Keeneland, one of the nation’s elite racetracks, lost its third “athlete” in less than 24 hours when Tacticus suffered what the The Courier-Journal calls “a fatal fracture” while working out this morning. As was the case with yesterday’s fallen, this was only newsworthy because the 4-year-old colt was “regally-bred,” a multiple stakes winner. But newsworthy or not, three dead horses is still, the paper insists, just “a rough run.”
“A rough run.” Speechless.
Yes, a “rough run”! A rough life in a rough business and a rough end for the horses.
And of course, the “officials” are interested in ensuring the horses have no drugs in their systems, so tests are run, right !