Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Mike N — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:59:14 GMT

Mr. Hancock: In the early 80's, I so admired Forli that I bred to one of his sons. I got a wonderful bay mare. I bred her to a son of Roberto and got a filly who floated over the ground. I have seen many great racemares, but by her second race, I realized that Zenyatta would be great. There was a great racehorse in the Breeder's Cup Classic, but it's name was not Blame.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Pebbles — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:32:56 GMT

I believe that Zenyatta should be HOTY.

Last year, I had my reservations because she had won the Classic on what amounted to a home track that many of the other competitors did not have success over, she had only raced 5 times in 4 Grade I races, and only in California.

This year she raced in 6 Grade I races, twice on dirt, and twice out of state. She raced in only three races that she had raced in the previous year.

She carried 129 pounds -- more than any other horse this year I believe -- in the Vanity for the second year in a row.

She lost to Blame on his home track by a short head.

Blame on the other hand lost by 4 lengths to Haynesfield who is a nice horse, but no world beater.

He only won 3 Grade I races and a Grade III -- not exactly a monster campaign which started in mid-May...

Zenyatta on the other hand ran from mid-March.

Blame lost HOTY when he lost the JCGC...IMHO...

When you only race 5 times you had better win every race...Zenyatta did last year...and won the BC Classic but was denied HOTY...why should Blame be able to do it this year?

He should not.

Great article.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Beth — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:03:13 GMT

This is an outstanding article! I agree with everything you said. To me, during the 2010 Classic, Zenyatta proved that she is the greatest because what other horse could overcome a slow break, 20 lengths behind, dirt constantly flying in your face, and a wall of horses? Only Zenyatta can. She only lost to one horse, just one throughout her entire career. If she came in anything below 3rd place it would be obviously that she should get Horse of the Year. But by beating 10 other horses and coming so close to beat Blame, she showed everyone the champion she is. Like Secretariat, Zenyatta captivated a nation. She brought so many people to the Sport of Kings. She has done so much for the sport and her fans. The best horse racing can do is to give back to her with Horse of the Year. She is still undefeated in my eyes.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Armando and Danielle - Northern Ca Zenyatta fans — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:17:28 GMT

This piece by Jennifer really took our breath away. It's EXACTLY how we feel about her career and Horse of the Year honors. Don't get us wrong, Blame is a good horse, but his best would never equal her best. He had an easy trip, hers was challenging, and she almost caught him. If she was right next to Blame when she began her legendary kick he and Garrett Gomez would have seen Zenyatta and Mike Smith's rear ends get to the finish line ahead of them. To those who know, she's still peerless...and Horse of the Year!

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

jshalo — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:57:18 GMT

I think it would be Great for the girls to win 2 years in a row! But you watch the people who vote (MEN) can't stand a woman,be it man or beautiful beast to win a fantastic award over a male competitor. Why can't the ordinary people vote?

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Big D — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:14:54 GMT

I find it difficult to understand why Saratoga Tony and and Please Stop Already fail to see the unbeliveable greatness of Zenyatta. My conclusion, they are contrary types who for whatever reason choose to stir the pot.

If not HOY Zenyatta certainly is Horse of the Decade and without question Horse for the Ages. She has been compared with the greatest of all time, Secretariat. That is not done arbitrarily. She was also in several magazines including SI and on 60 Minutes, again not without good reason. She's not just a pretty face, she's the real deal, she has it all. Some (fewer these days) don't like that about her (call it jealousy). Since she began running she has been ultra consistent and in addition she has size, beauty, speed (as needed), power, heart and an insatiable desire to win. She has no equal as the greatest closer of all time. No one should argue with that point. She beat all the best boys the last 2 years save one, Blame who is a good horse (not a "great" one). And now he too will be retired with the jury still out on his ultimate worth. I guess we know a lot more about Rachel Alexandra now. By the way wasn't the horse that beat Blame this year in the BCC also? And didn't he finish 11th? Didn't Z leave Hastings in the dust in the stretch along with 10 of the other boys? How many times does she have to beat the boys to prove she is better. She's done it twice now in each of the last two years. Zenyatta has won the most consecutive grade one races in North American racing history (10), consecutive major wins when she hit 17 and tied with Affirmed and Forge with 13 grade one's just 3 behind the all time leader, John Henry? Not bad company! When they say "look who she beat", if you do look you will find that she beat everyone she raced against and did pretty well on dirt too if I'm not mistaken. By the way, Blame just hung on to beat her (and she did not have a good trip). She was in the process of passing him at the wire if you go back and watch. Good thing it wasn't a mile and 3/8!

