Wonder how they compare on the number of Gr 1 winners and potential Eclipse winners defeated during the year as a whole?

:tro:

Rachel Alexandra was the best choice for HOY prior to the running of The Classic, where incidentally most people in horseracing know when championships are decided, leaving room for extraordinary performances. I wouldn't say RA lost HOY today but rather Zenyatta earned it. What she did today was the most significant event of any race this decade.

Zenyatta's performance was awesome, but she beat a turf field today. Once you factor out MTB and Summer Bird from the equation, Zenya's opponents in the Classic had ZERO Grade 1 wins on dirt and TWO Grade 1 wins on artificial surfaces this year. What Zenyatta beat was basically the same type of field that would assemble if the BC had a 10 furlong turf race.

Who does Zenyatta have to beat to get her repsect? Macho Again??
She won fair and square and she did not toil or struggle in victory. She had more than enough in the tank after crossing the finish line. Please give credit where and when its due.

RA and their connections know where zenyatta is and if they like to settle it on the track then let it be.

Leaving California would have been nice. But I suppose racing all of four times until today and beating up on the likes of Lethal Heat, Briecat and Anabaa's Creation was just too taxing.

If Zenyatta is only a nose better than Anabaas Creation, as was almost a punchline to a joke around here two months ago, how much would she have beaten Gio Ponti by? Just saying.

What a treat to see the Classic at Santa Anita today.

Seems like the crowd swelled with lots of late arrivals showing up to see the Classic and they were not disappointed. When Zenyatta started her stretch kick the crowd went nuts. That was the most electric race I have witnessed since seeing J O Tobin beat the then undefeated Seattle Slew at Hollywood Park back in 1977.

I go to the races about 4-5 a year and this is the fourth time I've seen Zenyatta. As I watched my TEVO'd recording of the race, this evening, I am even more amazed at Zenyatta's victory.

Horse of the Year?

That award would be terrific but rather anticlimatic to a perfect career and a stirring victory!

You forgot to mention Life is Sweet in that list. Sherriffs should have had the Classic exacta instead of the Classic/Classic double.

The question shouldn't have been "should Zenyatta be in the Ladies Classic?"
The question should have been "should Sherriff's second-stringer, Life is Sweet be in the Classic?"

I pose the same question to RA. Why is she staying in the east coast??
Fact is Zenyatta stepped up and ran and WON in the biggest race of the year and RA connections opted to stay put and now what was a sure HOY for RA is now totally up for grabs between them.

Zenyatta is a true 10-11 furlong horse and what you describe as near win against Lethal Heat, and Briecat etc is actually Zenyatta barely going full stride to win those races. If those F&M races she won this year were run at 10 furlongs then Zenyatta wins by 5 plus lengths.

I love the internet..

RA did not stay on the East Coast. She dominated horses at Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park, and Churchill Downs. While RA was racing in Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and New York, Zenyatta left the comfort of LA to travel 120 miles down the road to San Diego.

Of the 19 top Beyers this years for dirt races over a mile, RA owns 5 of them. You can't find Zenyatta on this list with a searchlight.

Zenyatta's late rally was impressive, but then again, most turf races end in such fashion. No wonder turfers Gio Ponti and Twice Over felt right at home.

RA is a dirt horse....

the synthetics would eat her speed and throw her to the back like Careless Jewel, D Funnybone, and other dirt horses who couldn't cut it on this surface.

It's not a fair comparison in my opinion. I once suggested there should be a separate dirt and synthetics eclipse award. I don't think people here agreed with me.

Dirt races have always been the standard before synthetics came along. It's only when there wasn't a clear cut dirt champion that a turf horse or female or 2 year old got HOY.

So why shouldn't dirt races take preference over synthetic races as well?

She probably would have finished second in the Classic ahead of all those turf horses.

RA is a nice little filly. We all know what Z does to nice little fillies....

As they say: Great horses do not need to take thier track with them.

Careless Jewel already won on synthetics before but lost because of the knucklehead jockey who thought he was on Secratariat and went :23 :45 and 1:09. D'funnybone had no published workout nor raced on synthetics I agree but he also never raced two turns nor does his pedigree scream out route. Maybe that had something to do with his demise.

Some also suggest Goldikova.

Three great horses--three separate surfaces:zz:

What we have is two sets of rules ala Major League Baseball. One league has the DH the other does not. They both play with a different set of rules. It's frustrating for a baseball fan and a horse player who has to see and deal with different track surfaces. Whoever is HOY is beside the point, for the good of the game (baseball too) let's have one set of rules and surfaces. The BC has brought the synthetics debate front and center - it can only hurt the horse racing industry.

I'm sorry, but I can't see awarding a horse who ran a Kip Deville-like schedule and never once left her home state to run with Horse of the Year honors. Summer Bird is still more deserving than she, even after his performance yesterday.