Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Forbidden Apple — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:43:48 GMT

Does anyone on this blog live in Arkansas?

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Mike Relva — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:49:48 GMT

PASTURELANDS

CAROLYN is on point. You hate Zenyatta,and anyone that hates an innocent animal is sub human in my book. Get your mindless facts correct,I've NEVER said anything cruel regarding RA,although I don't care for connections,especially her trainer.When she won HOY,I NEVER went "off the deep end". I keep things in perspective! What about your stupid blogs I saw prior to Breeders' where you gave Zenyatta no chance. Remember that? I'm waiting for your spin if Zenyatta beats RA,cause we know you and a few others' won't give credit to the Zenyatta camp. Also,if you think for a moment Draynay is a great handicapper,you're nuts. How many horses' did he jump on/off last yr. prior to Derby????????? I have GREAT RESPECT FOR RA,THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WON'T EVER SAY ABOUT ZENYATTA!

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

carolyn — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:18:12 GMT

Pasturelands, When you point your finger at someone else, your other four fingers are pointing back at you.

You are speaking of yourself, because you are the only one guilty of saying childish and insensitive things about an innocent horse(Zenyatta) on another blog. You and your pal NoCommonsense101 are nothing but Zenyatta haters and now you're on here trying to look oh so innocent, yeah, I wish they could read your posts on other blogs.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

CV — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:49:32 GMT

Pasturelands, you have descended into complete incoherence. I haven't posted any of that nonsense you attributed to me.

Also, here's a tip for writing on the Internet. Using ALL CAPS all the time makes you look childish.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Pasturelands — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:13:56 GMT

CV + MIKE RELVA + DANCING GOD: Why you so UPSET? Did I accidentally say that Zen is NOT the best horse in the world, hehe. You are afraid of RAIN on your parade??

Its YOU that need to GROW UP-- you look at Z with PINK-COLORED CONTACT LENSES, and envision a world wherein ONE-RACE WONDERS and LOUD WHIMSICAL BLOGGERS like Carolyn ARE IDEAL. You FORGIVE Moss for "snubbing" Jess Jackson at his once-in-a-Lifetime BIG NIGHT, but you won't forgive anyone typing in CAPITAL LETTERS. What a crock. Why CV, are you going NEAR SIGHTED already?? and don't go HIGH AND MIGHTY on me-- that "I HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE than even STEVE HASKINS" line is GARBAGE. I don't need HELP to figure out WHO IS SMART, and who IS NOT...

Its about time we give CREDIT where credit is due-- Rachel is HOY 2009, AND she deserves it. As for my comments about Moss, it is TRUE: MOSS WAS RUDE TO JACKSON-- and his comments about Rachel stopped SHORT of actually calling Rachel a PHONY WINNER. But nobody calls MOSS a phony, do they MIKE RELVA??

Fact is, you three + Carolyn is the same bunch who kept BLOGGING the wrong things: Jackson is phony, Rachel is going to retire, Rachel will lose HOY--- ALL OF WHICH NEVER MATERIALIZED. Carolyn even spread rumors that Rachel will be hurt before she races!

People like carolyn who have NOTHING TRUE to say on this blog, should be BANNED like Draynay was. But to his credit, Dray was one of the best handicappers I know (though he is wrong 15% of the time!) and his ban was only temporary. Dray's accurate handicapping of the WOODWARD was good.

By the way, nice blog, Jason! its been a long time since I blogged in here. Nice to be here again.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Householder — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:53:25 GMT

funnycideoflife. Agreed I will stay positive. However, what if it is a dead heat? Forbidden Apple. I was refering to Zenyatta's 7 month lay off. Her first start after the Nov 3-4 Breeders Cup was the May 23rd at Hollywood Park...so like six months and 2-3 weeks. She made easy work of Life Is Sweet who owned the Santa Anita Winter/Spring meet picking up 3 of 3. I know...I know...Life is Sweet is no RA. I'm not saying this. Rather, a well rested Zenyatta, is a Grade 1 winner over Grade 1 competition. That's tough for any horse male or female. I would simply favor Zenyatta based on this.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Bob Z — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:54:12 GMT

Blood horse should start a poll like they did for horse of the year...

"Who is going to win the Apple Blossom and by how many lengths?"

Rachel

Zenyatta

nose

neck

1/2 length

length

2 lengths

3 lengths

more than 3 lengths

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Forbidden Apple — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:52:16 GMT

Rachel ran in eary September, as of now that is a 5 1/2 month layoff, not 7. A layoff does not mean a horse is hurt or has less of a chance in the next start. Stop making the layoffs a factor, the best horse will win the Apple Blossom.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Z's a dancing Goddess — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:44:47 GMT

I think a raceshorse's connections contribute to a majority of what a horse blossoms (no pun intended?) into. I praise the Mosses and John Shirreffs for allowing Zenyatta to develop into the happiest, dancingest, prancingest racemare ever. Yeah Zenyatta!

