Yup. I'm casual at best as a horses fan. But always love to see something great. A bit dissapointing.
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Rachel Alexandra romps to victory in Mother Goose
By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta, Ap Sports Writer – 3 mins ago
NEW YORK – Rachel Alexandra may need to run against the boys just to find some competition.
The Preakness winner romped to a 19 1/4-length victory in the $300,000 Mother Goose on Saturday, splitting Flashing and Malibu Prayer on the far turn at Belmont Park and pulling away down the long front stretch to win in a stakes-record 1:46.33.
The superstar filly was back on the track for the first time since knocking off the boys at Pimlico.
She went off as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite in a field of 3-year-old fillies reduced to three by two late scratches. With jockey Calvin Borel aboard, Rachel Alexandra won her seventh straight race.
Rachel Alexandra paid $2.10, with no place or show wagering due to the short field. Malibu Prayer finished second and Flashing was third.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090627/ap_on_sp_ot/rac_mother_goose_1
Both these two are getting strong consideration early for possible Horse Of The Year. That being said, however, with Rachel Alexandra's connections deciding not to face Zenyatta in the Breeder's Cup in November, I believe Rachel Alexandra's chances should be compromised at winning the award. Rachel Alexandra faced no one in her division today at equal weight on 121 pounds, while Zenyatta ran in a handicap race carrying 129 pounds and spotting her rivals from 13 to 18 pounds. I doubt these two will ever meet because Zenyatta is likely to stay on the West Coast all the way to the Breeder's Cup which will be held at Santa Anita and Rachel Alexandra's connections want to keep her on the dirt and will not race against Zenyatta on a synthetic surface.
I can't blame the connections of Rachel Alexandra for their decision because I hate the synthetic surface. It favors the closers way to much. The California tracks and Keeneland used to favor speed. Now it's the complete opposite. Even when the front runners crawl to a 48-49 second half mile, they still routinely get beat. The Breeaders Cup should never be held at a synthetic track again.
Plenty of blame to share for lack of matchup
By Steven Crist
NEW YORK - Jess Jackson's announcement Wednesday that Rachel Alexandra will not run in the Breeders' Cup this year touched off a flurry of impassioned debate from disappointed fans who were salivating over a showdown between the two current stars of American racing.
It looks as if they'll be running on different coasts not only this Saturday - Rachel Alexandra in the Mother Goose at Belmont and Zenyatta in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood - but for the rest of the year. Zenyatta is scheduled to race two or three more times against females in California before concluding her career in the Breeders' Cup, while Rachel Alexandra will point for summer races against 3-year-olds, fall races in the East, and return to racing as a 4-year-old next year.
Almost all of the reaction to this separation of paths hews to one of two viewpoints: Either Jackson is wrong to shun what is supposed to be racing's championship event, or Zenyatta's owners are wrong for keeping their undefeated mare in California for the rest of the year. The third most popular perspective is disbelief that a meeting won't somehow be arranged - either through a road trip east by Zenyatta, or a change of heart on Jackson's part about running at Santa Anita.
The latter seems highly unlikely. John Shirreffs, Zenyatta's trainer, was willing to run her at Churchill Downs on Oaks Day until the track came up sloppy but now sees no reason to leave California since that's where the Breeders' Cup is again this year. Jackson could not have been clearer that he will never race Rachel Alexandra on a synthetic racing surface, and said so at least three different times during the Wednesday media teleconference.
If you think their camps are just ducking each other, consider the following if you're looking for someone to blame: If the 2009 Breeders' Cup were being held at Churchill Downs or Belmont Park, there is no question that both of them would be headed there. That, rather than the boldness or flexibility of either owner, is the real issue in this disappointing situation and the lasting lesson that should emerge from it.
The Breeders' Cup board made the unprecedented decision to run the races at Santa Anita two years in a row. The official version is that there were "media synergies" and "efficiencies" in back-to-back runnings at Santa Anita. Another version, according to sources in the organization, is that a pro-synthetic faction wanted to legitimize synthetic racing by holding championship dirt races on the new tracks for two straight years.
As recently as this spring, according to the sources, it was proposed at a board meeting that the races be permanently located at a track with a synthetic surface. Fortunately, that proposal was quickly rejected.
Regardless of what you think of synthetic tracks - whether they are a well-meaning idea that needs a longer trial, or a mistake that will eventually go the way of Astroturf - it is clear that their hurried introduction has complicated American racing. Instead of providing a virtually identical version to dirt, they have given rise to a kind of hybrid racing in which it is difficult to distinguish good from great horses or compare their achievements to the great horses of the past. Injecting that uncertainty into the Breeders' Cup has, at least for two years, undermined the event's purpose of providing a definitive year-end championship event.
