I know what’s on your mind. You’re concerned about whether or not Barbaro was able to watch and enjoy the Belmont Stakes this past weekend, and justifiably so. Well, thanks to a tipster named Elysse, we have the answer. Let’s consult the Baltimore Sun…

One hundred and fifty miles to the south, Barbaro will receive his weekly bath and then he’ll return to his 11-by-13-foot pen, the small space where he spends 99 percent of his time. Later today, hospital staff will set up a television just outside his stall and they’ll turn the channel to the big race.

“It’s possible he won’t even turn around to watch it,” says Corrine Sweeney, hospital director at New Bolton Center. “Maybe he’d rather just eat hay.”

Ya don’t fucking say. You mean Barbaro wouldn’t just grab the remote, turn the volume up, and settle in for the big race? Weird. I expected him to not only watch the race, but then to access the program guide, and set the DVR to record Desperate Housewives a little later. I just can’t believe he didn’t do that.

I can’t say it’s a total surprise, though. Sometimes I go to the zoo and visit the horses, and set a copy of Macbeth in front of them, but they never read it. Once, I bought them a swingset and put it next to them with a screwdriver, and they didn’t even bother to put it together. So yes, it seems that they would indeed rather just eat hay and look like Shannon Sharpe. Horses are funny like that.