Zenyatta: So Unbelievable You Can't Believe It

To paraphrase the old 1970s Saturday Night Live character Todd, played by Bill Murray alongside Gilda Rander’s Lisa, “Zenyatta is unbelievable. She’s so unbelievable, I can’t believe it.” Does that sound trivial for such a great mare? Then take note of owner Jerry Moss, without doubt considered an eloquent ambassador for horse racing, who described Zenyatta momemts after the race by telling TVG’s Christine Olivares, “She’s unbelievable. It’s believable because I’m here. But she keeps doing it. I can’t explain it.”

TVG Host Bob Badeaker said, "I'm 63 years old... ...I've been watching races a long, long time and I can't remember anything to equal it." The ever classly Penny Chenery, owner of the great Secretariat said on TVG of Zenyatta, "it is so exciting. She’s a big glorious mare. She knows she's good. She's happy . The crowd loves her. It is just a wonderful day. I'm so glad I had a chance to get here." Then in a more touching comment she told Christine Olivares, "There is such a good feel. People who love horses... “ Ms. Chennery then tapped her heart twice, and while a little farklemt, “... right to my heart."

For most of my 30 years of adulthood, one of my favorite cocktail party questions has been, “Who are the three greatest race horses of all time?” I’ve asked this question among hall of famers at a Shoemaker Foundation event at Hollywood Park and of a similar group of attendees at a Super Derby event with Charlie Whittingham, Jack Van Berg, Bill Shoemaker, etc. I’ve asked that question at countless cocktail events at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program Symposium on Racing and I’ve asked the question at St. Vincent de Paul Fish Frys, boring bridal showers and honky tonks from Spokane, Washington to Slidell, Louisiana.

Two horses come up more than any others – Man o’ War and Secretariat. After that come a slew of others that includes Kelso, Forego, Dr. Fager, Citation, Cigar, Native Dancer, Buckpasser, Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew and the likes.

I’m not sure Zenyatta will break the Man o’ War/Secretariat barrier, but she is definitely among those I consider to be the greatest of all time. And I pity those who disagree. They have every right to have that opinion, but it is a shame they can't appreciate the greatness of Zenyatta.

One barometer I will use to define the greatness of Zenyatta is ESPN’s Sports Center. There are four races that annually make Sports Center: The Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands, the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Occasionally a race with a funny call or unusual event like a jockey riding to the wire hanging on only to the horse’s neck, makes Sports Center as well. Depending on the winner of the Preakness, Belmont and Classic, only the Kentucky Derby can regularly be seen on the Sports Center weekend highlights Sunday night. Zenyatta’s TVG Lady’s Secret was among the Saturday AND Sunday highlights on ESPN. That kind of impact on the general sports public can not be underestimated.

The crowd of 25,800 was not so impressive, but their behavior was. I worked at Hollywood Park in 1990-’91 and would often walk through the massive paddock and wonder what it would be like to see the stairs and the walkway behind the grandstand overlooking the new paddock filled with fans. The expanse of the old grandstand designed to hold the huge crowds of the 1940s, 50s and 60s was not at capacity for Zenyatta, but it was electric. And electric fans in Southern California are rare. There are no National Football League teams able to survive there. National Hockey League fans don’t go to Kings and Ducks games just to see the puck drop to begin the game. They can hear the puck drop too. The easiest parking in major league sports is to get to Dodger Stadium before the third inning. Oaklawn Park will get that may fans for a Terry Wallace autograph session and Aqueduct will come close to that count if the weather is good.

But the numbers don’t reflect the enthusiasm as Zenyatta came home and they drowned out the race call of track announcer Vic Stoffer.

And how to you measure the greatness of Zenyatta in that Hollywood Park stretch. Switch, a 3-year-old filly that had primed to almost perfection by trainer John Sadler, turned for home with a 3-length lead on Zenyatta, switched leads and burst another length ahead. Defeat seemed a possibility for Zenyatta who confidently and slowly began to lengthen her strides – making up little ground in the first few in the straightaway. The jockey Mike Smith snapped his whip once – twice – three, four, five times and Zenyatta somehow passed the fast moving Switch.

Type “Zenyatta, Ladys Secret” into Google, Bing or Yahoo and you don’t see Daily Racing Form, Blood-Horse or Thoroughbred Times among the top visited sites. Instead you see Forbes, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, USA Today, ESPn Sports.

Believe me. There are thousands of young sports fans out there that saw Zenyatta for the first time through this media and will bet her at any low price in the Breeders’ Cup. If she should win, they will celebrate that 5-to-2 win ticket like they hit the Breeders’ Cup Pick-6 for a mil. If they match their psychographics like I think they, they will take five friends to bet the Breeders’ Cup only to show their superior intelligence. That’s the kind of impact Zenyatta is having on the sport.

Does Zenyatta belong with Man o’ War and Secretariat? Probably not. Should she be mentioned in the same breath as Citation, Kelso, Dr. Fager, Forego, Buckpasser or Spectacular Bid? I pity those who think not.

The NTRA Is Going To Create The Race? Really?