A final note, just think how stupid it would look one day on down the road to look back and see that a horse considered one of the greatest of all time was never HOY. One would have to ask, "Who in the heck was on the committee that selected HOY anyway".

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Julie — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 02:03:45 GMT

I agree that Zenyatta's 'loss' in this years' BCC was even more impressive than her BCC win last year. It's not the difference of losing or winning by a head that makes the difference, it's the race she ran. If winning the BCC automatically makes the winner HOTY why didn't Zenyatta win HOTY last year? Why should fillies and mares be expected to step out of their division multiple times and run against colts repeatedly when males are not expected to race outside their division by running on turf or becoming sprinters to win HOTY? It seems like fillies are expected to be twice as good to be considered good enough. Zenyatta did run against colts and nearly won her second BCC. She is nearly perfect with 19 of 20. How much does a horse have to do? If winning the BCC is proof of greatness, what is almost winning the BCC twice in a row?

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

seattle — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:27:02 GMT

Zenyatta should win. When do they make this award and who votes? East coast breeders only? Do the racing writers and broadcasters vote? Do the racetrack owners vote? I know the fans are left out--although they supposedly keep this sport alive.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

George — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:56:38 GMT

Great article all so well researched. Once in a lifetime a horse comes along who is so outstanding she needs NO EXPLANATION and to stand in the shadow of HER GREATNESS is to know what racing is truly meant to be ! For too long now there has been a body of racing enthusiasts who seem to have their own agendas who seem hell bent on destroying the final shreds of this industry by their egotistical small mindedness ! Each time the bar changed Zenyatta reached higher and each time she excelled to meet expectations ...each time she was denied her due reward ! It is obvious to the world Zenyatta is the superior choice the only choice ! On Dec 5th Zenyatta will be gone forever...let's not miss the chance of a lifetime to publicly acknowledge her vast contribution to the racing industry as a whole ...Zenyatta HOTY 2010 !

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

LongStoryTB — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:49:56 GMT

Well written! I completely concur!!! Zenyatta, you are simply incredible.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

racehorselover — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:46:10 GMT

PWhy to win HOY do you have to come East at all? Why don't the East horses go West? Since CA built racetracks the Kentucky Hardboots have done Everything to put the CA horses down reguardless of whatever accomplishments were made. Zenyatta is the best thing for racing since Secretariat. She has broken records, defeated males. You say her competion this year is sub standard. Why because they were from the West Coast? No, Zenyatta has earned this HOY honor. Will she actually get it? I don't think she will. The East Coast bias and Kentucky hardboots will make sure of that. She did everything she was asked to do and more. Her family made sure she was happy, healthy and sound, why is that so wrong? People complain they are run until they break down, which do you prefer? Jennifer thank you for the Real Zenyatta story. Karen in Indy, thanks for the rest of the facts. God Bless the Queen, may she race forever in our hearts.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

PLEASE STOP ALREADY — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:12:51 GMT

WORLD THOROUGHBRED RANKING:

#2 BLAME

#10 ZENYATTA

ENOUGH SAID!!!

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

SaratogaTony — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:31:40 GMT

I've made my arguments in 3 other threads, so I'll keep this really simple.

I won't discount what Zenyatta did for racing this year, in terms of bringing people to the track (although I think you're probably insane if you believe more than 5% will still be fans after she's gone).

Ambiguity of the criteria aside, IF you believe, as I believe most in the turf writers association do, that HOY should be awarded based on what a horse accomplish in a given calendar year from gate to wire, I don't believe you can make a serious argument for Zenyatta. All but 5 of her wins happened in other years, so they don't count this time around. Neither do the "buh, buh, buh, but Rachel didn't even run in the Classic" arguments. Nope, every year is different. Rachel didn't need to. Her season was just that good. Before the Classic, Zen's season was entirely forgettable. Every year is different. Moving on...

If you look past the emotions, and girl power, and what whatever else is driving some of this nonsense; ask yourself one simple question:

What if you switched Zenyatta's and Blame's seasons? What if Blame was the horse that ran against short fields, in relatively soft company. What if Blame, in their one and only meeting, lost to Zenyatta (even just by a neck) in the Classic?

Who here would honestly say Blame should be Horse of the Year? Not a chance. So why Zenyatta? Because you really love her? If you switch the races, and the results, and still arrive at the same conclusion, it's pretty clear you're not putting much thought into this at all.

Finally, to lump Blame in with the likes of Upset and Onion does nothing but put your ignorance on display for all who read these threads. A multiple Grade I winner, who by nearly all accounts was the best Colt running in 2010, is a far cry from a a longshot who came from nowhere. It was sentimental money that made Zenyatta the betting favorite, people who really know racing put their money on Blame (and were proved correct in doing so).

