THE HORSE OF THE YEAR DEBATE

[oliverstoned]

Any other year Zenyatta or Rachel Alexandra wins easy, but no, they both have to have these magical seasons the same year. I was one who said it was over no matter the BC outcome but I have to admit I didn't think Z would win the Classic although when I went over the PPs it sure seemed like she had a shot. I think Z is better than Personal Ensign and RA is better than Ruffian, but is RA better than Z...we will never know though track and distance would be a big factor. For those who say RA should have run in the BC, I say maybe so but she would have had to have a whole different schedule to do that, she peaked in the summer.

Couple of things in Z's favor
1)She raced last
2)Many voters just vote along BC outcomes
3)Like the Academy awards when the old actor who won't be getting many chances to win one is awarded the oscar ("RA is young she can win one next year")
4) She will get ALL the west coast votes ( many of which don't like getting dissed by Jess Jackson) and will convert some Eastcoasters for sure.
5) Last race won going away while RA was just holding on

A few things in RA's favor

1) Beat common opponent Summer Bird by more
2) Three wins against males
3) Classic winner
4) More wins including Grade Ones
5) Won at more tracks
6) More famous

Whoever wins I'll be sad for the other because they both deserve it.

[dublino]

There is no debate, one horse showed up the Race of the Year and won it the other one ducked it, simple.

[oliverstoned]

There is no debate, one horse showed up the Race of the Year and won it the other one ducked it, simple.

You obviously fall under the voting soley on BC outcome category. Did you vote Action This Day champion 2yo a few years back.

[winds]

Rachel never went 1 1/4 miles, her connections ducked that distance. That means alot to me..............

Zenyatta HOY, yes.

winds

[wangkw]

Yes..Zen will take top title..social pressure is so great that the 14 for 14 will be recognised en bloc even though exactly half
came last year..2 classic for a lass..what more you want from her ?

Zen is it..no argument..Rachel Alexandra connection is paying a cost for ducking..but she will still get something this year. Gio
Ponti will have grass trophy or an old citizen title.

[steward]

As one who never joined either of the rabid fan clubs, I come basically unbiased. Don't get me wrong, I admire them both. But each one ran their season in the modern style, namely cherry picking to their advantages, rather than the anyone, anywhere, anytime fashion that the greatest of the great did in the past. So there are at least asterisks on both resumes. If you want, you could refer to them as specialists of sort.

It seems to me that if the HOY is rewarded with encouraging future hopefuls to race often and at different venues, Zenyatta is a poor choice. If the knock on RA is that she didn't go long enough, that's a little weak. The Preakness distance is close enough in this particular argument. If it is that the connections dissed a major event, fair enough. But isn't it the responsibility of the BC to offer a variety as designed, rather than pigeon-holing the participants in advance? Why shift the burden unfairly to the owners?

Advantage to RA, marginally.

[oliverstoned]

I hope to win a old citizen title myself someday.

[steward]

I confess: I only watched about half of the BC races. The emphasis on turf/synthetic bored. Question: did any horse wire ANY of the races?

[winds]

Rachel ran and won on a synthetic track, I doubt that it really was the factor for her connections not running her in the Classic, it was the distance. She could have run in the Travers but it was the distance. She can't get 1 1/4 miles and until she does it and wins Iwon't believe she can do it. Zenyatta gets my vote. The Classic wasn't run to her advantage, no speed up front, she looked beat at the 3/16th pole and still won. No, Zenyatta deserves HOY. RA can get 3yr old filly honors.

winds

[mikec]

I thought I'd have a more difficult time with this question than is actually the case - honestly. While taking nothing away from the accomplishments of RA the fact of the matter is that Z beat up on the best horses in the world yesterday. I think one really needs to consider the entirety of the field she was up against yesterday and measure that against who RA has beaten. True - RA beat Summer Bird twice ( so now they both have beaten him - a damn good horse ) but are we still talking about any of the othe horses she beat this year as opposed to THAT field yesterday that Z faced ?
She beat , all at once, a kentucky derby champ, grey breeders cup champ, preakness and belmont runners up, belmont champ, WV derby champ, another belmont champ, travers champ, jc gold cup champ, haskell & Arkansas derby runner up, Multiple Group 1,2 & 3 champs and she really didn't have the best trip I've ever seen although Mike Smith was just brilliant. lets also not forget Z was also last years ladies BC classic champ which doesn't count for this year obviously but she's done it all. In my humble opinion if RA had shown up yesterday and at least served notice to the rest of the world by finishing on the board then I might have a different mindset but - yeah - in my opinion that race yesterday sealed the deal for Z and she is HOY for 2009. I don't really care that she ran predominantly on synthetics as perhaps one of her best performances this year was on dirt so she covered that base as well and has absolutely nothing more to prove. I will absolutely be rooting for RA in 2010 to follow up and win the Breeders Cup Classic. Hopefully she will get the surface her owner wants, wins going away, and then the conversation becomes more meaningful as to which is / was better. Love em both !!!

[geowarrior]

Mikec, I may be misunderstanding you, but I think you said that Zenyatta ran on dirt this year. I don't think she did, I believe her trip to Oaklawn was last year.

[mikec]

You may be right ... I'll need to check myself as I thought it was this year but you get my point I think ?

[geowarrior]

Yes, I do get your point, Mikec. A quick review via Google of press pundits reveals a disappointing number who have already made their minds up without even thinking for a whole 24 hours. The argument seems to revolve around the fact that Rachel Alexandra beat the boys three times as opposed to only one 'boy beat' from Zenyatta. However the collective talent beaten by Zenyatta in one race is superior to the total boy talent beaten by Rachel Alexandra in her three. Just my opinion, of course.

[horse]

Winning the BC Classic iced it. Zenyatta .... game, set, match!

[Kari]

It wasn't just that Zenyatta won it yesterday- it was the way she won it. A big ruckus at the gate, a bad break, the pace not working out the way it was predicted, etc. She still zipped in from the parking lot, wagged her ears as she pulled up after the finish, and came back looking like she just spent 30 min. on the hot walker. RA is a freak, but she needs to come back next year older, wiser, and tougher before I say she's as good as Zenyatta.