On the afternoon of May 5, 1955, R.H. Red McDaniel saddled a horse named Aptos in the sixth race at Golden Gate Fields, climbed into his cream-colored Cadillac and made a hasty retreat to the nearby San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. When he reached the high point of the span, he pulled his car to a stop, walked without hesitation to the vertiginous rail, and promptly jumped to his death.McDaniel was 44 at the time and well on his way to a sixth straight national championship. He left no suicide note behind, only riddles whose interpretations ranged from gangsters to gastrointestinal ulcers.Many of McDaniels colleagues believed that an excess of extremely hard work may have exacted a terrible toll, wrote John McEvoy in Great Horse Racing Mysteries: True Tales From the Track. Others suspected cancer, depression, or the final, successful gesture in a series of attempts to do himself fatal harm.McDaniels body was recovered from San Francisco Bay not long after he jumped with a stopwatch and parimutuel tickets in his pockets. Aptos had won his race. The trainer was relatively young, and the game was his oyster, bending to his genius with the condition book and his regular use of the preternaturally talented jockey Willie Lee Shoemaker. McDaniel had everything to live for, as the wisdom goes, but it wasnt enough.There are few things more private than suicide. Maybe nothing. Albert Camus wrote, There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.The lobby for the right to end ones own life in certain circumstances is strong, with compelling philosophical support. On the other hand, Ive always leaned toward the reaction of the Tom Hanks title character in Joe vs. the Volcano, when a mysterious girl asks Why not? to the idea of suicide.Because some things take care of themselves, Joe says. Theyre not your job; maybe theyre not even your business.Then again, Ive never had my heart ripped apart by the death of a 2-year-old colt making only the second start of his career after a maiden win that had the business buzzing from coast to coast. The Chilli Man, a son of the Tapit stallion Trappe Shot and trained by Monique Snowden, was heavily favored to win the Emerald Express last Sunday at Emerald Downs. He was then to be sold by owner Heidi Nelson to Dean Reeves of Mucho Macho Man fame. Reevess trainer, Kathy Ritvo, was on hand at Emerald to receive her exciting new shooter.But then, barely a quarter of a mile into the 5-1/2-furlong race under jockey Joe Steiner, The Chilli Mans left foreleg gave way at the ankle. With both sesamoids fractured and the supporting tissue ruptured, The Chilli Man could not be saved.He was just a really good-looking horse, and so very impressive in his first race, Ritvo said Tuesday on her way to Saratoga. It was a terrible tragedy what happened to him. But then, what happened afterwards, there are no words.Ritvo had trouble saying it out loud. A few hours after The Chilli Man was euthanized, his trainer apparently drove to the rugged Green River Gorge north of the town of Enumclaw, Wash., walked to the middle of the bridge spanning the chasm, and jumped to her death. Monique Snowden was 37.Red McDaniel was from Enumclaw.By all accounts, Snowden and her horses were inseparable. She had been training her own stable for only a few years, but the results had been promising.We all know this is a game of incredible highs and lows, said Vince Bruun, Emerald Downs director of media relations. Monique seemed to take the highs higher and the lows lower. You can understand that. What you cant understand is why she did what she did and how much pain she must have been in.When it comes to the subject of suicide, Ritvo demurred.Its probably unfair of me to speak about it, she said. I spent six months or longer fighting every day for my life, to get healthy.Ritvo battled through most of 2008 while suffering from a deterioration of the heart muscle and awaiting a transplant operation required to save her life. Five years after the successful heart transplant, she saddled the 5-year-old Mucho Macho Man to win the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita.For me, every day is a good one, Ritvo said. When something like that happens with a horse, any horse, its a tragedy, but you have to pick up the pieces and keep going. I wish there was something that could have intervened between the time that everything went down with the horse and what happened later. When things go wrong, I try to find a lesson out of it and move forward. But its hard to find a lesson out of any of this.The dots of Red McDaniels suicide were tough to connect. He had it all and jumped anyway. Still, it is probably a mistake to be content with the idea that the death of The Chilli Man caused the death of Monique Snowden. He might have driven her to the bridge, but as for what came next, who knows? Steiner, a veteran who has seen it all, is among many in the Washington racing family hurting for answers.The night of the race, I put my arms around her and said, Just breathe, Monique, said Steiner. Youll get through this. Well get through this.All I can take away from what happened is to be grateful for every day, for my wife and my little boy, Steiner added. And how important it is to pay attention to each other and recognize the signs when someone close to us might need our help. Whether they ask for it or not. Paul Pierce Celtics Jersey . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Robert Williams Celtics Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-bill-russell-celtics-jersey/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Reggie Lewis Celtics Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . John Havlicek Celtics Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does.Claudio Ranieri thinks Leicester will benefit from a new Jamie Vardy after the forward was on target for England. Having been prolific during Leicesters title-winning campaign, Vardy was without a goal in 14 games for club and country going into the friendly with Spain.But the 29-year-old enjoyed a good night at Wembley, winning a penalty from which the hosts took the lead and then scoring with a fine diving header to double the advantage. Spain came back to score twice late on to snatch a draw but Vardy had been substituted by then and Leicester boss Ranieri thinks his player will be on the crest of a wave for Saturdays trip to Watford. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price Finally he broke the ice, said Ranieri. It was important for him and for everybody.Of course he never spoke about this, but the goal-scorer always wants to score. I think it will be a new Vardy.He always works hard for the team. The goal was a fantastic goal, and thats OK. It will help me, help the team and help himself.I never lost confidence in Jamie. I have managed a lot of goal-scorers and its not possible to score all the time. Ranieri says at no point has he lost faith in Vardy Sometimes they have a little stop and then restart.dddddddddddd I tried to help him and take him out.Vardy was on target 24 times last season and hopes his England goal will kick-start a scoring streak.I think its been needed and hopefully I can kick on from there now and start banging them in, he said.Its just always good to get that goal. That one is in the back of the net now and hopefully I can kick on and start putting more away. Vardy was instrumental in Leicesters title triumph last season I just think a lot of the chances I was getting last year have not been there this year.Its just all about working hard and eventually theyll come. I think it always happens when youre a striker.You do go through spells without scoring but eventually it will come back and youll be banging them in again.At the end of the day the team comes first and its about how youre working hard for the team - the bonuses come after, which is obviously the goals. Im always ready.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Mersons predictions Method to Mahrez magic Ranieri defends Drinkwater Premier League questions ' ' '