Don’t Blame Sentiment: Zenyatta Should Be Horse of the Year
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Thoroughbred racing, like no other sport, invites the spectator to experience every possible emotion — from awe to grief, from exhilaration to anger — all in an afternoon.
On a good day, we’re in awe of the dazzling 2-year-old that has just blown away the field in his first race. On a bad day, we shed silent tears for the hard-knocking old gelding that has finished the race on three legs, and seethe when we realize he’s been dropped several thousand dollars in claiming price in an attempt to make him somebody else’s problem.
Thoroughbred racing itself has experienced precious few good days in the past decade. Until recently, horses were deemed worthy of a spot on A-1 (as opposed to the sports pages) only when they died from horrific injuries. Barbaro, the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, got his 15 minutes and then some: After breaking his right hind leg in the Preakness, the colt endured a heartrending, eight-month struggle to survive, with hundreds of news outlets capturing every halting step he made in what would ultimately be a futile battle.
For those who view horse racing as a sport rather than a bet (and a horse as an animal rather than a commodity), Zenyatta was the gift that kept on giving: A horse that loved her job so much she danced to work every day. That she burst onto the national scene in the wake of Eight Belles’ tragic breakdown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby is probably just a coincidence. But it was perfect timing. And Zenyatta knows a thing or 19 about perfect timing.
The official chart declares Blame’s win in the 1 ¼-mile Classic by a head over Zenyatta; in truth, it was more like an Eddie Arcaro nose. Regardless, it was the most thrilling Breeders’ Cup finish since the series’ inception in 1984. More important, it exalted Zenyatta, whose critics had decried her as little more than a synthetic track marvel whose connections had cherry-picked her races to keep her undefeated.
In sporting circles, it’s widely acknowledged that jockeys are, pound for pound, the world’s strongest athletes. Anyone who disputes this probably won’t appreciate the superhuman strength it took for Mike Smith, a Hall of Fame jockey with close to 5,000 wins, to make his way to the press room and offer himself up to a firing squad of interrogators after Zenyatta’s first, and only, career loss.
“I feel like I let her down,” Smith said in a quavering voice. “It feels bad because it was my fault. It hurts.”
Actually, it would hurt a lot less if it was Smith’s fault. A horse with Zenyatta’s dramatic, come-from-behind running style is always at risk of coming up just short, even without the traffic problems Smith encountered in the race, and even when … well, even when the horse is Zenyatta.
Smith, who had been criticized for letting Zenyatta lag too far behind the field in her previous races, should not be condemned for her Classic loss. The mare was slow into stride out of the gate, and looked so uncomfortable passing the stands the first time it appeared Smith might pull her up.
One can only imagine the pressure on Smith, who never quite got over Prairie Bayou’s fatal breakdown in the 1993 Belmont, and whose job, above all, is to bring America’s Sweetheart home safely. Primum non nocere … first, do no harm.
The debate over who should be named Horse of the Year — Blame, the Classic winner, won two other Grade I races while Zenyatta won five Grade I’s racing exclusively against females — will continue to rage until the award is presented either to Claiborne Farm’s Seth Hancock (Blame) or Ann and Jerry Moss (Zenyatta) at the Eclipse Award ceremony in Miami Beach, Fla., on Jan. 17.
There are legitimate arguments to support both horses, Blame’s being the strongest on paper in that he prevailed in their only head-to-head meeting. His only loss in 2010 came in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, where he finished second to Haynesfield, a horse that ran next to last in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
In financial terms, the award impacts Blame’s career as a stallion much more than it does Zenyatta’s as a broodmare; her foals are more likely to wind up grazing in the Mosses Bel-Air backyard than at auction.
The Horse of the Year is defined as “(any) horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding.” This definition shall heretofore be referred to as “the Zenyatta loophole.”
The Zenyatta loophole can be exercised to reward a previously undefeated, record-setting horse who has been an ambassador for the sport (providing that horse’s only loss came by the slimmest of margins to a horse that did not dominate his own division).