Last year, Jackson was pressured into running Curlin on a synthetic track in the Classic. He now regrets the decision and supports a return to dirt racing in those venues that have installed "plastic," as he likes to call it.
"I'm hoping that we'll have some dirt tracks in California," he said Wednesday of his home state. "Maybe Pomona will replace Hollywood. Maybe we can get some dirt tracks up north . . . Alameda County might replace Bay Meadows. If we do that, I hope they stay to dirt because we do need to race in California. California racing needs its stars as well."
In the short term, Jackson may be regarded by his critics as a spoilsport for keeping Rachel Alexandra out of this year's Breeders' Cup. If, however, his decision prompts a more thoughtful debate about the place of synthetic tracks at the highest level of racing, he will have improved rather than spoiled the sport in the long run.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/104972.html
Plenty of blame to share for lack of matchup
By Steven Crist
NEW YORK - Jess Jackson's announcement Wednesday that Rachel Alexandra will not run in the Breeders' Cup this year touched off a flurry of impassioned debate from disappointed fans who were salivating over a showdown between the two current stars of American racing.
It looks as if they'll be running on different coasts not only this Saturday - Rachel Alexandra in the Mother Goose at Belmont and Zenyatta in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood - but for the rest of the year. Zenyatta is scheduled to race two or three more times against females in California before concluding her career in the Breeders' Cup, while Rachel Alexandra will point for summer races against 3-year-olds, fall races in the East, and return to racing as a 4-year-old next year.
Almost all of the reaction to this separation of paths hews to one of two viewpoints: Either Jackson is wrong to shun what is supposed to be racing's championship event, or Zenyatta's owners are wrong for keeping their undefeated mare in California for the rest of the year. The third most popular perspective is disbelief that a meeting won't somehow be arranged - either through a road trip east by Zenyatta, or a change of heart on Jackson's part about running at Santa Anita.
The latter seems highly unlikely. John Shirreffs, Zenyatta's trainer, was willing to run her at Churchill Downs on Oaks Day until the track came up sloppy but now sees no reason to leave California since that's where the Breeders' Cup is again this year. Jackson could not have been clearer that he will never race Rachel Alexandra on a synthetic racing surface, and said so at least three different times during the Wednesday media teleconference.
If you think their camps are just ducking each other, consider the following if you're looking for someone to blame: If the 2009 Breeders' Cup were being held at Churchill Downs or Belmont Park, there is no question that both of them would be headed there. That, rather than the boldness or flexibility of either owner, is the real issue in this disappointing situation and the lasting lesson that should emerge from it.
The Breeders' Cup board made the unprecedented decision to run the races at Santa Anita two years in a row. The official version is that there were "media synergies" and "efficiencies" in back-to-back runnings at Santa Anita. Another version, according to sources in the organization, is that a pro-synthetic faction wanted to legitimize synthetic racing by holding championship dirt races on the new tracks for two straight years.
As recently as this spring, according to the sources, it was proposed at a board meeting that the races be permanently located at a track with a synthetic surface. Fortunately, that proposal was quickly rejected.
Regardless of what you think of synthetic tracks - whether they are a well-meaning idea that needs a longer trial, or a mistake that will eventually go the way of Astroturf - it is clear that their hurried introduction has complicated American racing. Instead of providing a virtually identical version to dirt, they have given rise to a kind of hybrid racing in which it is difficult to distinguish good from great horses or compare their achievements to the great horses of the past. Injecting that uncertainty into the Breeders' Cup has, at least for two years, undermined the event's purpose of providing a definitive year-end championship event.
Last year, Jackson was pressured into running Curlin on a synthetic track in the Classic. He now regrets the decision and supports a return to dirt racing in those venues that have installed "plastic," as he likes to call it.
"I'm hoping that we'll have some dirt tracks in California," he said Wednesday of his home state. "Maybe Pomona will replace Hollywood. Maybe we can get some dirt tracks up north . . . Alameda County might replace Bay Meadows. If we do that, I hope they stay to dirt because we do need to race in California. California racing needs its stars as well."
In the short term, Jackson may be regarded by his critics as a spoilsport for keeping Rachel Alexandra out of this year's Breeders' Cup. If, however, his decision prompts a more thoughtful debate about the place of synthetic tracks at the highest level of racing, he will have improved rather than spoiled the sport in the long run.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/104972.html
