Sad news about Lost in the Fog
 

Interview of trainer Gilchrist on TVG as I type. Further tests have shown three more cancerous masses, all inoperable. Horse is not in pain, but it doesn't look like he can be saved. They will take him back to the Bay area, his own stall, and give him essentially hospice care for a week or so, but they will have to put him down in the near future, before the discomfort turns into serious pain.

D*mn.....:( :(

so sad. :(

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

i wonder if charles dickens was a horse racing fan, because that line sums this sport up so well. incredible highs, and heartbreaking lows.

i know this guy wasn't dr fager returned to life, but i sure enjoyed watching him run. i mean, he did run fast enough that his blaze was holding on for dear life. i love seeing those descendants of northern dancer with that feature.

this is rotten, rotten news. i am so sorry that it's going to end this way for him and his owner, trainer, fans....

a bad day at work and now it's gotten worse. damittohell

Thanks Big Guy...
You'll be in my heart.

http://www.barbaralivingston.com/gal...9/LostInTheFog

Really sad news

I was on the phone during the interview so I missed it. I can't believe that news. That is terrible news. It is really sad.

This is just incredibly sad news :(

This news makes me sick........poor colt. What a rotten hand he's been dealt. Boy, this sport is tough..........:

We have the idiot son of an ******* for a president. When we will have stem cell research? This cancer sh!t is getting really old. It is outrageous that our president will not give carte blanche to something that might give us a solution to the scourge of the fast food generation

i feel really bad for him and his family, connections if you will. it's hard to express when a being so young is struck down. in the end he ran through so much adversity...it's just a terrible thing.

Sumitas,
That word..."family" says a lot.
You'll see.
In a way, it's even tougher when you breed them rather than claim them.
There's a real attachment that goes all the way through it, from the owners and the trainer, the exercise rider, groom, hot walker...everyone that connects. This is a sad, sad day for all of them, the whole family.

Jeez, this is ridiculous. Horrible news...What a tough game horse. What an awesome stretch he had last year.

Yeah they said in the next two weeks he will be euthanized. My stomach was empty havent I read the headline on TVG tonight. I wish him the best.

are we being lied too?
 

yes this is very sad news. but frankly i do not trust anything i hear on TVG or from any trainer. the one thing i remember from beyer's books was that when a trainers lips are moving he/she is lying.

nothing against the connections but we have to consider that this is the same old story - illegal dr*gs are kill**g horse racing and horses.

i hope i am wrong but this horse was the subject of lots of hype... it's time to test every horse that runs - everytime. how much can it cost? credibility of the game is on the line.

Just a very somber and upsetting story all around. It's alot like hearing a close friend or loved one has contracted cancer in some form. You just don't expect it, or think it couldn't happen to that person (or yourself). It's a parallel reminder of how fragile life is for both man and animal.

I know plenty of people liked to knock Lost in the Fog for the horses he beat and more or less laid to claim that his winning streak was a figment of comical opposition. That may be somewhat true, but I suggest you ask a true fan of the game if they care who the opponents were that LITF set down. I ask you to look in the eyes of a person who saw LITF as an inspiration and say he was a product of poor opposition. They will tell you they saw a small, gutsy horse who defied logisitics and did most things pundits saw as not feasible for him.

This is a horse you could stand up and cheer for solely on the basis that he represented a lot of what we feel inside ourselves. People telling us we cant do something or that we arent cut out to be in a certain place, basically saying "no you cant". LITF showed that a little guy CAN do just about anything and can defy critics, defy odds and in the process make a believer in many.

Sadly, it looks like that run will come to a close some time soon. LITF shouldn't be measured by the wins he tallied or the money he earned, but for being a shining star and inspiration to the people who think there is not much hope and showing them that even when everyone says "no you can't" there is still a chance to say "yes I can".

That's the beauty of a game like horse racing, those stars can be born everyday and when you least expect it, there is an unknown NY bred gelding crossing the wire first in front of a royally bred animal, a $50,000 claimer winning Grade 1's, an old man car salesman and his wife riding a horse that almost died in the gate to within an eyelash of the Triple Crown, a bonified star cut down in his prime by uncontrollable circumstances who fights night and day to see the sun rise the next morning, and a small statured Cal based colt who runs so fast you sometimes might have missed a quarter mile if you blinked...I hope nobody blinked so long to have missed LITF...because this game needs more like him.

I can't believe this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooo upset right now that I can's stop from crying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did this havee to hapen to this horse???????? I don't want him to die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A thoughtful, brilliant post. Thank you.

Death be not proud . This horse was a fine one , and perhaps even terminal cancer will not be accepted as a reason for his losing efforts by his detractors . I'd rather see him a live fraud than a dead hero, but fate sees otherwise . Rotten and tragic karma for him , his caring connections, and all his fans .

