Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro continues to eat his hay, look out his window and take an interest in mares around him, one of his owners said yesterday.

Gretchen Jackson said she saw the recovering Thoroughbred yesterday morning at the University of Pennsylvania's George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals, in Kennett Square, where he has been since his injury in the May 20 Preakness Stakes.

"He continues to make remarkable improvement," she said. With mares and foals in nearby stalls, "He has a lot of entertainment," she said.

Jackson said she "can't enumerate" everything that has been sent to the horse by fans nationwide. Yesterday, that included a visit from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

Barbaro is able to walk in his stall on the right rear leg that was placed in a cast after his May 21 surgery. In that operation, 27 screws were inserted in the leg to fuse three broken bones.

Barbaro's surgeon has said he is waiting to change the cast because it fits well.

Yesterday, Jackson said she doesn't know precisely when it will be changed, but she expects it might occur in the next few weeks because the horse's hoof will need trimming -- much like human nails need to be clipped.

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