Not to be picky but Rags was the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont and she wasn’t HOTY…So what does the age of the race have to do with it…
JMHO
The Breeder’s Cup Classic and Breeders Cup weekend is the “championship” event of the season; the pinnacle of the year. Can you say Super Bowl or World Series?
The Woodward may be an old race–Saratoga is an old track with lots of history–but trying to insinuate that the Woodward is the same caliber of race as the BC Classic is grasping at straws.
I encourage everyone to read the Bloodhorse article released today entitled “The Morning After: All Zenyatta, All the Time”: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/53358/the-morning-after-all-zenyatta-all-the-time
Allow me a few quotes:
"I think she had to win the way she did yesterday to get it. I had my doubts about her, but she did it effortlessly. I don’t blame (Jess Jackson) for not coming. But you have to show up for the Breeders’ Cup (to win championships)." Bob Baffert
“Along with his belief that Zenyatta earned the Horse of the Year title in the Classic, Casner opined that consideration should be given to having the World Championships at Santa Anita on a permanent basis.” Bill Casner, Co-Owner of WinStar Farms that races Colonel John.
Chip Woolley, who said Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird did not really take to the surface in his ninth-place Classic finish, said of Zenyatta’s victory: “Unbelievable. It’s a great thing they (Mosses) did for racing. The fans got to see her true greatness.” Although Mine That Bird was unplaced in his two previous starts over Santa Anita’s artificial surface, Woolley said he never considered not coming to the Breeders’ Cup. “I am not a big fan of synthetics, but you need great horses to show up. This is the championship.” Chip Wooley
“All in all, the consensus among the morning after crowd at Santa Anita was that the track, Breeders’ Cup, and horsemen put on a great show Nov. 6-7. And that Zenyatta should be Horse of the Year.”
The Woodward is a nice G1 on a track full of history, but it is not a championship race.
Regarding Chip Woolley Jr, I just read a fine article about the ladies – http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/10334592/Rachel-vs.-Zenyatta-in-racing's-Year-of-the-Girl
Chip Woolley Jr., trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, said before the Classic that Rachel Alexandra had already clinched Horse of the Year.
“She’s put up eight races on eight different racetracks, beat the boys three times and beat the fillies,” said Woolley, whose colt finished ninth in the Classic behind Zenyatta.
“The one thing everybody keeps forgetting, she beat the fillies with authority,” he said of Rachel Alexandra. “She didn’t win by a neck or a length or two lengths. She beat 'em by 20 and in a big gallop. When you look at that and you put everything together, I think she’s a very deserving champion.”
…
Both horses were at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week. Rachel Alexandra won the Derby-eve Kentucky Oaks for fillies by a record 20 1/4 lengths, while Zenyatta was scratched from her scheduled race because of a muddy track.
“She could’ve run just the same as everybody else on the mud that day. I think everybody’s forgotten about that,” Woolley said. “She’s picked her spots very carefully.”
And regarding the “championship” sentiments, you simply can’t compare horse racing to sports which have a tiered system, where only those who’ve won the most go on to the finals, and only the winners of the finals go on to the last game. As great a race as the BC Classic is, and as great a race that Zenyatta ran, it’s just not the same… and, apart from the marketing hype and the big purse, it’s not drastically different from the other races.
No, this is incorrect. It is not at all marketing hype. The Breeders Cup is well-established as the championship races. Look at the number of Elipse Awards they decide year after year. The BC classic is not just another big race.
what about her dam?
does anyone here know if her dam has ever been bred back to Street Cry?:lol:
[and happy b day Linny!]
From Bloodhorse
The Morning After: All Zenyatta, All the Time
Good point. Also a good point that the Belmont is a “classic distance” and that a filly can go that distance and beat the colts.
I still think RA did the “mostest” this year, which should give her HOTY honors. But heck, if Zenyatta wins it, it’s still all good! Jess Jackson deserves all the honors for running a filly against the colts, which started this whole RA vs. Zenyatta debate. I’ll have to start drinking Kendall-Jackson wines now.
[QUOTE=ivy62;4488084]
Not to be picky but Rags was the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont and she wasn’t HOTY…So what does the age of the race have to do with it…
JMHO[/QUOTE]
My point (and I did have one) doesn’t come out nearly as clear in a post as it is in my head. :lol:
I guess in as few words as possible, ONE big win against the colts, does not equal three big wins against colts. And the older the race, the more chances a filly has to win it. And when they don’t… ah, never mind. 
Both Rachel A and Zenyatta were outstanding this year. If only there were a way to give HOTY honors to both mares.