Side note - there are a lot of people who say Blame will be forgotten like Upset and Onion. Am I the only one who finds the irony in this comical? If these horses are so forgettable, why are they so easily remembered?

Finally, if Blame is as bad as some here seem to think, what does it say about Zenyatta?

@PJJ - when people use the phrase beat X-number of Grade I winners, the common knowledge is that it is used to describe horses that actually won the race(s) in question, not who they finished ahead in a loss. Regardless, your point is still nonsense. If we counted using your rules; please let us all know how many Grade I winners they each finished ahead of ("beat" as you say).

Under your math, out of the Classic alone, Blame is +1. Zenyatta finished ahead of 0 Grade I winners in her other 5 races, which leaves Blame still +1, and we still haven't even counted any of his other starts. Is it worth continuing?

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

steve from st louis — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:24:54 GMT

Secretariat won HOY as a 2-year-old in 1972. He only won restricted (age) races yet won the honor for his dominance in his campaign and what he did in raising national interest in horseracing. Helllo?

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Elizabeth — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:59:43 GMT

Wohoo!! Excellent!!

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Karen, PA — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:03:17 GMT

This is quite simply the best commentary on why Zenyatta should be Horse of the Year 2010.

You call out quite succinctly how the rules change from a sadly subjective group who continually say they are purists. By doing so they are undercutting the weight, the gravitas of the award. The winner seems to be who this "in group" likes best -- rather juvenile.

Whatever they choose, should it not be Zenyatta, only The Eclipse Awards will lose, becase we all will lose faith in you -- NOT in Zenyatta! Zenyatta will rise above all naysayers -- and we will be there with her.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Yvonne and Maurice Kirby — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:33:44 GMT

Hi - Zenyatta is not only Horse of the Year by Horse of the Century! Put emotion aside, look at her body of work this year, she wins over Blame. He lost several races, ran in Grade III and was running on his course at Churchill. Last year, when Zenyatta won the Breeder's Cup, she did not win because they compared her body of work against Rachel's, this year they are saying she had to win the Breeder's Cup - they keep raising the bar against her. Everyone knows deep in their hearts that she is a champion and deserving of this award. As a matter of fact, there should be an ambassador award named the Zenyatta Award that should be given out each year in honor of her. I adore her, have gone to most of her races and no one deserves this award more than her. Yvonne and Maurice

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Slew — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:26:37 GMT

rachel said.."In 5 wins she did not beat a single grade 1 winner...that is a HOY campaign? She had far better arguments in 2008 and 2009....."

As a matter of fact...in her ONE loss, she still beat all of the same Grade I winners as Blame..

...QR, LAL, POP, Espoir City, Haynesfield, etc..etc. Such illogical refutations make no sense...picking and choosing facts simply to support a weak hypothesis. Blame was magnificent in digging in and holding on. But Zenyatta was sensational, coming from 20 lengths back, overcoming a surface that beat the crap out of her, and catching up to within inches of immortality. What makes her THE champion?....overcoming all obstacles. Guess who the crowd was cheering after the race? Hint...it wasn't Blame.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Kathy Kimber — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:51:30 GMT

Very well said, Thank you. Zenyatta should be horse of the year. Her record speaks for itself. Such heart needs to be rewarded. Lets not change the rules because she's a girl or from the west coast. She more than proved herself. Blame is a good horse but he had a straight easy trip and retired. No chance to run again agaist her. Zenyatta reigns.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Jennifer Wirth — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 03:54:46 GMT

Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on my article. I truly appreciate it! :)

Jennifer Wirth

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Ann — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 02:44:28 GMT

Ya know, Peter Ellis said it best. When asked whether Zenyatta WILL get HOTY: "Here's the deal: it doesn't matter whether she wins it or not, because she is THE horse for the last 40 years! Which horse do you think will be remembered?" Hands down, Zenyatta is a horse for the ages, and history will be kind to her. Andy Beyer and others questioned the bonafides of Seattle Slew until he LOST to a horse he had beaten weeks earlier. In defeat, Beyer said Slew had shown more in that loss than his prior wins had done. Beyer made a similar comment about Zenyatta, and he has been one of her big critics, as he was of Slew. I'm not trying to start another fight over comparing Slew and Zenyatta....just making the point that experienced racing observers oftentimes recognize that a loss can define the legitimacy of a horse's bonafides as much or more as their wins do!

I don't know about anyone else, but Zenyatta's recovery and finish were jaw-dropping. The other thing, though, as fast as Blame's connections "retired" their horse, you would have thought they were afraid Zenyatta's connections might ask for a match race! It was quite obvious that Blame's connections knew they had dodged a bullet and were not going to risk running him any more. Also, have stud fees fallen back that much? My gosh, the way they are building up his wonderful career, I would have thought Blame's stud fees would be twice what they are asking! Just wondering!

