In reply to rossington, I have heard some stupid arguements before, however yours takes he cake. Your Great Zenyatta refused to race outside the poly tracks of california, (favor her running style, huge disadvantage to easter dirt horses) therefore I suggest Zenyatta should be poly track horse of the year. She ran one race that puts her in rachel's world and at that it was on her terms. As for what a great field you say is was, how about the fact that the 2nd and 3rd finishers were turf horses. Nuff said about the great field. If you compare both records it is noteven close, Rachel by 10 lenghts.
The refusal of zenyatta's connections to leave california and the poly track justify rachel winning horse of the year. Jerry Bailey,s comment thet rachel ducked zenetta is a joke. The truth is that the poly track in a bane to racing. Any idiot (bailey) should understand the great disadvantage eastern dirt horses in running over it. Zenyatta for poly horse of the year!!!!!!
Zenyatta beat turf horses and dirt horses who could not handle the poly track. She was life and death to beat the same overmatched fillies in her other races. She is a real good mare, however until she provers that she can run on dirt, have to say she is a bit overated.
Here's a question for all of you die hard Rachael Alexandra fan's who give Zenyatta absolutely none of the respect she's earned, on Rachael's favorite dirt track, you pick it, be it Saratoga, Belmont, or Churchill Downs, wherever. If someone asked Jesse Jackson "will you run in a race on any of these listed tracks at 1-1/4 against Gio Ponti, Rip Van Winkle, Twice Over, Einstein, Richard's Kid, Summer Bird, Colonel John, Regal Ransom, Gerilamo,Mine That Bird, and Awesome Gem, Jesse Jackson would take his filly and run for the hill's. So don't tell me she's better than Zenyatta. Rachael's male win's have been handpicked to make sure there were no more than 2 or 3 tough competitors in the race. Zenyatta faced down 10 multiple Grade 1 winners, never having ran against males, never having ran 1-1/4. Please, HOY, in my mind it's Zenyatta easy.
Zenyatta deserves to be horse of the year. She raced in the top of her division all year, and then beat the best horses in the world in the year's championship race, when all of the best horses of 2009 were assembled. Pure quality and racing againt the best on championship day trumps style points, which Rachel was full of. Winning a thrilling Preakness by holding off Mine that Bird (9th in the Classic), beating Summer Bird (4th in the Classic) and an exciting Woodward over Macho Again and others (you get extra credit if you can name more than 2 horses Rachel beat in the Woodward) was fabulous for a 3yo filly.
But does anyone really believe Rachel would have hit the board in the Classic whether on poly, dirt or at 1 1/8 miles?
Give Rachel and her connections credit for what they deserve - a thrilling, classy campaign and racing outside of their category. But by not showing up on BC day (in any race) they left the door open just a crack. For Zenyatta's connections, by not traveling outside CA they either were happy with what they had or decided not to take the risk of blemishing her record. Their only chance for Horse of the Year was to show up in the Classic and win it. And she did.
Let me start by saying I'm a huge Zenyatta fan. If Rachael and Zenyatta raced tomorrow, I'd be for Zenyatta. That said, I still have a ton of respect for what Rachael has accomplished this year. An undefeated record and 3 wins against the boys, difficult for any filly. But in yesterday's B.C. Classic, Zenyatta set the bar as high as it will ever be set for either, imo. When, in history, has a filly or mare, first time against males, first time at 1-1/4, jumped into a field of males that included the 09' Arlington Million, Man O' War, Frank E. Kilroe Mile and Manhattan Hand. winner- Gio Ponti, the 09' Santa Anita Handicap and multiple Grade 1 Stakes winner- Einstein, the 08' Santa Anita Derby, Travers, and Sham Stakes winner- Colonel John, the 09' Pacific Classic winner- Richard's Kid, the 09' Super Derby and UAE Derby winner- Regal Ransom, the 09' Belmont Stakes, Travers, and JCGC winner- Summer Bird, the 09' Sussex Stakes and Q.E.II Plate winner- Rip Van Winkle, the 09' Champion Stakes and Foundation Stakes winner- Twice Over, the 09' Hawthorne Gold Cup winner- Awesome Gem, and the 09' Kentucky Derby winner- Mine That Bird. Never has a filly jumped so far so quick as Zenyatta did with her Breeders Cup Classic victory yesterday. All three of Rachael's male field's combined pale in comparison to this field. Rachael may win it, but until I see her beat a proven field of 3yr.old and older multiple Grade 1 winning millionaires as Zenyatta did yesterday, I will always be convinced that she is the better of the two, and it will completely diminish the importance of arguably the greatest moment in Breeders Cup Classic history since the inception of the race to deny Zenyatta HOY.