When I first heard that Rachel Alexandra's owner decided not to run her in the $5 million Apple Blossom Invitational against the undefeated Zenyatta, I was saddened. But I can't say I was really that disappointed. Expecting trainer Steve Asmussen to ready Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra from first work to race of the millennium in less than seven weeks seemed a bit of a stretch of even his Eclipse Award-winning talents.

I am very dissapointed, however, in owner Jess Jackson's next move to discuss "with Alex Waldrop, President and CEO of National Thoroughbred Racing Association, ...the hope of coordinating training schedules, racing schedules, purses and all ancillary factors, so that we can all agree upon three dates and three venues for what will be a racing series to rival the Triple Crown.”

Really?

The NTRA is going to coordinate training schedules? Really?

Forgive my sarcasm and lack of confidence in Alex Waldrop's horsemanship and backside experience, but I just don't see John Sherriffs nor Steve Asmussen listening to a thing Alex Waldrop has to say about the training schedules. Outside of spouses and mothers, trainers listen only to two things - horses and owners. I just don't think Waldrop's experience with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs is going to carry as much weight in a tack room as it did in a court room.

If Mr. Jackson really wants to coordinate training schedules, I suggest he talks with Zenyatta owners Jerry and Ann Moss. They're on Sherriffs' "listen to" list.

The NTRA is going to coordinate racing schedules? Really?

This is not to criticize Mr. Waldrop nor the NTRA, but the reality is they don't have an ounce of influence or power over the racing department's that are responsible for these racing schedules and conditions. If Mr. Jackson thinks that tweeking the conditions of say the La Troienne Breeders' Cup Stakes at Churchill for instance, will bring the dream race to reality, he should talk with Churchill Downs.

The NTRA is going to coordinate purses? Really?

If Mr. Jackson requires a multi-million dollar minimum purse for the dream race - and it sounds to me like he does - the NTRA certainly doesn't have that kind of money in their coffers and they haven't shown me they are capable of raising that kind of money from sponsorship any faster than anybody else. Little ol' Sam Houston Race Park and "Matress Mac" Jim McIngvale in Houston have been ahead of the NTRA on that level for months.

This series of races is going to rival the Triple Crown? Really?

I love Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. I really, really do. I get all Irish and start tearing up when I see either of them just walk into the paddock. I get choked up in the post parade and I'm usually saying goodbye to any notion of emotional stability at some point just before or during one of their races.

But I'm afraid the dream race or races will not rival the Triple Crown. Rachel and Zenyatta are the giants of the racing world right now, but the sports world is a much different place. It's a world in which the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont have to fight for air time, print space and the attentions of the American sports fans. It's an attention that the Breeders' Cup has failed to garner on a regular basis and attention it took years for even the great Cigar to muster without the benefit of the Triple Crown.

As much as you and I and every horse racing fan in North America would like to think that Rachel Alexandra and Zeyatta are household names that could rival the Triple Crown in terms of excitement and attention, I'm afraid they are just not. If you doubt it, count their appearances on Sports Center.

So the next time we want to hear about this dream race between Rachel and Zenyatta; we want to see Mr. Jackson and Mr. and Mrs. Jerry and Ann Moss, and Steve Asmussen, and John Sherriffs all in the same room at the same press conference making the announcement. This way you can avoid the embarrassment of the other party saying "I have no idea what he's even talking about. Which three races? And where? And when?" as Moss recently told the Associated Press in reaction to Jackson's statements with the NTRA.

While Waldrop also told the associated press that he supports any effort to put together a race featuring the sport's biggest stars, it is not support we are looking for here.

It is not press releases and promises we're looking for either.

It the race between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta that we're looking for. Really!

Oaklawn Puts $5 Million Into Bigger Apple

Everybody knew what Oaklawn Park officials were going to say when earlier this week they announced a press conference regarding the "Race for the Ages." They were planning to announce a purse increase for the $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap to be run April 3 at Oaklawn in an effort to create the much wanted race featuring Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and undefeated, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Zenyatta.

What we didn't know was that Oaklawn president Charles Cella would increase the purse ten-fold, talk to the owners, change the conditions of the race and apparently just about anything else to make the race a possibility.

Thursday at the mid-morning press conference at the historic track, Oaklawn Park announced that the grade I Apple Blossom will now feature a $5 million purse if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start in the race. They also said the race distance will be extended a sixteenth of a mile to 1-1/8 miles and the race will now be an invitational to further entice the two stars.

Obviously, we don't know if the race will happen. But Mr. Cella, racing secretary Patrick Pope and the Oaklawn Park staff deserve an A+ for effort. In one fell swoop they may create the richest filly and mare race in history. To make the race even more realistic, it may fit both mares' schedules and will be run at a track where they both have won.

More importantly, Cella said at the press conference that he has spoken with the owners of both Rachel Alexandra (Jess Jackson) and Zenyatta (Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss)and said both "showed enthusiasm."

There should be no problem getting Zenyatta to Oaklawn Park again where she won the 2008 Apple Blossom for her first grade 1 victory. Zenyatta worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 at Hollywood Park Wednesday morning and according to Daily Racing Form, Zenyatta could make her first start of the year in the grade 1 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita on Mar. 13. The Apple Blossom would be a logical next start and has been mentioned by Jerry Moss.