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

catts — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:44:27 GMT

I have to wonder why Zen's 09 BCC win was not good enough for HOY when the eventual 09 winner didn't bother to show up yet this year's classic automtically determines the winner. I listened to Mike Watchmaker's tirade on Blinkers Off expounding on Blame's terrific season. Really? Really? Blame was badly beaten by a sprinter-Haynesfield-then he beat a glorified sprinter in Quality Road and he beat an injured Battle Plan. Haynesfield and Quality Road finished last and next to last in the Classic so really how good were they? Blame side-stepped the best 3 year olds this year and last year never made a triple crown race himself. I believe Rinterval, Switch and Saint Trinians all ran more gamely against Zenyatta than most of the classic entries that day and most people will admit that if Quality Road hadn't thrown in the towel in front of Zen she would have caught Blame. While Goldikova is a wonderful race mare she wasn't in the classic for a reason-She can't get that distance and she can't run on dirt which seems to be the criteria. At least it was last year for HOY. While I greatly admire Seth Hancock's stance on drugs and the "old fashioned" way he runs Claiborne I believe Blame's retirement was well thought out in that if he stayed in training he would lose more races than he would win thus depressing his stud fee. So they pulled him out when they beat the best who got a lousy trip. Blame does not deserve HOY when the best horse he ever beat never got the chance to run her race. If the voters cannot see their way to make Zenyatta HOY then I suggest Looking at Lucky who got mugged in several races yet still found a way to win and when defeated it was often by post position. He won a triple crown race, was a top horse at both 2 and 3 and gave a good account of himself in the classic against older horses. Looking at Lucky had a tougher, better campaign than Blame and for some reason frequent flyer miles seem to count and Lucky had more of them. I have no doubt that Zenyatta will be screwed out of HOY again and again the voters will again look like fools. Where is the horse they voted HOY last year now? Did the voters learn anything? Probably not. What a shame.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Julie L. — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:37:20 GMT

I have been off of these blogs for awhile and just recently started up again and the reason I stayed away was due to all of the negative comments. First the debate of Big Brown vs Curlin, then Rachel vs Zenyatta and now Zenyatta vs Blame. Looking at things statistically HOY goes to Zenyatta. Blame is a very good horse and his running style was very similar to Zenyatta which was why I knew he would be alongside her in the Classic at the wire and that the bob of the head would make the decision. But enough with the hateful remarks regarding both horses and of those in the past. Enough with putting California down this East vs West is as old as the hills and you keep forgetting that the only 2 time winner of the Classic was a California bred.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Barbara W — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:41:24 GMT

Beautifully written piece. Thank you so much.

The longer the hypocrites who keep changing the rules rule the day (and I'm certain they will again this year), the more we will have to listen to them bemoan where all the fans have gone.

One would have to be blind to be unable to recognize what Zenyatta did in "defeat". I'm so thankful that I'm one of the ones who "gets it" and loves her. Maybe it is easier to deny her presence if one has not actually seen her in person. I have, and I will never forget it.

re: Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year

Pam S. — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:54:27 GMT

First of all, no one can be sure who will be HOY this year. It actually seems to be more contentious than it was last year. We posters don't have a vote, but if you look at all the Internet sites and add them together, the support for Zenyatta is overwhelming in both numbers and fervor. Many, many racing fans have weighed in on the issue, with a clear majority favoring Zenyatta. Does anyone really think those that do have votes are going to completely ignore this??

Secondly, I'd like to address the issue of females racing against males. Nowhere does it say a distaffer "has" to do this, or how many times she "has" to do it in order to be recognized by HOY voters. The way I see it, Zenyatta raced against the proper competition just as Blame did, stepping up for the year's biggest race. You can knock the F&M's that dared to face Zenyatta, but if you think the older male division was strong this year, you're fooling yourself.

I just don't think it's such a big deal. Had Zenyatta competed in the G1 male races in Calif., her doubters would give her no credit because they hate synthetic tracks. I also think the trainer is the best one to judge when and if his distaffer should race outside her division. That's why I think "send your complaints to Jerry Moss about Zenyatta's campaign" is the dumbest advice I've ever heard. I would rather send complaints to Jess Jackson for robbing us far too soon of a very special filly. Three races against males in little more than three months plainly was too much for Rachel Alexandra. No one with any "horse sense" (such as the Mosses) wants any award that badly, no matter what you might think. They care about their horse, and their horse's career confirms that. Zenyatta is hardly a flash in the pan.