Which Leading Lady Should Reign as Horse of Year?

By GREG MELIKOV

“It’s a two-horse race” applies off the track between two talented ladies this season. At stake: 2009 Horse of the Year.

The last female to win the honor was 4-year-old Azeri in ’02 when she captured eight of nine races, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (now renamed to the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic), defeating every contending filly and mare. But she was the only other filly besides Moccasin in ’65 without a victory over males.

Sooo, let’s get ready to rummmbleeee:

In this corner, Rachel Alexandra, the top 3-year-old that won the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, and beat the boys three times, going undefeated in eight outings on conventional dirt.

In the other corner, Zenyatta, top older horse that became the first female to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, unbeaten in five races on synthetic surfaces, that retired a perfect 14 for 14.

Opinions on which Eclipse Award finalist deserves the award that will be announced on Monday, Jan. 18, are as divided as the political parties concerning President Obama’s health care reform package.

However, Zenyatta leads in several polls. In fact, she finished second to tennis star Serena Williams for Female Athlete of the Year, which was conducted by Associated Press members. Williams received 66 first place votes of 158 cast, Zenyatta got 18 and Rachel Alexandra was seventh with 10 votes.

The reason might be this story Alben Barkley told in the late 1930s during his campaign for renomination as Kentucky’s Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate:

After a guy told Barkley he wouldn’t vote for him in the next election, the senator responded:

“But I’ve done you a lot of favors. I got your brother a job as a postmaster. I got a scholarship at the University of Kentucky for your son. I got a contract for your brother, and then got a loan for him from the government. I appointed your brother-in-law to be a federal judge.”

“Yes, Alben, that’s right. But what have you done for me lately?”

Zenyatta won the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 7 while Rachel Alexandra’s last victory was the Woodward on Sept. 5.

The BloodHorse.com poll that closed in December had Zenyatta ahead, 53 to 47 percent, with 12,332 ballots cast.

Columnist Steven Haskin said:

“If you’re going to have two ‘dirt’ surfaces in racing — which some horses love and some hate — then the awards should reflect that, instead of forcing people to choose between two distinct worlds encompassed within the same sport.

“Zenyatta is the synthetic Horse of the Year and Rachel Alexandra is the dirt Horse of the Year. My simplistic mind cannot see any farther than that.”

The Brisnet.com poll, which ended this month, didn’t display the number of votes while putting Zenyatta on top 50.67 percent to Rachel Alexandra’s 29.22 percent. The vote for co-champions: 20.11 percent.

Horseraceinsider.com’s poll: Zenyatta 56 percent, Rachel Alexandra 30 percent and both 14 percent, with 607 votes cast through Jan. 11.

One argument that I disagree with says the BC Classic should be the deciding factor in Eclipse voting when the horses don’t face each other. Sort of a guarantee, TVG racing network co-host Greg Wolf implied while siding with the mare.

I sent him this e-mail:

“Winning the Classic in the last 16 years didn’t guarantee Horse of the Year honors. In fact, nine Horses of Year since 1994 didn’t win or run in Classic.

“They include several that didn’t race on BC Day: Holy Bull, ’94; Charismatic, ’99; Point Given, ’01; and Mineshaft, ’03. Several who won other BC races or lost the Classic were Horse of Year, including Cigar, third in ’96; Skip Away, sixth in ’98; and Curlin, fourth in ’08.”

TVG co-host Rich Perloff and Washington Post racing guru Andy Beyer favor the 3-year-old filly. Perloff said the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro shouldn’t be penalized for not running in the Classic.

And Beyer pointed out:

“The large majority of U.S. horses are bred for dirt and compete principally on dirt in a nation whose racing history has been made on dirt. It is absurd to describe a race (the Classic on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface) as a true championship test when America’s best dirt runners have little chance to win.

“Under these conditions, neither Zenyatta’s win nor Rachel Alexandra’s absence should keep Rachel from being recognized as the best horse of 2009.”

I’m hoping for a tie vote, but realize that’s more unlikely than Zenyatta coming out of retirement to race Rachel Alexandra this year.

But stranger things have happened.

About The Author

Greg Melikov: Horse Racing Handicapper/Turf Writer Greg Melikov has been handicapping and writing about horses for decades. His articles and columns appear in print and on the Internet around the world. Greg is a retired newspaperman who became a horse racing fan at 13 when he saw 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, his favorite horse, whip 20 older horses at old Arlington Park.