It can be employed to compensate a deserving horse for the two previous years that horse should have been named Horse of the Year (especially when last year’s winner did not even show up to run against the deserving horse in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic), applied as a method of honoring the horse’s people for continuing to race her at 6 (while other good horses, like Blame and Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky, are routinely retired at 3 or 4), and used to pay homage to a 19-20 record achieved while racing at the sport’s highest level (because when’s THAT ever going to happen again?).
The Zenyatta faithful have taken their case to the Internet, where one hopes the irrational rants will eventually give way to calmer and cogent arguments (although the fact that many of these people can find their keyboards under all the cats is impressive in itself).
The truth is, it would be a damned shame not to see Zenyatta get the award after a glorious, three-year run that put thoroughbred racing in the news for all the right reasons. Those who only recently began following the sport because of this statuesque bay mare with a penchant for Guinness and sweet potatoes must think racing is a pretty big deal.
In one week, Zenyatta was featured on “60 Minutes,” profiled in “Sports Illustrated,” and deemed one of the year’s “Most Influential Women” by Oprah Winfrey. Fans planned trips just to visit the mare in her stable at Hollywood Park, and sent her cards, flowers and treats. They “friended” her on Facebook, watched replays of her races ad nauseum and created their own video tributes, which they then posted on YouTube.
“The public needs to be allowed to get closer to these horses,” said Zenyatta’s trainer, John Shirreffs, who almost never refused a request for an audience with the queen.
The morning after the Classic, a few emotionally drained stragglers pulled themselves together to attend a fundraiser at Old Friends Retirement Farm just outside Lexington. Home to 107 retired racehorses, Old Friends was founded by Michael Blowen, a retired Boston Globe movie critic and ardent racing fan.
The farm, one of the few that accepts pensioned stallions as retirees, was formed not long after the news broke that the Hancock family’s 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, a stallion at Claiborne Farm for many years, had died in a Japanese slaughterhouse.
As Blowen ambles down the row of pastures, he recounts the story of each retiree, and the circumstances that brought them to Old Friends. Most of the stallions were retired there when they could no longer breed, like Ogygian and Polish Navy, two Claiborne Farm expatriates that were also sold to Japanese interests, but bought back by Old Friends and returned to the U.S. before they could meet the same fate as Ferdinand.
Blowen was asked why the two stallions are living at Old Friends and not Claiborne Farm, which sits on about 3,000 acres in nearby Paris. He shrugs. “I tell the horses’ stories and that’s the deal,” he said. “What I’ve learned over the years is that I don’t go out of my way to alienate anybody, especially when they can influence other people.”
Blowen is happy to heap praise where he feels it is due, and one mention of Ann and Jerry Moss sends him into a rapturous paean. In 2005, when Old Friends was having trouble raising funds, the Mosses sent “a ton of money” along with their old stallion, Ruhlmann. They subsequently sent the gelding Kudos, a multiple stakes winner, and two other horses, always with generous checks to cover their expenses.
“Whenever I have a financial problem, all I have to do is call Jerry,” Blowen said. “He gives us what we need.”
In July, John Shirreffs’ wife, Dottie — the Mosses’ racing manager — called Blowen in a panic: Jerry Moss had discovered that a horse he bred, Falcon Scott, was running for a $2,500 claiming tag at Lincoln Park in Nebraska. Moss had sold the horse, a half-brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, as a stallion prospect three years earlier. The Mosses bought Falcon Scott off the track and sent him to Old Friends “with a pretty big check,” Blowen said.
“I think their affection for the sport of racing extends beyond one or two horses,” Blowen said. “ If you asked Falcon Scott, I think you know who he’d pick for Horse of the Year.”
Back at Churchill Downs, Falcon Scott’s Horse of the Year pick was out of her stall, intermittently grazing and posing for pictures with fans. One woman pushed her 12-year-old daughter’s wheelchair right up next to the mare. Zenyatta looked down at the girl, and gently nuzzled her hair.
Zenyatta’s groom, Mario Espinoza, finally pulled her away from the crowd to ready her for her 8 p.m. flight back to Los Angeles. Zenyatta began walking calmly next to Espinoza, her head hung low … until the clapping began. Startled, she jumped and turned back around to face the crowd. Espinoza put his finger to his lips in a futile attempt to shush the crowd, but they began cheering.
