Why was Frank Hayes' death so memorable?

Why was Frank Hayes' death so memorable?

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Frank Hayes is a celebrity that is only in the record books of horse racing. He holds the distinction as being the only jockey in the history of horse racing to actually win a horse race dead. He was a thirty-five-year-old stable guy who begged the owner of this horse, Sweet Kiss, who was a loser, if he could finally put on the riding silks and race it. Sure enough, he was so excited that the horse was winning, that ten yards before the finish line, Frank Hayes gets a heart attack and dies, but manages to stay on the horse, and the horse wins. After that, no one wanted to ride this horse, Sweet Kiss, even though he was a winner. That's where the term "Sweet Kiss of Death" entered our lexicon of dying.