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

funnycideoflife — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:18:17 GMT

Householder, let's try to be positive and assume that your hypothetical scenario won't happen : )

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Householder — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:49:40 GMT

What if they both get beat ala Ferdinand and Alysheba? Then what a mess we would have. I would give the edge to Zenyatta coming off a layoff over RA. 3 months, 7 months, she's been there before.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Pam S. — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 22:11:18 GMT

I have not yet gone to the Apple Blossom website that CV told us about, but just the fact that there is one shows how much anticipated the race is. As time goes on it will get REALLY exciting. The racing gods need to let both Rachel and Zenyatta win their preps on March 13 so that nothing will temper that excitement. I almost wish they weren't racing or training, just standing in their stalls wrapped head to toe in cotton so NOTHING goes wrong before April 9. (Yeah, I know, not practical.)

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Mike Relva — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:57:00 GMT

MAX

Although I'm a die hard Zenyatta fan,I HAVE MAJOR PROBLEMS W/ ANYONE THAT ADRESSES' RA OR ANY HORSE IN THAT MANNER. GROW UP!

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Mike Relva — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:51:55 GMT

PASTURELANDS

What has Carolyn done to you? If anyone needs to be banned,it's you! You have zero respect for anyone that has a differing opinion than yourself!You state that "it's time Carolyn is taught a lesson". Question? When are you gonna be taught??????

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

funnycideoflife — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:36:53 GMT

Z's a dancing Goddess,

I agree that the Mosses and John Sheriffs are extremely likeable people, and Jess Jackson and Steve Asmussen much less so, but I don't agree with those views affecting one's perception of a horse. Would people have disliked Secretariat if his owner had the same personality as Jess Jackson as opposed to Penny Chenery? Secretariat obviously didn't need any help from his owner to be loveable, but is it fair for a horse's reputation to be helped or destroyed by who pays the bills?

P.S. I don't mind that the Sheikh goes on tremendous spending sprees because he clearly loves his horses (unfortunately, they often live better than some of the people in Dubai). I do oppose, however, that he retires the best ones after their three year old year. Creating brilliant but unproven foal factories doesn't help racing, just the sales.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Z's a dancing Goddess — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:42:33 GMT

Funnycideoflife, I think the best answer to give as to why a double standard exists between the Mosses/Shirreffs and Jackson/Asmussen, if indeed it does, would be "You reap what you sow". The Mosses are humanitarians who do things for the community without ever flaunting it. And, Ann Moss is active in rescuing race horses. Shirreffs is a down-to-earth likeable person, and a Vietnam veteran... a person you WANT to root for. Asmussen doesn't come off as being all that likeable. But, I doubt HE ever worries about it. And, I am sure you are aware of his history of drug positives. Mr. Jackson, as demonstrated by his attempt to orchestrate a 3-race-series without the inclusion or notification of the Mosses comes off as being incredibly arrogant and self-serving. Also,

maybe the fact that Mr. Jackson buys ready-made horses and declares them as his own making, as he did with both Curlin and Rachel, rubs people the wrong way. I have heard similar things said about Sheikh Mohammed. I wonder if that disturbs you? Or, is it only what is said about Jackson/Asmussen? Not knowing you, I have no idea where this sensitivity comes from. Maybe you are affiliated with them in some way, which would explain it.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

funnycideoflife — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:20:28 GMT

A final note, anybody who hates an innocent horse has bigger problems to contend with than handicapping the Apple Blossom...

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

funnycideoflife — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:14:04 GMT

I'm done responding after this, it's not worth the effort...

Someone said that I'm frustrated that Rachel was pushed too hard last year and will never run again. Quite the contrary, I am glad she got a much deserved break and I get a sense that she wants to run after her workout this morning. What people are missing from me is that I have no animosity toward Zenyatta at all. I watch the TVG reel on Youtube of all 14 of her wins all the time. In fact, I am so happy that I finally see people LOVING racehorses. I beg of you Zenyatta fans to please support her, and the same of Rachel fans toward Rachel!

My biggest complaint is the double standard that I feel Rachel suffers from. Rachel gets six months off and her detractors claim she should be ready by now and that there is something wrong for her to need this much time off. Yet, when Zenyatta got six months off after the 2008 Breeder's Cup, the Mosses were doing right by the horse, so it was no big deal. Jess Jackson is a coward for choosing the Woodward instead of the Travers, but Zenyatta gets to run in the Lady's Secret instead of the Goodwood with no complaints. My PERSONAL opinion is that Jackson is castigated for testing Rachel in the "wrong" races and tiring her out, but the Mosses are heroes for running Zen in races she had won before and then taking a chance in the Breeder's Cup Classic because they were protecting her for the year. I will definitely admit that Rachel fans have constantly brought up Zen's light schedule, but nobody has never called it "bad" or "wrong," just conservative. However, every race Rachel runs is not the right one. Jess Jackson always took the easy way, whether it be by choosing the Preakness over the Belmont or the Woodward over the Travers.