[QUOTE=DLee;4488567]
My point (and I did have one) doesn’t come out nearly as clear in a post as it is in my head. :lol:
I guess in as few words as possible, ONE big win against the colts, does not equal three big wins against colts. And the older the race, the more chances a filly has to win it. And when they don’t… ah, never mind. :)[/QUOTE]
Except (see my post in HOTY thread) Zenyatta did it at a distance she hasn’t run at, against a collectively better field, with a smaller weight allowance. When she did not have to–she could have gone for the Ladies’ Classic or retired undefeated.
RA’s connections I think created the biggest question mark by chosing the shorter Woodward with lower-tier older males (and a big weight gift) over the Travers with a narrower weight differential and the best three-year-old males. If she had won the Travers, she’d be a lock without having to show up at Santa Anita. Plus, compare MTB’s connections and their feeling about the poly with Jackson’s–first, they’re right, when the best in the world is coming, you show up, and second, Jackson’s objections about how horrible it is for horses are, going on the BC results, really hard to back up given that’s two for two now with no catastrophic breakdowns. The only scary moment at all was Quality Road’s epic snitfit in the gate. If, God forbid, anything happens next year, I really think that will be it for dirt surfaces. After Barbaro and Eight Belles the sport REALLY can’t afford another big public disaster.
RA’s connections made some choices that left some doubt. Zenyatta got a lousy trip doing something she’d never done before and won anyway going away. My vote would be Zenyatta (especially given the horse she passed to win is probably going to be #3 for HOTY, and he was also racing outside his comfort zone.)
If you’re going to argue that your horse is the greatest ever, or at least the greatest right now, you cannot make safe choices–RA’s connections made safer choices than Zenyatta’s. They both won big, but Zenyatta’s connections put her in a position to do it where it looks a lot harder.
Zenyatta’s siblings
Here is an article about Zenyatta’s dam and her siblings.
Nice article! Do we know who Vertigineux is in foal to now?
What part of Zenyatta is undefeated in 14 starts does nobody understand?
She won the BC Classic, the first filly/mare ever and she is undefeated! She was dead last, got caught up in traffic and still pulled though to win.
How many time are we going to see a undefeated filly/mare in the BC Classic? Not in my lifetime I tell you.
A thought popped into my head this morning and a quick wikipedia check shows it to be correct, but I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere. On saturday, she bumped her earning to over 5 million- doesn’t this make her the highest money earning female horse in NA history?
[QUOTE=VirginiaBred;4488841]
Nice article! Do we know who Vertigineux is in foal to now?[/QUOTE]
Henrythenavigator
Awesome. Thanks!
I’m no racing expert, just a fan of watching beautiful horses run, but it seems to me that while Zenyatta did have a shorter campaign this year, she won a race as big as any RA won, against horses at least as good as RA faced and possibly a better field top to bottom. Her trainers also took a risk entering her aginst colts at a longer distance than she’s ever won at before.
RA’s trainers took no risks-they cherrypicked races only on surfaces they thought she could win on, at distances they thought she could win at, against horses they thought she could easily beat. Had the Preakness been a mile and a quarter, the distance of the Classic, Mine That Bird had her covered, while Zenyatta covered the field at that distance-a distance RA’s trainers are afraid to try her at. If RA was the best, why won’t her owners risk racing Zenyatta?
I’m not sure if this video was already shared:
Mary Forney’s video of Zenyatta in the paddock; see also below that she has video of Zenyatta post race outside her barn.
Zenyatta did get an award on Sunday: was unanimously voted Horse of the Meet in the annual Media Poll for the Oak Tree season, which concluded Sunday.
Zenyatta also was named the meet’s outstanding older horse and the outstanding filly or mare; the Classic was chosen Race of the Meet, and Zenyatta’s first-ever victory by a female against males in the Classic was named Accomplishment of the Meet. (Zenyatta also was named Horse of the Meet in Oak Tree’s Media Poll last year. )
Jerry and Ann Moss, for their display of sportsmanship in running Zenyatta against males in the Classic, rather than the Ladies’ Classic (G1), which she won last year, were named Owners of the Meet.
Oddly enough despite John Shirreffs training both the BC Ladies Classic and BC Classic winners he was not named tariner of the meet 
Bob Baffert was although in all fairness throughout the meet Bob was simply on fire.
Oh, haven’t read far enough back in the thread maybe, but as a ballroom dancer, I loved ESPN’s segment of “Dancing with the Stars” judge Len Goodman (the only judge on that show with any ballroom background who actualy has the vaguest notion what he’s watching, btw) analyze Zenyatta’s dance stylings–he said she’s got the moves, and flirts with the boys to get them all worked up. He dusted off his perfect-10 paddle for her–yet another example of Len being right!
Have youall seen this article from the NYTimes. Seems to me that everyone agrees we’ve had a wonderful year of racing with the two spectacular ladies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/sports/09racing.html
