put down after complications from his Preakness injuries led to deadly laminitis in his other three legs.

“I’m still having trouble dealing with it,” Richardson said, his voice cracking. “I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s still hard to deal with.”

On Wednesday, Richardson told CBS television: “I really wanted him to survive and go on and become a stallion, so it’s very disappointing.” In the end, he said, “In some ways you’ve got to fight back certain elements of your own ego or personality to recognize what’s in the best interest of the horse.”

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