About a year ago, Lee Einsidler sat down with his longtime friend Bill Parcells to watch the two-year-old mare Maple Mel ( Maple Leaf Mel won Seeking the Ante Stakes for New York State Breeds at the New York State Breed Show.

“I told Bill that day that she was going to win next year’s test,” Ain Seidler said of the famous Group 1 sprint event for three-year-old mares at Saratoga Racetrack. “He said, ‘What? ‘ Don’t overdo it. ’” Ayn Seidler repeated to Parcells, who kicked off her three-year campaign by winning the State Horse Championship at the East View Stakes.

As he did after winning the Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) to improve his mark to 5 out of 5 and then opening his own stable in Giddings, Pasay The victory at the Riding Championships (G3) on July 8 came after Ernes transferred the mare to Giddings from her original trainer, Jeremiah Englehart.

“We’ve been chatting all winter and I keep telling Bill she’s going to win the test,” Ain Seidler said.

Those words were on Einsidler’s mind on August 5th when the August Dawn Farm mare was a few lengths ahead and looked sure to win.

“On the sixteenth pole we hugged, kissed and celebrated, and two seconds later 45,000 people were crying,” Einsiedler said.

The tragic and horrific scene took the life out of the packed track as Maple Mel collapsed to her death in the shadow of the finish line with a broken right front leg.

As Giddings stood on the track, crying over what happened about 30 meters away, Einsiedler hugged her and tried to comfort her.

“Bill took his three daughters and all their babies and he was trying to feed them. Melanie was crying so I tried to comfort her. This horse meant the world to her. The filly helped her Back to health. It was an unbelievable story, and unfortunately the mare ended badly. Go For Wand and Ruffian again.”

For Ain Sidler, chief executive of popular tequila brand Casamigos, the sudden and dramatic turn of events was heartbreaking.

“It was heartbreaking, as you can imagine. It was a time in the development of the year. Out of the excitement of having a horse that was good enough to go to the Test and win it, and then everything was taken away from him. “Jumping off the wire was tragic and awe-inspiring. Words cannot describe what this filly meant to Bill and Melanie. It was a tragedy,” said Einsideler, of LRE Racing racing driver and co-owner of multiple Division 1 champion Casa Creed. “She won the game and you can’t imagine how or why that happened.”