The negative use of social media is again in the spotlight following the death of the Mark Johnston-trained Permian at Arlington Park on Saturday.
Permian broke a leg passing the post in the Grade I Secretariat Stakes and was euthanased however, that did not prevent users on Twitter attacking the trainer.
Johnston was in England while son Charlie was in America with Permian and, never one to mince his words, Johnston took aim on his website at those seeking only to attack himself and his staff.
"The phone was ringing before I had walked from my seat by the television to the door of the room and it was Charlie who said, 'he'll have to be put down, it's not even a grey area'," Johnston wrote.
"He has been horribly misquoted by the media and others as saying 'I had thirty seconds with him', when the fact was that he was with him 'in thirty seconds' from the realisation that he had broken his leg.
"It was Charlie who made the decision that the horse must be euthanased there and then on the track rather than removed in an ambulance as some might have preferred. It was the right decision."
Johnston said the some of the messages directed towards the stable were disgraceful, describing them to the Racing Post as "some bastards"
"The messages of condolence were rolling in by email, on Facebook, and on Twitter within minutes of the horse's death and I can assure you that they are all greatly received," Johnston said.
"Sadly, in reading them, I couldn't help but see the others from a minority who sought to blame me for the horse's demise and accuse Charlie of callousness because he, to my mind, acted practically in the horse's best interests rather than concern himself with the public perception of the event.
"The number of negative comments was in single figures, amongst hundreds of genuine condolences, but they hurt nonetheless and not because there was any truth in them.
"I find it sad that people jump to the conclusion that an accident like this happens because of one too many runs."
Permian had raced 14 times over two seasons for six wins and five placings. The three-year-old son of Teofilo was beaten a nose in the Group I Grand Prix de Paris over 2400m at Saint-Cloud on July 14 prior to the Secretariat Stakes.
Still coming to terms with the accident, Johnston made no apologies for the way he had campaigned Permian.
"He never had to miss a day's exercise due to lameness. He was always sound and didn't even show any sign of stiffness or pain in our routine, post race, inspections," Johnston said.
"That is why the news that he had suffered a catastrophic fracture was such a shock to us all.
"It is a horrendous blow to a racing yard to lose its best horse but it was particularly bad because we were so unprepared for it. We never thought it would happen to him. We were already making plans for next year."
