Comments on: An “impossible” win that inspires

By: Ruffian Runs

Ruffian Runs — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:12:58 +0000

Thanks for the post! Ken pretty much said it all. Rachel Alexandra’s season was super spectacular, and I was also firmly in her camp.

But Zenyatta blew me away and here I am a week later – a week ago it was about 35 minutes to post time! – still scouring the internet searching for the latest stories about the Classic.

I can’t choose between them for Horse of the Year. I want them both to win. Both have been so inspirational and it’s so great to know that the two best horses in the country are girls!

Rachel Alexandra will be back next year and I expect her to take the Classic on her home track! Let’s hope Zenyatta’s connections keep her in training – there has been no official retirement statement yet – and that these two keep amazing us next year.

For now, I’m glad I was able to take in their brilliance, and I’m glad that they came home safe and sound.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:14:34 +0000

I was firmly in the Rachel Alexandra camp before the Breeders’ Cup. Her three year-old campaign has been one for the ages. She won five straight grade one races, including three against males. One of those was in the Woodward Stakes against older males, becoming the first three year-old filly to win an open grade one route race since they adopted the grading system. Overall she won eight stakes races, seven of them graded, on seven different racetracks in six states! In any other year, there would be little doubt that she is the Horse of the Year.

That being said, Zenyatta’s Classic was breathtaking! I had my doubts about her going into the race due to the fact that she had been beating up on the same fillies in southern California over and over again. As they made their way into the far turn I really thought she had no shot but as soon as she got to the outside in the stretch there was no stopping her. It’s crazy to think that she has gone undefeated throughout her career while maintaining this last-to-first running style that she has. She truly is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) mares to ever race.

I definitely wouldn’t want to be voting for HOTY. In my eyes there’s very little separating the two so I’m fine with either one of them winning.

Luckily for us, the Breeders’ Cup is at Churchill Downs next year, which is a regular “dirt” track. Rachel Alexandra has been very successful over this oval, winning the Kentucky Oaks there the day before the Derby by 20 lengths. Here’s hoping for back-to-back Classic victories for fillies in 2010!

By: Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:09:09 +0000

To John McClelland — The Zenyatta vs. Rachel Alexandra debate is a hot one, and I admit there are pluses and minuses for both horses. And that’s part of the fun of this sport…debating all the variables.

To those who insist that Zenyatta raced only against second-rate fields before the BC — well, she beat the best mares and fillies in the world last year, in the BC Ladies’ Classic. That’s hardly a field of “suspect quality.”

A 1-2 finish between Z and RA in the Classic would have had fans even more hyperventilated than they were! Unfortunately RA’s owners have issues with the Pro Ride track, so we may never see this filly run at Santa Anita, or in the BC.

Personally, I’m glad that RA is a younger horse. With Zenyatta retiring, I hope that RA’s owners will race her as a 4-year-old…so we can have another “Year of the Girl.” There are plenty of other big stakes races for her to win, both in the U.S. and abroad. I’d love to see our good female horses traveling more.

By: Patricia Nell Warren

Patricia Nell Warren — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:37:28 +0000

<<<>>>

I didn’t. I just know that my horse-fan friends are LGBT.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:10:02 +0000

LGBT horse-fan friends

How did you know the horse was LGBT?

By: Shirley Deutsch

Shirley Deutsch — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:55:16 +0000

Absolutely right! I love that horse, and was there on Saturday to cheer her on. I haven’t figured out why a horse should be so inspirational, but she just is. She just keeps going, no matter how many obstacles are in her way. And, she does it with such obvious joy.

I wish all of you in the LGBT community luck in pursuing equal rights for all. Perhaps we can adopt Zenyatta as our mascot???

By: John McClelland

John McClelland — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:39:58 +0000

The thing is, people do care about the race horses. It is still a big sport in this country, and brings in a lot of money, even in recession. Horse racing fans, myself included having been born so close to Monmouth Park in NJ, live vicariously through the fact such a strong breed of horse can run down a mile so fast with such a tiny human being on their backs. And in the case of Zenyatta, she is an undefeated mare who left the all-female races to beat this year’s best males. And she didn’t just beat them. She beat them bad. One has to wonder how it would have been had Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra also raced in the Classic? Would it have been a 1-2 finish for girls over the boys? This is just proof that girls can achieve just as much as the boys. It also gives people something to take their minds off of all the bad stuff going on in the world, just as other sports do.