Rachel
Alexandra’s extraordinary victory in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga
Race Course has been voted by fans as NYRA’s 2009 “Story of the Year.” The
victory eclipsed four other compelling tales from New York racing, including jockey Ramon
Dominguez’s superlative year and Linda Rice’s historic Saratoga
training title.
“The
year was filled with memorable stories and I am delighted that Rachel
Alexandra’s race in the Woodward won top honors,” said owner Jess Jackson,
whose Stonestreet Stable campaigns the filly with Harold McCormick. “It
was an extraordinary race in which she repelled a series of challenges, a race
which displayed her courage and tenacity.
“As
you may remember, we entered her in the Woodward to test her against older
males in order to measure her greatness,” Jackson
added. “And greatness is what she demonstrates to all who watch that
historic race.”
Rachel
Alexandra became the first filly to ever emerge victorious in the 56 year history
of the race, and she did so after setting torrid opening fractions of 22.85 and
46.41, and then holding off the late charges of Grade 1 winners Macho Again and
Bullsbay. When she returned to the winner’s circle, it was to the deafening
cheers of the 31,171 in attendance.
Calvin
Borel, who piloted Rachel Alexandra for all five of her Grade 1 victories in
2009, was effusive in his praise of the sensational daughter of Medaglia d’Oro.
“I
am so excited to be part of NYRA's ‘Story of the Year’ in Rachel winning the
Woodward,” Borel said. “Words can hardly describe how proud I was that day of
Rachel – she showed in that victory the depths of her versatility and tenacity.
In winning the Woodward, Rachel earned her rightful place among racing’s
greatest of all time.
“I
would like to thank Steve Asmussen and his staff for always having her ready to
answer the challenges that come her way – and also Mr. Jackson, who has put
Rachel's talent on display for the racing world to witness, enjoy, and remember
for many years to come,” Borel added. “And thanks to the racing public – whose
enthusiasm for Rachel has brought new fans to our sport! To achieve a
historical feat at Saratoga
was a dream come true for me, and I'm glad my favorite memory of 2009 could be
recognized as NYRA's ‘Story of the Year.’”
Campaigned
by the nation’s leading trainer, Steve Asmussen, Rachel Alexandra’s defeat of
older males in the Woodward was the second dazzling show the filly put on in New York in 2009,
having won the Grade 1 Mother Goose at Belmont
Park
on June 27 by a record 19¼ lengths in a stakes record 1:46.33.
More
than 5,000 votes were cast by fans choosing among five compelling storylines –
some human, some equine – on the NYRA website (www.nyra.com)
in voting that began in December and concluded at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January
15.
Rachel
Alexandra received 2,017 votes (40 percent of the ballots), topping jockey
Ramon Dominguez, who had a year-long reign as New York’s leading jockey, winning
riding titles at all three of NYRA’s tracks – Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park
and Saratoga Race Course – in his first full year of riding in the Empire
State. The 33-year-old rider finished 2009 with 376 NYRA victories, more than
any other rider besides Steve Cauthen, who rode 422 winners back in 1977.
Dominguez
garnered 1,638 votes (32 percent).
Also
attracting considerable support was Linda Rice, who became the first woman to
ever win a training title in New
York (or any other major
racetrack) when she saddled 20 winners at the Spa to edge Todd Pletcher by a
single victory.
Rice
received 1,172 votes (23 percent).
Summer
Bird, who swept the top races in New York as the first 3-year-old since Easy
Goer in 1989 to win the Belmont Stakes, the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold
Cup, collected 174 votes (3 percent) and Gio Ponti, whose Grade 1 victories in
Belmont Park’s Man o’War and Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap were
highlights of an outstanding season that wrapped up with a second in the
Breeders’ Cup Classic to Zenyatta, got 66 votes (1 percent).
The
five nominees were highlighted by NYRA racing analyst Andy
Serling in a video that was available at www.nyra.com, www.facebook.com/thenyra
and NYRA’s official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/nyravideo.
Founded in 1955, and franchised to run thoroughbred
racing at New York’s three
major tracks through 2033, The New York Racing Association, Inc. boasts a
lineage that actually stretches back almost 150 years. NYRA tracks are the
cornerstone of the state’s thoroughbred business which contributes more than $2
billion annually to New York State’s
urban, suburban and rural economy. In 2009, more than 1.6 million people
attended the live races at NYRA tracks. Factoring nationwide off-track
wagering, the average daily betting handle on NYRA races alone totals more than
$9.3 million every race day. NYRA has a vast network of websites, including www.nyra.com, www.belmontstakes.com, and www.nyragroupsales.com.
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