Excellent Exceller Day

OK I admit it. When a track shows a little heart, I can't help it, I'm there, doing my best to fill the stands and dropping dough on signature drinks like there's no tomorrow -- all so I can report that, yes, The Exceller is a fine libation. Mountaineer was serving them at $3 on Saturday, and my, they go down easily. How easily? Let's just say that on this day, I quit counting when the Turf Luck donation to The Exceller Fund totaled thirty bucks, and leave it at that, ok?

Members of the Alex Brown Racing forum mentioned that Pinnacle Race Course also participated in Saturday's "Toast to Exceller" promotion, and that Thistledown plans on offering the drink until the end of the month (which would be, uh, tomorrow, I think.)

At Mountaineer, track announcer Peter Berry alerted racegoers to the promotion at the start of the card, and simulcast hosts Nancy McMichael and Mark Patterson mentioned the drink a number of times during the night. Starry-eyed optimist that I am, I'm hoping this is a sign that Mountaineer is paying a bit more attention to what happens to its former runners. (And yes, I'm dreaming -- emphasis, I suppose, on dreaming -- of a Suffolk Downs-like policy coming to Mountaineer some day.)

Meanwhile, I should note that there are numerous other ways to donate to this organization that provides "a future beyond the finish line" for former runners: the fund features a number of Exceller-related items in its online store, and its CafePress site offers products featuring Ruffian, Sunday Silence, and Go for Wand, as well as Exceller on a variety of T-shirts, coffee mugs, calendars, etc. And of course, a check is always nice ... and it's tax-deductible.

But I must admit, here at the Quinella Castle, we enjoyed toasting to Exceller ... a lot.