Kays and Jays wins on closing day at Santa Anita

What is with Yahoo reporting a $56,000 Allowance Feature from Belmont, a Handicap race from Santa Anita, and other similar type of races, but not having anything about two very important Grade I races at Woodbine. The Canadian International (Grade I), a $2M race, is one of the biggest turf races of the year in N. America and usually attracts some of Europe's top horses. This race also serves as an important prep for the Breeders Cup. Ditto for the EP Taylor (Grade I), a $1M race. There was also a good undercard race, the Nearctic (Grade II), a $0.5M race. And in case you think that Woodbine is a Mickey Mouse track...note that they have a lot of Maiden, Allowance, and NWS races with purses of $60,000 almost every day. Top trainers such as Steve Asmussen and Neil Drysdale have figured this out, and race many of their horses over there. Wake up Yahoo!

mine that bird works 10/19/09, monday a.m. at santa anita. it's beautiful out here this morning. look at the san gabriels, those beautiful horses, blue skies.....wow!

Don't forget Hollowed Dreams !!

don...you must have had a bet on solis...take your sad fiction to the racing commission...it's reckless to put this misinformation on just your opinion, not confirmed fact...here's a fact...solis recently ended his relationship with his long time agent, hired someone else and is committed to retaking his rightful place among the elite jockeys in america...not, in my opinion, up to risking his livelyhood in a 32000 claimer by doing the act you falsely accuse him of...

don...you must have had a bet on solis...take your sad fiction to the racing commission...it's reckless to put this misinformation on just your opinion, not confirmed fact...here's a fact...solis recently ended his relationship with his long time agent, hired someone else and is committed to retaking his rightful place among the elite jockeys in america...not, in my opinion, up to risking his livelyhood in a 32000 claimer by doing the act you falsely accuse him of...

Thanks Don A. I'll keep that Solis-Smith team in my memory banks when I see them in the same race again. And in that race, Solis did a very bad acting job.

If you want to see what's wrong with racing - race-fixing - watch Monday's feature race, race 8 at Santa Anita, where Alex Solis makes a run like he's going to win by 5 lengths, then puts on the brakes so the horse ridden by Mike Smith can win. Both horses have the same trainer, Bruce Headley, the notorious crook who settled a multimillion dollar lawsuit with Rachel Alexandra's owner on charges of fraud. He received no penalty from racing for that settlement, even though it was an admission of guilt and he had to repay nearly $1 million. 'Jockeys' co-star Joe Talamo seems to hold back his mount on #4 in that race as well. Oh, and by the way, jockeys Alex Solis and Mike Smith, who rode those horses yesterday, have started a wine company together. Great friends in business and on the track obviously.

Say what you want, but these crooks need to be stopped on the track. But the stewards will do nothing because they know they can't cause controversy to the public, who bets on these races and has to think everything is fair. Don't tell me racing isn't fixed (at least at times), because this was a classic case. Find a way to watch this replay - you can go to calracing.com and sign-up to watch the fix - 10/12/09 race 8 at Santa Anita (Oak Tree).

Sea The Stars owns both RA and Zenyatta, simple as!!!!

Sea The Stars owns both RA and Zenyatta, simple as!!!

So Zenyatta has won another race, and now has a bakers' dozen under her belt in terms of victories- all of them against her own gender. She's the best of the mares, yes, but I still think RA is better, because she has proven that she can win against males. If Zenyatta's connections have any sense, they will retire her after the BC and let her go be a broodmare. After all, she's going to be turning 6 in the spring, and she's more than old enough to be bred and start raising babies. If they do this, as I hope, we'll all get to see her offspring on the track in a few years. Racing her next year would be pure folly- she's done enough. As for RA, I'm looking forward to her 4 year old season- and if all goes well, we will get to see RA in the BC next fall, when it returns to Churchill Downs. After that, Jackson should retire HER too.

actually peppers pride won 19 and undefeated! ...haha

Personal Ensign beat the boys, and she gave weight to them. Until Zenyatta beats boys, they should not be mentioned in the same paragraph. Peppers Pride won 17 in a row, so do we add to that list? I THINK NOT!!!

That race by Mine That Bird was a total clunker. That horse was a two race wonder and nothing else. No way does that horse belong in the Breeders Cup. And another 1/8 of a mile wouldn't have made a difference for Mine That Bird in the Goodwood, as Chip Woolley Jr. seems to think.
As for Zenyatta racing in the Classic, that will depend on if Sea The Stars enters the Classic. Last year, Raven's Pass, a horse from Europe with a Timeform Rating of 133, won the Classic. This year, Sea The Stars has a Timeform Rating of 140, and is being talked about as being one of Europe's greatest horses of all time. And a Timeform rating of 140 translates into a Beyer Speed Rating of 125. Zenyatta's best Beyer to date is a 108. And according to John Oxx, Sea The Stars' trainer, this colt handles artificial turf very well.

I think they will put her in the Classic. she really has nothing more to prove against the girls. She has trounced most of them. Hope she wins really big in the Classic and than gets Horse of the year. Rachel is nice but I love Zenyatta and always have.

Word is at Santa Anita is she is going in the Classic.

I hope they do put Zenyatta in the Classic. And really? I hope she wins. But I don't think they will. Her connections have been playing it safe because they wanted her to equal Personal Ensign's record. Now that Zen has, will they put her in the Classic? She's never run against males. Never. What will happen when she does, and especially in that class? I believe the fact that she's had too many easy races is going to come back and bite her, big time. If they put her in the Classic, and she wins, then I will doubt no more, but I will still consider Rachel to be the better horse. Let's see what happens.

Well, Brandie, I'm still doubting. I like Zenyatta, but who has she beaten? Personal Ensign had tougher competition. She caught Winning Colors at the wire in the BC Distaff, remember? I didn't recognize any of the horses in at least Zen's last two races. Weak fields, maybe? That's the same argument some of you guys have been using against Rachel this summer. Rachel has had tougher competition. She's challenged males three times, and she's won three times.

Kudos to Zenyatta for winning this race. But other than Zenyatta, the female horses out West are a joke.

Zenyatta is the best...Yeaahhhhhhh she beat the same horses again!!!

Zenyatta is the best. How can you top 13 straight wins. Hope they chose the Classic for her and she wins big. That should shut up all the doubters.

If all those two year olds are still racing at 3, there will be some really good horses competing in the Kentucky Derby next year. It is shaping up to be a very interesting racing year and maybe, just maybe a Triple Crown.