Aqueduct (and NY) didn’t waste any time in recording its first victim of the new year when 5-year-old Uncle Smokey “broke down approaching the end of the backstretch and got euthanized” after yesterday’s 7th race (the replay shows him pulling up around 1:15). “Got euthanized.” How charming. Uncle Smokey was ridden by David Cohen, and trained and owned by David Jacobson, the same Davids who lost Coronate at Aqueduct a week prior. And so begins the 2014 Casualty Watch. This is horseracing.

The 2-year-old filly Mia Missile, initially listed as vanned off (“fell heavily”) after Saturday’s 4th race at Aqueduct, is indeed dead, euthanized on the track after fracturing her humerus. She was ridden by Angel Arroyo, trained by Laura Perillo, and owned by Midwest Thoroughbreds.

In the first replay (Race Replays, Saturday, Race 4), Mia Missile’s #6 icon disappears off screen in the stretch, with no sign of the fallen horse. But during a subsequent showing, the equine child can be seen collapsing in a heap (around the 3:50 mark). Of course, not a single mention of her broken, dying body from the track announcer. This is horseracing.

Running in a maiden claiming race yesterday at Aqueduct, 3-year-old Coronate suffered the following calamity: “Coronate unseated his rider after the finish of the race and ran loose through the harrow yard and then jumped the rail leading to the main track and fell over the rail. Coronate was euthanized on the main track.” The colt was ridden by David Cohen, and trained and owned by David Jacobson.

7-year-old Driven by Solar was killed at Aqueduct yesterday after fracturing a leg in the 8th race. He was ridden by Manuel Franco, trained by John Toscano Jr, and owned by Joseph Forrest.

Also at Aqueduct, while training this past Saturday, Frau Louise was impaled on a rail after breaking from the gate. Impaled. And finally, Bailey’s Dilemma died at Belmont on Sunday from pleuropneumonia. These three bring NY’s 2013 dead-racehorse total to 119.

Nasib Rahim-trained Dina’s Touch was killed in the 7th race at Penn National last night. She was six. The mare was ridden by Santos Noe Chavez and owned by Rudy Davidson, who, by the way, had her for sale at $5,000 prior to the race.