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TVG and Betfair Ltd. Announce $400K Pledge For Rachel Alexandra-Zenyatta Race
Online horse betting sites, TVG and Betfair Ltd., are offering to add $400,000 to the purse of the Beldame Stakes, hoping to entice the Preakness winner filly Rachel Alexandra and Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Zenyatta into running against each other at Belmont Park, home of the Belmont Stakes.
The pledge would create a $1 million purse for the October 3 Beldame Stakes if the 2 female stars are in the starting gate.
Filly Rachel Alexandra’s principal owner, Jess Jackson, has ruled out running in the Breeders’ Cup because he isn’t fond of the synthetic surface at Santa Anita. The connections of defending Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Zenyatta have said the Breeders’ Cup 2009 is where a matchup of horse racing’s current glamor girls should be decided.
“I understand the growing excitement around a race that involves these two magnificent athletes competing, but both camps need to do what is in the best interest of the horse,” Jess Jackson said. “And for us, that means waiting until she competes and soundly recovers from her next race before any decisions are made about the Beldame Stakes or any other venue.”
Rachel Alexandra is coming off another rousing victory against the boys in the Haskell Invitational on August 2 at Monmouth Park, her eighth straight win overall.
Jess Jackson has not said where the superstar 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra will run next, but he’s expected to decide next week among the Travers on August 29, the Personal Ensign against older fillies on August 30, the Woodward against boys on September 5, and the Pennsylvania Derby on September 7.
“Right now, we are focused on her next start,” Jess Jackson said. “I hope to have a decision on that early next week. After that race, we will need to see how she recovers and then determine her next start.”
Zenyatta improved to 12-0 with a narrow victory in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on August 9, rallying down the stretch under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.
The 5-year-old mare is one win shy of matching Personal Ensign’s perfect 13-race career. She’s already won the Vanity and Milady handicaps at Hollywood Park this year, and is expected to defend her Breeders’ Cup title in November.
Personal Ensign won the Beldame in 1987 and ‘88. Lady’s Secret won it the 2 years before that, helping her become one of only 3 fillies or mares to capture the Eclipse Award as horse of the year–something that Zenyatta and filly Rachel Alexandra are trying to win.
“We are very excited to partner with TVG-Betfair and provide the venue and opportunity for fans to see the race of a lifetime,” NYRA president Charles Hayward said. “Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are two of the most talented females that thoroughbred racing has ever witnessed, and Belmont Park would be the perfect setting for this dream matchup.”
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