My point is that Jess Jackson and Steve Asmussen are always making the wrong decisions but the Mosses and John Sheriffs are always right. Nobody questions the Moss's motives but everything Jackson does is for his ego. Do you expect me to believe that if Jackson owned Zenyatta and decided to race her at six instead of retiring her that everyone would applaud and say he was being a sportsman? Of course not, he would be threatening Zenyatta's safety for his own gain. I'm surprised he hasn't been called selfish and greedy for bringing back Rachel at four instead of retiring her after winning Horse of the Year.

Please don't think I hate the Mosses or John Sheriffs (I love watching his Youtube videos, there are really cute ones of Zenyatta drinking Guiness and of a sleepy Life is Sweet!). I just don't think Rachel gets her due because of the unfounded hatred toward her connections. As Virgil would say, Peace!

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Z's a dancing Goddess — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:30:10 GMT

CV: BRAVO, and well done! I give you a standing ovation for calling out Pasturelands, and providing the evidence to back it up. He/she wrote something even more disturbing just a few days before the BBC, which appeared on both Jason's and Steve's blogs, involving Zenyatta and an ambulance (GOD FORBID!) that still has me reeling in disgust. I won't post it, because that hideous comment does not need to see the light of day ever again. Another blogger that deserves to be put in the "nasty" category is AFLEETALEXFOREVER. So, when RA fans like Funnycideoflife decry the "meanness" of Z fans, they are NOT keeping things in perspective. Some RA fans have been downright scary, morally offensive, and hateful. They make Z fans seem tame by comparison. But, like Zookeeper said, perhaps they are only sensitive to what they perceive as being an attack on Team RA. And maybe to some extent they are even in agreement with what is being said by their camp against Team Zenyatta.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Forbidden Apple — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:05:01 GMT

We are all adults here, please do not take your ball and run home to tell your mommy. Someone asked to have another person banned because they do not care for what they were reading. This is a free country and people on here are writing about a sport, not about national security.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Carolyn — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:49:06 GMT

Pasturelands, Go play with your pal NoCommonsense. "Birds of a feather, BLOG together". Your posts on another blog are very very critical of Zenyatta, so speak of misleading, yeah, you got room to talk.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

CV — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:25:01 GMT

Jason, perhaps the Apple Blossom is promoting itself this year.

Sportswriter Harry King wrote a column headlined "Race Puts Spotlight On Oaklawn" for the Southwest Times Record (online) of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

It reads: "The caller from Saudi Arabia wanted to know how big an aircraft is too big for Memorial Field in Hot Springs.

'We handled Vice President Cheney’s 757 and loaded up a couple of 727s with about 370 people for a Promise Keepers march in Washington,' airport manager George Downey responded.

Not big enough.

The horse-crazy sheiks travel in a 747, something akin to Air Force One...

Already a big weekend because of the Arkansas Derby on April 10, every major hotel in the city is booked. Linked through the city’s convention and visitors bureau and Oaklawn, a new Web site — appleblossominvitational.com — should be up and running today with references to accommodations in Arkadelphia, Mount Ida, Benton, Bryant, and Little Rock. Soon, the site will be the source for visitors, even listing restaurants that accept reservations."

I can't be at Oaklawn, so I hope ESPN realizes the race has broad appeal so they will decide to show it live.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Max — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:16:06 GMT

Over-rated? For many that believe that Zenyatta is the greatest female racehorse of all time (Jon White of HRTV, the past CEO of Santa Anita, the track announcer of at Hollywood Park, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens and on and on) only to lose to the MOST HYPED racehorse of all time - Rachel Alexandra seems like the CRIME OF THE CENTURY!

Even the Europeans are asking for an explanation.

Just wait for about 6:40 CST on April 9, I can't wait for Zenyatta to pose herself on the backstretch at Oaklawn Park patiently waiting for Rachel Alexandra to get her sorry rear off the track so she can enter the winner's circle.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

Zookeeper — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:57:40 GMT

People,

I give up! I'm sick of this! Trying to talk reason to some of you is an exercise in futility. Have fun, whatever childish game you're playing on one side or the other. Ugliness knows no boundaries.

re: Racing Needs to Take Advantage of Rachel/Zenyatta Showdown

CV — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:37:37 GMT

"I agree with FUNNYCIDE-- Z fans are HARSH to Rachel, much more than Rachel fans are critical of Z...."

--Pasturelands

OK, let's look a your record. Here's what you posted on (another blog) on Jan. 18, after Rachel won Horse of the Year.

"I just wish JERRY MOSS, that old P----, acknowledge RACHEL WON THE HOY 2009

(and)

"He even needs to THANK lots of people, coz his OVER-RATED MARE, ZENYATTA got nominated for the HOY. If this were an ordinary season, Zenyatta WON’T EVEN BE MENTIONED (much less voted) for HOY. With the kind of LESS-THAN-STELLAR performances of Zenyatta in 2009..."

Did you somehow think calling Jerry Moss "and old p----" and denigrating the undefeated Zenyatta falls into the category of "Rachel fans even praise Z?"

In fact, Pasturelands, your rude, ALL CAPS ugly campaign against Zenyatta can be found across a number of racing blogs. The next time you want to decry such nastiness, start with yourself.