"Just a very somber and upsetting story all around. It's alot like hearing a close friend or loved one has contracted cancer in some form. You just don't expect it, or think it couldn't happen to that person (or yourself). It's a parallel reminder of how fragile life is for both man and animal."

Hits the nail on the head for me. I dont know if any of you remember the pictures I posted when I went to see him in Ocala in Novemeber and to Calder in July. To follow a horse through his career and for this to happen......well I'm sure you all know how I feel.

:(

I'm glad they're sending him back to his stall and his groom for the end of his life. At least he'll spend his last days surrounded by the people who love him.

I have smoked for 50 of my 60 years and a horse is dying of cancer at age 4? WTF is going on?

Good grief ... now Bush is responsible for an extremely rare cancer in a race horse?

How loony can these leftists get?

But I encourage you to keep it up ... because frothing moonbats like you will only guarantee that the loopy ultraleftist democrats will never regain power ...

... and that's the nicest gift America can receive.

Sheeeeeeeeeesh !!!

Nice job on this, I enjoyed reading it

This horse gave me an enormous amount of pleasure watching him run. What a freakish fate he had been dealt. I dont know how the heck to thank a horse or the connections for giving me the thrill of watching him perform. What a hell of a runner.

How about a salute to the imbeciles that have bashed him. ****ing horse wins in 1:08 and change with cancer this year. Incredible.

Everybody's said what can be said...but LITF is part of the reason I hang around the board now. Without a horse from my original hometown to cheer for, I don't think I would have started reading up on racing again. Crushed, devastated...I hope he has a great final week or two. What a shame.

SS, fantastic post!

LITF, your time was to short, thank you!! prayers to you and all your connections.

This turn of events is very tough to take and so sad. There has been so much bad news this year, words are failing me. This guy was a brave, stellar performer that deserved a better fate than this. My thoughts are with the people who raised, trained, and cared for Lost In The Fog.

one can only wonder. possibly steroids ?

The Fog gave us many thrills
may his days be filled with peace
he gave a surly old man a thrill of a lifetime
God Bless you Fog~tough one to swallow indeed

One can only wonder is right. Steroids? Maybe
Or maybe feed that's had pesticides galore. Then there's the insecticides sprayed everwhere in the stalls. Your guess is as good as mine.

This is so terrible. :(

I wish there was something that they could do for him to make him better, but sometimes God has bigger plans.

RIP Foggy... may the fields in heaven be lined with champions like yourself. :(

When Lost in the Fog was undefeated his owner turned down some very big offers for the horse. He said he was in the game to race and now that I have a real good one I'm having the time of my life. This sport has extreme highs and the lowest of lows.

If he is doing ok, and they say has 6 monyhs to live. Can he cover a mare before they put him down??

I don't know the breeding aspect of racing, just asking a question.



Thanks,

MD

Mark I wish that were possible, but we are talking about days right now, not months. Plus he is really not in any conidition to breed either.

Or it might just be one of those awful things that happens for no discernible reason. Cancer is so rare in horses that I would think if there were an external cause from something fairly common like pesticides or drugs that we would see a higher incidence of it. But who knows? It's a really confounding disease. I think we may eventually be able to manage it more consistently, but I don't think we'll ever really cure it.

Foggy, I hope they let you stuff yourself full of peppermints and carrots over the next weeks. You deserve them.

GR,
I just got off the phone cause Sumitas's question about steroids got me thinking.
First off, I can not confirm that Lost in the Fog was given steroids. That said,
it's pretty common practice to give "canbuterol" (sp?). It's a med similar to what is given to asthma sufferers. It is a steroid.
My friend told me that there are some investigations going on right now, and that the "industry" will have to come up with some good answers, whether it's a yearling in the sale ring that's been pumped with anabolic steroids so it looks like a two year old, or other "stuff" that's going on that to boost the wins for certain trainers. Sorry, I can't give out names but you'd know them in a blink.
I'm also concerned about "nerve blocks" injections, not just cause it can horse to break down, but also the rider on its back to get hurt or killed.
Believe me, this has happened too.
That's as much information that I can give you at this time.
I'm sure there will be some that want to know more...where did this info come from? are you sure?
Sorry...that's all I can say as of now.

Oh, this is soooo sad. I am completely devastated. :( I knew something was really wrong with him, but gosh. I'm heartbroken. LITF must have had a huge heart to have won a race and ran a good second this year with his body ate up with cancer. What a horse! I'm sorry old boy. May you be able to win all the sprints in heaven my dear boy. Thanks for the wonderful run last year. RIP....I'll miss you.:(

very good DTS...just look back at Lyle Alzado...these yearlings that look like 2 or even 3 year olds, it just does not make sense.

again LITF brings up some questions so that he does not die in vain.

a picture of what a yearling typically looks like from the auction in France http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/photo?sl..._am&prov=getty

without steroids.