When Barbaro broke his leg in the Preakness Stakes, said Meghan O'Rouke in State.com, you'd have thought we'd suffered a national tragedy. For a week while the Kentucky Derby champion's life hung in the balance, people seemed to suffer with him, barraging his veterinary hospital with sympathetic mail. The staid Wall Street Journal called him "Brave Barbaro" on Page 1, and The New York Times headlined its story, "Now's a Time for Healing." Why so much empathy for one horse?

It seems that in times of great "national strain," Americans have a habit of projecting our dreams and fears onto racehorses. During the height of the Depression, the country became enamored with Seabiscuit - "a scrawny small colt" who suddenly became the symbol of hope for millions of downtrodden Americans. In 1973, during Watergate and the final throes of the Vietnam War, it was Secretariat who captured the national imagination, proving that greatness was still possible. He wound up on the cover of Time after capturing the Triple Crown. Two years later, the filly ruffian became a symbol of emerging feminism every time she outran the stallions, when she broke her leg during a race and had to be put down, her fans were heartbroken.