What a Year

re: What a Year

Nik W — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 01:13:27 GMT

2009 failure of the year - Animal Planet's Jockeys show missing out on the filming of Zenyatta's rise to the top!

re: What a Year

ThePixiePoet — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:08:25 GMT

"The Moment of the Year" for me was the Kentucky Oaks victory.

Here is my video reply:

www.youtube.com/watch

re: What a Year

margie — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:14:21 GMT

because of calvin rachel mine that bird zenyatta they have done more for the sport than any other year for a long time not since probably the mighty cigar or big red this sport of kings is now the sport of the common man every one loves it now

re: What a Year

margie — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:09:59 GMT

what a yr this has been for racing because of calvin mine that bird rachel and zenyatta i have people asking me about horse and calvin and these three horses these people have never been interested in this sport and they are now following it

re: What a Year

fanofallthree — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:24:10 GMT

I have to go with Mine That Bird's Derby win. So totally unexpected. Rachel and Zenyatta winning their races wasn't any BIG surprise.

re: What a Year

Pops — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:33:39 GMT

Enough is enough! This is from a "level headed" Rachel Alexander fan, not from a blind and dog-matic fan. Right now I'm just hoping that RA wins the HOY based on her body of work - but EXCUSE me for being honest - there is only one moment that even mattered in 2009. It was the incredible BCC won by Zenyatta. It was THE moment not only in 2009 - but also of the DECADE! I'm just hoping on a grand scale of accomplishments for 2009 that RA's pile is a little higher that Zenyatta. But, RA fans, let's be honest with each other and give credit where it is due. The BCC should be the ESPN highlight of the year. It was probably the greatest race, with apologies to the Easy Goer/Sunday Silence Preakness, after Secretariat's Belmont of all time.

re: What a Year

carolyn — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:30:21 GMT

Amen Slew, You are 100% correct, that race is the best race of 09, nothing any horse done, takes the place of this one.

re: What a Year

Slew — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:02:49 GMT

I've got to thank the horses, the

jockeys and their connections for

an incredible year of racing. There were soooooo many exhilerating, breath-taking moments. But only one stands out because it was the only moment that overwhelmed me with tears of joy, and that was Zenyatta in the

Breeders' Cup Classic.

re: What a Year

Pasturelands — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:53:37 GMT

I agree with Alex Waldrop, 100%. All these moments are worthy of mention-- including Rachel's 4 historic races.

If anybody should give away the HIGHEST AWARD in the land, then give it to the horse who WON MORE THAN ONE race-- RACHEL ALEXANDRA. Zenyatta had a great 2008 campaign (which people unwittingly ADD to her 2009 races) but her 2009 performance was PATHETIC, saved only by her ONE WIN at the BC. It would be the height of stupidity to award a horse the HOY just for ONE RACE, isn't it?

Also, somebody should CORRECT the records, and MAKE IT OFFICIAL that Zenyatta IS NOT 14-14 in 2009! This ABSURDITY is behind the fans' incorrect assumption that Zen is BETTER than Rachel, when in fact, if you look at their ages, Rachel is doing DOUBLE what Zen had done since she is just 3, and Zen is already 5 years old!!

Rachel should have this HOY award under her belt already by now, but I figured Moss won't let Rachel have it WITHOUT a fight (even though Zen doesn't deserve HOY). I wouldn't be surprised if Moss was PAYING half the bloggers in BLOODHORSE to blog all day about Zenyatta. He already did that with the "Lady's Secret Stakes fiasco" at Sta. Anita. What a SHAMELESS old crone!! Now he came up with a DVD of Zenyatta, as if HE IS SURE that his mare will be HOY!!

At a time when EVEN the ACTUAL HOY winners don't even have races named after them (e.g. Twilight Tear, Mineshaft, Busher, Holy Bull, Curlin, etc.), Moss's actions come across as outright ARROGANT and PRESUMPTIOUS. Imagine, replacing Lady's Secret stakes with THE ZENYATTA, when Zenyatta is NOT EVEN a lock for HOY 2009. The eclipse voting won't be held until January next year. UNBELIEVABLE! I wonder what Moss would DO IF Zenyatta DID NOT WIN the HOY 2009..hmm?? FIRE all his paid bloggers? haha.

Moment of the Year is a tie between Rachel's Woodward, and Zen's ONE RACE. RACHEL is HOY 2009.

re: What a Year

Pasturelands — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:01:32 GMT

I think the logical choice should be RACHEL for HORSE OF THE YEAR 2009; and Zenyatta for "Moment of the Year" for her ONE RACE IN 2009. Both horses deserved it.

But if you ask me, Rachel should also get "Moment of the Year" for her Woodward win. There is something there that you won't see in Zenyatta's BC -- the life and death struggle of a horse with nothing but her "Fighting Spirit" to keep her going.. its rare to see THAT up close and personal. As the NY Post said, Calvin rode like "his life depended on it" and Rachel "ran her HEART OUT."

RACHEL DESERVES TO BE THE 2009 HORSE OF THE YEAR.

re: What a Year

Judy ~ Burbank, CA — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:17:24 GMT

After reading some of the other poster's comments, I'm ashamed that in my original post I didn't include MINE THAT BIRD as runner-up. He won my heart when he won this year's Kentucky Derby!

My apologize to Birdie! :-) I didn't mean to "dis" you Little One. I still love you!

re: What a Year

Mindy C. — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:01:52 GMT

Well Armed's victory in Dubai was truly awesome... as he started the year out right. Too bad he got hurt as he would have hopefully been a leader in the older horse division.

