A large part of this blog is devoted to tracking horses who are descended from/related to Exceller.  I follow their entries and results, and try to post relevant info. Many times a day, I receive RESULTS notifications in my email box. I scan every single result chart, beginning at the bottom, and today, there it was: the dreaded DNF*

From The Daily Racing Form

Two fatal breakdowns on turf There were two fatal breakdowns in consecutive turf races Friday, but track officials don't believe there are any issues with the turf courses. "There's nothing going on,'' said Glen Kozak, the New York Racing Association's director of racing surfaces. "Unfortunately, bad racing luck.'' In the third, the $67,200 Possible Mate Stakes run on the inner turf, Exotic Indy broke her left hind leg after taking a bad step midway down the backstretch. She suffered a [intlink id="4310" type="post"]severely broken left hind leg[/intlink] and was euthanized.

The second tragedy was the response from the New York Racing Association's director of racing surfaces, Glen Kozak:

"Unfortunately, bad racing luck."

I'm sure that was exactly how he felt about it, but heck, for the sake of racing fans and horse lovers, put in a little bit of effort and at least make pretend that it made you a little sad, and you hate to see these things happen. . . yadda, yadda. It's just lip service (and we all know that) but sometimes lip service is better than the alternative, which comes across as a cold disregard for those who were shaken by her death.

EXOTIC INDY was the 9th of 10 foals out of Exing, a daughter of Exceller. You may remember her full brother, A.P. Xcellent , who lost by a nose hair in an incredible ding-dong stretch drive in the Pacific Classic against Lava Man, who was on his way to tie the record of Native Diver.To her people. . .   I'm so sorry for your loss.

There are people in the "fanbase"  who want to believe that the loss of a life  (even if its just a horse) warrants and deserves an epitaph that's maybe a bit more heartfelt and dignified than "bad racing luck."

Doesn't  the NYRA have PR seminars?  With all that's going wrong within the Thoroughbred racing industry, you'd think that those in charge of publicity would make sure everyone who is allowed contact with the media at least provide the usual lip service and "company line."

I suppose it could have been worse. At least he wasn't quoted as saying "shit happens," or "we have more inventory" or [intlink id="6730" type="post"]"that's horseracing!"[/intlink]

*DNF is a catchall term that means something happened and the horse didn't finish. There are several possibilities, ranging from the happy-ending "lost rider at start" to the horrible reality of "broke down after half." Sadly, it was the latter, and she was destroyed (euthanized).