As of Monday morning, my most recent blog post, entitled "Zenyatta Wins Again -- This Time With Oprah" http://www.ntra.com/blog/index/view/MTExOQ , has received more than 6,200 page views and elicited more than 350 comments. I want to thank you for the overwhelming response and for the passionate discussion.
Buried within the usual back and forth between Zenyatta and Rachel fans are some interesting suggestions. Several readers, including a number of passionate female horse racing fans, have already begun a campaign to encourage Oprah to dedicate an upcoming show to Zenyatta.
Suzanne suggested: Wouldn't it be nice if Oprah would give the Queen a full episode dedicated to her, her accomplishments, the Mosses and Mike Smith prior to the Breeders’ Cup? Then do an exclusive with race day footage showing everything we never get to see...It would surely be doable. Maybe if all of us e-mail her with the idea???"
That’s a great idea, Suzanne. If fact, here is a link for anyone reading this post to e-mail the producers at Oprah and suggest that Oprah pursue a show or a feature dedicated to Zenyatta and her amazing connections. I encourage each of you to send her a message right now. Let’s see if we can do for Zenyatta what friends on Facebook did to secure Betty White an appearance on Saturday Night Live last spring.
With the inclusion of Zenyatta on Oprah’s 2010 Power List, clearly Oprah and her producers have joined the legion of fans touched by this remarkable athlete. Should Oprah dedicate a show, or feature, to Zenyatta in advance of the Breeders’ Cup, millions more will be compelled and moved by her story.
A victory this Saturday in the Lady’s Secret Stakes at the Oak Tree at Hollywood Park meeting would extend Zenyatta’s perfect record to 19-for-19 and leave her one victory shy of joining Tiznow as the only two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. By the way, the Lady’s Secret will be televised live Saturday on ESPN between two NCCA college football games at approximately 7:15 p.m. ET. The Lady’s Secret is a part of a Breeders’ Cup Challenge telecast (6:30-8 p.m. ET) on ESPN Classic and ESPN 3 which will include two other live Breeders’ Cup Challenge races from Hollywood Park.
Win or lose this weekend or next month, Zenyatta already has cemented her place in the Hall of Fame. But a victory Saturday would arguably put us on the brink of the most highly anticipated Breeders’ Cup Classic in event’s history. And wouldn’t that be the perfect time for Oprah to introduce the only four-legged member of her Power List to her worldwide audience of viewers?