Thank goodness he is a gelding, as I hope to see him back next year...

re: What a Year

Paula Higgins — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:54:45 GMT

Zenyatta's Breeders Cup Classic

Rachel's Woodward

Mine That Bird's Derby

All freaking fantastic. How lucky are we???!!

re: What a Year

LAZMANNICK — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:25:06 GMT

Easy:

A dead-heat between:

• RACHEL’S perseverance in winning the Woodward......Her outright refusal to lose the race in spite of vigorous physical urging by Borel and a tough challenge from Macho Again.

• ZENYATTA’S win for the ages in the BC Classic.....Her dominating performance in spite of a horrendous start.

Honorable mention:

CLOUDY’G KIGHT in the BC Marathon and PRECIOUS PASSION in the BC Turf. Both displayed unbelievable courage.

re: What a Year

Racingfan — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:34:50 GMT

Looking at the options on the list makes me think even more - what a great year for racing!!! WOW! I would vote for Zenyatta's Classic win though and not just because she won. It was the ease with which she blew by the field and just kept going that was just incredible to watch! I can't count how many times I have watched the replay and it still thrills me every time!

re: What a Year

Cindi — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:28:36 GMT

For the Moment of the Year, captivating is the quality I use to make my choice. It has to be Mine That Bird's performance. I have watched that amazing run probably 100 times and it still takes my breath away. That same moment also propelled me from superficial Triple Crown racing fan to full fledged horse enthusiast. His race is an inspirational example for the rest of us that obstacles are meant to be overcome. He did that in no uncertain terms, and when I need a reminder I watch the race again. That to me defines a moment of the year.

re: What a Year

Lydia — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:14:16 GMT

I could easily choose 'anything Rachel', but I think my vote will go for Mine That Bird's Derby. It was an exciting race. It was wildly unexpected. And as it turned out, his trainer was a breath of fresh air. Team MTB all the way!

re: What a Year

Daniel — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:45:43 GMT

Without a doubt the Derby was the Moment of the Year in all the sports I follow. Perfect mix of athleticism and sheer entertainment.

I have a coworker who trash talked that anybody can ride a race horse so "it's not really a sport". He changed his tune after he saw the ESPN replay of Calvin Borel's boot literally scraping the rail.

Have to hand it to the Bird, too, for having the guts to squeeze through that little hole in the stretch. In the BC Dirt Mile Mastercraftsmen showed us that it takes quite a courageous horse to skim the rail like Bird did in the Derby.

re: What a Year

Brian Appleton — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:23:41 GMT

I know everybody has already said this but wow, Rachel Alexandra with four "moments". Might hurt her chances though if the votes get split between her separate victories. I loved her Oaks and Haskell.

re: What a Year

Irish — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:40:30 GMT

My vote is for Mine That Bird winning the Kentucky Derby. It's one of the most memorable Derby's I've ever seen out of 36 total.

I'll never forget Tom Durkin bellowing about Pioneerof the Nile and a moment later a nondescript little brown horse flew by on the inside. Our Derby party guests were yelling "who in the !@%$#% is that" and my wife calmly replied "it's gotta be Calvin Borel".

It doesn't take a horse racing history lesson for casual fans, the general public, and even small children to understand why it qualifies as Moment of the Year. I think it's 1.1 million (and climbing) Youtube views indicate how most people would vote if they knew about your NTRA poll.

So my suggestion: how about trying to get the Moment of the Year poll more exposure outside of just horse racing sites? If you don't I suspect the poll will turn into just another silly fight between the hardcore Zenyatta and Rachel fans.

re: What a Year

TerriV — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:33:54 GMT

For me, the most outstanding moment was little Mine That Bird's unbelievable, courageous, thrilling run to win the Derby. It was THE DERBY! The race I find the most difficult to predict, the most frightening to watch (the Cavalry Charge is heart-stopping every time). It is always difficult to win. I feel just blown away everytime I watch it. Don't get me wrong, I went to 4 of Rachel's great races and watched them all. She is truely a super-filly. But I never doubted her. Zenyatta's Classic I was screaming my head off. She ran her perfect race. I was a little worried for her. But that amazing, gutsy, unexpected moment that Mine That Bird provided and the thrill of watching that run is just etched in my heart.

re: What a Year

Steve — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:46:54 GMT

My favorite moment was #4 -- 50/1 MTB winning the Derby. I still laugh when I think about Borel sneaking yet another long shot up the Churchill rail.

I'd been trying to get my son interested in this sport for several years. He was lukewarm about racing but Borel's incredible ride aboard MTB finally hooked him. He must've watched the replay 100 times and has since watched more races than I have this year.

re: What a Year

MRO — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:26:05 GMT

Zenyatta. I can't stop thinking about that race. My favorite 2 from the past are Seattle Slew's passing in 2002 & Rags to Riches Belmont in 2007. If Seattle Slew's passing can be a "greatest moment", why can't Bobby's?

re: What a Year

Karen in Indiana — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:02:19 GMT

What a fantastic year we've seen! Well Armed's race in Dubai was just the start of things to come. There have been so many wonderful moments, it is impossible for me to say 'Definitely that one'. But the only one I was on my feet yelling for was Zenyatta's Classic win.

re: What a Year

The Phantom — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:55:31 GMT

As single event it has to be Zen's Classic win with so much history being made in 1 race.The Woodward, that is funny over the BC Classic and that field be serious, your bias is so clear but you's are in RA camp what else would you say.