The bigger challenge will be getting Rachel Alexandra ready for the big race.

Just Monday, Rachel Alexandra had her first work of the year at Fair Grounds going four furlongs in 52 seconds. The first question will be how fast Rachel Alexandra responds to training after her four-month vacation. Six weeks to prepare for major race against a foe like Zenyatta may seem a bit out of the ordinary. But if we know one thing about Rachel Alexandra, she is far from ordinary.

Shortly after the press conference, Rachel Alexandra owner Jess Jackson said in a written statement that "Rachel will tell us when she is ready to start her 2010 campaign and we humans must agree she is in top form."

My family and I would love to see her run at Oaklawn Park. If she is in top form and it fits in our schedule, we will be there. Rachel, as you know, likes the track having won twice there last year.”

Rachel Alexandra started her magnificant 3-year-old year at Oaklawn Park last year where she won the Martha Washington Stakes and the grade 2 Fantasy Stakes.

We won't know until the afternoon of April 3 if the race between the two thoroughbreds will happen at Oaklawn Park or not. But, I'm going to have to salute Mr. Cella for the effort.

Moss Keeping Options Open With Zenyatta

(From Bloodhorse.com July 22)
Jerry Moss, owner of undefeated champion Zenyatta, said July 22 that he has not made a decision on the mare’s next destination after her try in the Aug. 9 Clement Hirsch Stakes (gr. I), but he reiterated that he still wants to do “something different” with the rest of her 2009 campaign.

Zenyatta, who is perfect in 11 career starts, has already repeated in the Milady and Vanity Handicaps (both gr. I) at Hollywood Park, and will also attempt to take the Clement Hirsch for the second straight year at Del Mar.

Though Moss did not commit to racing the 5-year-old daughter of Street Cry outside of California or in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I), both of which have been bandied about, he did hint that she could race somewhere in between the Clement Hirsch and the Oct. 10 Lady’s Secret Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita, a race she also won in 2008 while prepping for the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (gr. I).

“There might be something for her between the Clement Hirsch and the Lady’s Secret,” Moss said. “There’s two months between those races. But we haven’t made a decision past the Clement Hirsch. I don’t want to be mysterious about it, but we’re really just taking one race at a time.”

Moss admitted that losing out to Curlin for Horse of the Year honors in 2008 was disappointing and that he would “like to get it for her” in 2009. He also said although he would like to see a match-up with Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and Preakness (gr. I) winner Rachel Alexandra, he would not take Zenyatta out-of-state just to make that happen.

“It would be a great race,” he said. “We have great appreciation for that filly and everything that she has accomplished. The race would resolve a lot. But it’s our position that the Breeders’ Cup is where those kinds of challenges are resolved. We didn’t decide that the Breeders’ Cup would be (at Santa Anita) again. We ran at Churchill Downs with Giacomo in 2005 on a speed-favoring track, and we were there with Tiago in the swamp at Monmouth Park (in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge, gr. I).

“Jess (Jackson) is entitled to his opinion. It’s his horse and we respect his decision to do what he feels is best for her. “
Jackson, majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, has already commented that he would likely not bring his filly to this year’s Breeders’ Cup because the main track is composed of a synthetic surface.

When asked if the Sept. 12 Ruffian Handicap (gr. I) for fillies and mares at Belmont Park might be an option for Zenyatta, Moss indicated that race would be unlikely. If Moss should choose to run Zenyatta against males while keeping her on the West Coast, the Sept. 6 Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar could be a viable option.

What's Next For Rachel And Zenyatta

Now that both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta (photo at left) have apparently come out of their Saturday victories in good health, all eyes are turning to their next starts and the possible match-up between the two.

From his barn at Hollywood Park on Sunday, Zenyatta's trainer John Sherriffs said the $300,000 Clement Hirsh Stakes at Del Mar will likely be the next stop for the 2008 Champion and undefeated mare. The Clement Hirsh is at a 1-1/16 miles for fillies and mares on August 9.

No plans have been made following the Clement Hirsh for Zenyatta although her owner Jerry Moss said on XM radio Saturday that he is keeping options open to shipping Zenyatta to New York where she could possibly meet Rachel Alexandra.

As possible match-up between the two great mares in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic at Santa Anita in early November is apparently out of the question for Rachel Alexandra's controlling owner Jess Jackson, who said last week that he will not race the filly on a synthetic racing surface which eliminates the Breeders' Cup

Meanwhile, trainer Steve Asmussen sent Rachel Alexandra to his barn at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York where she will be based this summer. No plans have been made for her next race but apparent possibilities include the $1 million Delaware Handicap for older fillies and mares at Delaware Park on July 19 and the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks against 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park July 26. She may also return to take on her male counterparts in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park August 2.

Others being pointed to the Haskell for now include Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and possibly Florida Derby winner and one-time Kentucky Derby favorite Quality Road.

In his first workout since finishing third in the Belmont Stakes, Mine That Bird went an easy half-mile in :51 at Churchill Downs on Monday morning in preparation for his next start in the Aug. 1 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort. Jockey Calvin Borel was aboard for the breeze.