Staying home

No guts no glory. Hate to see Zenyatta pad her undefeated record versus overmatched SoCal synthetic ladies all year. Would like to see her test males at some point.

I don't buy the seven weeks stuff... so if she were to have run in Louisville, what would she have done? The gaps argument is flawed in my opinion. Rachel Alexandra is a few lengths ahead of Zenyatta in the HOTY of the year race, and will likely stay ahead of her unless Zenyatta can beat the boys. Sad but true. There's a sporting element to this.

You dont bring a horse back from a 7 motnh layoff, give her a race, and then give her another 7 weeks off so she can run 1 1/4 miles against males in the Hollywood Gold Cup. It's all about timing, and how races set up along a training schedule. She will face males when it matters most if that is what they decide to do. Rachel alexandra has a long way to go to win HOTY. Let's see how she comes back from her grueling Preakness effort.

The SoCal handicap division is weak, and it would have been nice to see Zenyatta tackle that group in the Hollywood Gold Cup. She might need a win against the gents to grab Horse of the Year honors. Rachel has the edge on her in that department.

Agree it's not like Rachel beat a ton in the Preakness... Mine That Bird and the 95 Beyer figure crew...

LOL..."facing the boys." Since when is this a requirement for a horse to be considered great? If she is going to run against males, she will do it in the BC Classic, when she can face all the top male runners in the world. I certainly wouldn't classify the Preakness runners as "some of the best colts in the world." Rachel beat a few good horses in that race, the rest of them were above average 3yo's. And, she got a 5lb weight allowance. If Rachel's people think she is better than Zenyatta, then face her at equal weights.

This is now all about Zenyatta's streak. That's what the scratch on Derby day was about. Let's do the math. She's got June-July-Aug-Sept-Oct to race three more times. That ties her with Personal Ensign for a perfect 13. Then, she goes in the BC Ladies Classic on her home track as a perfect 13-for-13 against Rachel Alex... like Personal Ensign beat Winning Colors. If she wins, she's even better than Personal Ensign. If not, at least she lost on BC day to the best. Is this ducking horses? Absolutely! But they justify it because the races in CA are G1's and they get to face Rachel in the BC. Where it backfires is if Rachel doesn't show up. Then they would be better taking on boys in a weak Pac Classic or something like that.

She is quickly becoming an underachiever. What's the point of beating-up on the same horses race after race after race? I can live with the not shipping to Saratoga... but not facing the boys? Who is she scared of?