And Zenyatta began to dance. Like a seasoned politician stumping to the very end, Zenyatta bowed her neck, flicked her toes, and danced off into the darkness of Barn 41, pausing once to look back at the crowd with an expression that seemed to say, “You don’t even know how much you’re going to miss me.”
Like hell we don’t.
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Comments
kyla 2 years, 6 months ago
Very good column Stephanie. The Mosses are exceptional people and horse racing is lucky to have them. However, I think you need to take another look at some of the internet arguments/postings from Zenyatta supporters. Many of them are very cogent and rational. The problems are east coast bias and agendas. Some sportswriters are angry that the Mosses didn't bring her east more often. In retaliation, they are going to vote for Blame. All they wanted was an excuse and they have it. I hope ultimately Zenyatta will be viewed in a larger, more historical context, and that common sense will prevail.
tgenaro 2 years, 6 months ago
Stephanie,
Can you tell me where you got that criterion for Horse of the Year? I've asked multiple people, who tell me that there is no criterion. Thanks,
Teresa Genaro
palookabox 2 years, 6 months ago
One horse left but time is running short each stride a little closer. She has caught the other horse and needs just one more stride. But this time the great Zenyatta stride is too late. She passes the other horse but the finish line photo finish shows she lost by a nose. She fought the travel, the media frenzy, the dirt track, the bad start, the 20 lengths down and still only lost by a nose. The other horse had the perfect race. No problems just had to hold on and not get tracked down. One lost stride for perfection. It was just a matter of time that came a stride to late. Anything can happen in horse racing that's what made this 19-0 run so remarkable. Any given day like today to many odds are against you. While the other side had everything go completely perfect. What we learned today is not about our hearts being broken but about the heart of a Champion we grew to love. Who had no chance at all and just about pulled it off. Her critics who said she couldn't run on dirt saw that she did the same thing she always had done. Even with the worst of odds this time. Again one lost stride for perfection. This race will never be about how Blame won. It will always be about how Zenyatta lost. When your perfect in sports everybody remembers and never forgets. Who remembers the New England Patriots win streak because they ended up losing it in the Super Bowl a few years ago. But they all remember the 1972 Miami Dolphins. If Zenyatta would have won I can only imagine how the media frenzy would have been. You could feel the let down from Churchill downs, the TV announcers, across America at that moment in time. The winners circle seemed like a mortuary and Gomez the jockey almost apologetic. We all knew who was the best horse out there that day. Mike Smith the jockey can replay it over and over again. If we just would have done this or that because he knew already what we all know now. She is the best thing to come along in horse racing for a long time and probably the greatest filly who ever lived and he wanted her to have this sports moment so no one would ever forget. Hopefully unlike the New England Patriots we wont forget. Tonight Andrew Beyers and Jess Jackson breath a sign of relief her biggest critics. What were they thinking when Zenyatta made her charge? Again one lost stride for perfection. What excuses will they come up with now. It took all odds against her and a perfect race to beat her. Don't you hate it when someone lucks out and doesn't have to answer for being wrong. Today in this sports moment we lost perfection but we gained greatness. It's about what we call in sports of having the heart to overcome impossible odds and not so much about winning but to give it your all and giving it your best. We should all remember this day for Zenyatta never giving up and giving it all she had. Again one lost stride for perfection. But the heart that made her the Greatest Filly of all Time.
FredElliston 2 years, 6 months ago
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fugitiveguy 2 years, 6 months ago
I think it should have been postumously awarded to Mr Ed
Greg 2 years, 6 months ago
I agree Blame is HOTY. Z's connections ran a very conservative (weak) campaign running the same races she won last year. A HOTY would take on males more than once like Rachel did. The weak race campaign meant Z had to win the classic to be horse of the year. Blame ran a superior race and never let Z by. No excuses, all the jockeys knew where the wire was. Seabiscuit beat a superior horse named War Admiral. If winning races is not the whole premise of horse racing then fine give HOTY to horses that run weak campaigns then run second in the Classic. Z is the people's horse, but every horseplayer knows most people know nothing about horse racing. No horseplayer would threaten to throw a tantrum if his horse is not horse of the year. She lost. The best run against the best and the best sometimes get beat. It is no disgrace. If you went to the track more than once a year you will discover horses lose. Unless they stay at home and run up win streaks like Pepper's Pride (the pride of New Mexico, 19-0), or maybe Zenyatta. Push came to shove. She finally ran against a horse who would not let her go by. It happens. She showed me more in her loss than in any of the wins I saw. If she is great as she was on Saturday they should have been more agressive with her. Blame had the superior year. Goldikova was the best horse to run in America. And the criteria is the horse must run one time in North America- trust me on that. Z's connections have no one to 'Blame' but themselves if she does not get horse of the year. Maybe they really didn't know how good she was.
TVGfan 2 years, 6 months ago
I'd heard that Old Friends asked Seth Hancock if he would help with bringing the stallions back from Japan and he said no because he didn't own them at the time. I guess being Horse of the Year doesn't guarantee Claiborne won't ship you off to Japan and maybe a slaughterhouse. Sayonara, Blame!
MyBigRed 2 years, 6 months ago
I thought the article hit home. I have visited Old Friends, and yes the stories are true. There are several Stallions at Old Friends that have been rescued from abuse. I would suggest everyone go make a visit to the farm. Ask Michael about the stallion that lost his eye while standing stud at Claiborne. I'm not here to knock Claiborne, I just think Zenyatta is the better horse & deserves HOY. I have sent my letter to the NTRA to let them know my thoughts on HOY.
staqystaqk 2 years, 6 months ago
Please remember, All Along won Horse of the Year. She only ran one time in the USA, and only on the turf, NOT on the dirt. So, there IS precedent. Also, Favorite Trick won Horse Of The Year, and he only ran against 2 year olds!
KatMac 2 years, 6 months ago
Great article Stephanie. I am one of those people that view horse racing as a sport rather than a bet and a horse as an animal rather than a commodity. If Horse of the Year is determined by being one of the greatest athletes of our time and a wonderful ambassador for the sport, then it’s Zenyatta, hands down. For those that argue Blame won the Breeders’ Cup Classic that is true but Zenyatta won it last year and wasn’t given Horse of the Year. She beat 10 of the best males in the world only to lose to Blame by a nose. Let’s not forget Zenyatta’s undefeated record. As wonderful as Blame is he did not bring in the crowds. I travelled from NYC to see Zenyatta run, not Blame. It seemed that everyone in attendance was cheering for Zenyatta, not Blame. When Zenyatta lost, I saw many tears, mine included, not for joy that Blame won but because Zenyatta ran her heart out only to miss by such a close margin. Zenyatta is an ambassador for a sport that needs all the positive publicity they can get. To me the Horse of the Year should go to a horse that instills the same passion that drew me to the sport when I saw my first Breeders’ Cup several years ago. Whether she gets the award or not, Zenyatta is still Horse of the Century and Ann and Jerry Moss and John Shirreffs are owners/trainer of the Century. The racing industry should wake up if they want to draw more fans instead of losing them. Racing to me is an emotional and spiritual high like no other sport. To watch these beautiful unselfish creatures fly through the air and give everything they have is such an incredible experience. Yet I have been disheartened when I see owners and trainers run their horses before they are ready, risking injury to the horses and discarding them when they are of no more use. It breaks my heart to hear that these same faithful warriors end up in slaughter houses. Shame on any owner who have turned their back on these beautiful animals. It’s people like the Moss’s and the Shirreff’s that keep me and many others coming back to the races. They give us hope that for all the bad there are the good just like in any sport.
Lakotasblaze 2 years, 6 months ago
Please Stephanie, is this wording from the actual HOY ballot? Are there any other sentences that go with it? Any other information on defining "performance" according to their definition? I would like to quote it but I want to verify it's source. I think I can make a very good arguement for Zenyatta qualifying by the definition of the word "performance" and "outstanding." I'll share it here if I can make sure I know what I am talking about!
Wonderful, wonderful article.
StephanieDiaz 2 years, 6 months ago
Hi Lakotasblaze...the HOY definition referenced above came from an old Thoroughbred Racing Association newsletter. Nowhere will you find actual guidelines to follow...Joe Hirsch, the dean of racing writers, used to say that HOY could be "anything." I take it to mean the horse that has had the most outstanding year...not the horse that won or did not win the BC Classic.