Dear Friends,
It is almost time for this year’s Third Jewel of the Triple Crown. On Saturday, the Belmont will run in New York. I’ve heard that it is very warm there right now…but it is supposed to rain and cool off by the weekend. As a matter of fact, they DID cancel racing in NY today due to the heat! Let’s hope the weather really cooperates for a fabulous Belmont and a wonderful weekend of racing!
Belmont Park Race Course is a huge track. It is actually a mile and one-half racing oval. It is also a track that has a nickname…THE BIG SANDY….due to the surface. From everything I’ve heard, the total environment is very pretty and the barn area has lots of trees and grass for grazing. Sounds terrific to ME!
Yesterday, they had the post-position draw. Twelve horses entered the race with the Derby Winner, Animal Kingdom, drawing post 9….and the Preakness Winner, Shackleford, getting the outside draw. Right in the middle, in post 6, is Nehro. He finished 2nd in the Derby and skipped the Preakness to prepare for this race. His rider is Corey Nakatani, who we know as he also rides my pal, CLOUD MAN, whenever he runs! A few other horses who ran in the Derby are also entered….so it should be a terrific Belmont! Good Luck to All!
In 2007, MY TEAM ran my barn mate, TIAGO, in the Belmont. From what I’ve heard, they had a wonderful time in NY. Tiago ran 3rd in the race which was won by Rags to Riches in a close photo beating Curlin. Hard Spun was 4th. It really was a strong field and a very exciting race.
At that time, they had the DETENTION BARN in New York. Every horse had to go to this special area 6 hours before running. The staff from each barn would accompany their horse and sit there pre-race with their entrant. As I understand it, they have now eliminated this procedure.
In his files, John had a photo of TIAGO in the DETENTION BARN. He is looking about, checking everything out, and getting acclimated to this new stall. Tiago was post 2….and in the stall directly to his right in this picture is Curlin. All horses would get ready for their race here…and then go directly to the paddock. It was truly a very BUSY place, for sure.
John also had a cute photo of Tiago getting a bath after a morning of exercise during his time at Belmont Park. You can see a bit more of the lovely barn area in this picture! Oh, I see my friends Frank and Frankie with him! They look TOO CUTE!
I wonder who will win the Belmont this year? Have fun handicapping the race!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Terry Crow
@Judy Berube–You like the 9 horse? They put little kids on the 9 horse to have their pictures taken. There have been some posts about guys with Hawaiian shirts and cigars that also have chest hair. The Cheesburger character does have chest hair. Your nephew sounds like an astute handicapper.
Karen Gogue
@ JSmith
How special of that young boy-little-man!
Just a couple of days ago, 3 boys (couldn’t have been more than 8-13 years old) came to my door and politely introduced themselves and handed me a small card – which said: “The Odd Job Guys” handwritten and very neat too. They explained what they do. The card listed all the odd jobs they would do:
wash cars
wash windows
pull weeds (must have seen my flower beds!)
clean garages (you get the idea)
The card listed their names and phone #’s and e-mail. I thanked them and said I’d certainly consider. When I closed the door I teared up! Now, I ask you, when and where do you ever see this anymore!? Kids willing to work!! Imagine that! I certainly will call them – if for nothing else than the weeds!! LOL! This younger generation is not half bad after all! Too cute – the kids! Sorry, off topic, but had to share. So next time you gripe at the youngins’, remember that boy and his $25 and these little “Odd Job Guys”.
JSmith – still don’t know if I’ll be at HP yet.
Christine Coleman
Hi Zenny! Hope you are keeping cool today! I watched some YouTube videos of you and got all teary eyed. Oh well! You are magnificently happy these days and I’m so happy for you! Keep enjoying life Zenyatta…Remember we all love you!
relientkislove
Ah can’t wait (:
Laura
haha Zenyatta! I love looking at all of the pictures you post!(:
The Kennedys in San Diego
Thank you for the link to the video of Eblouissante’s trip to the track. Wonderful to see her in action.
Diana Harris
I cant wait to see the boys run this Saturday and it is going to be a great race with lots of talent and beauty in that bunch. Its not the same with out waiting to see you run. I am so happy for you and love seeing you graze in your pasture, but the feeling I would get before you went in the gate was just like I was there with you and watching you run is like magic. I cant wait to see your baby go what a wonderful day that will be. Love you Zenny and all your team.
Sue Fredrick
Hi Big Mama, nice to walk down memory lane with you, Tiago looks beautiful. I’m going to root for Stay Thirsty as he is by your baby’s daddy, Bernardini!! Second Nehro, who is by your baby’s grandpa. Then I like Shackelford and MMM.
@Karen Mitchell, congrats on your bronze it’s so wonderful you can afford it. Enjoy.
@Stephanie, Thank you so much for the link to John’s workout with Eblouissante, gee she is stunning and reminds me of our wonderful Z. I can’t wait till she starts racing.
Kisses on your nose big girl
judy berube
To Terry Crow:
He has the same name as my Cat! (Laughing out loud). My nephew IS a Smart KID (37 years old). Hugs, J.B.
The Kennedys in San Diego
Nice to read so many interesting posts today.
@Brenda — How fortunate you were to see Secretariat run his last race and in retirement. We will also be rooting for Mucho Macho Man.
Lucia
Yay! 100th Comment! Zenyatta I love you! Everytime I’m having a hard time running my races, I think of all of your obstacles that you overcame and you help me power home no matter what my place is.
@Cheyene- I agree with you about MoH. Garret Gomez has come so close to winning a TC recently, he deserves a win soon. However, I still think Animal Kingdom will win, but MoH might hit the board.
Good Luck and Happy Belmont to all!
Lucia
A TC race, sorry! My bad! :)
judy berube
To Laura J.:
Just read your post to me on Diary #267. You have to see this movie (Let It Ride), if you haven’t seen it already. So many track characters will be familiar to you. Hugs, J.B.
Pam Zacek,
I hope all have one safe run in the Belmont, that the whole race is a real interesting one, and everyone, turns, and gets to the end safe and sound, Hey Zen, you going to watch it on TV??? or are you going to be out in the field in yur new cool, head piece, have fun which ever you do, and take care of yourself, Love the blue grass…. eat hartie.
Judy (Maass) Gadwood ~ CA
TOP 250 FILLIES & MARES OF ALL TIME (Horse Racing Nation):
http://www.horseracingnation.com/polls/current/PowerRankings_All_Time_Female
No disrespect, but Zenyatta, you should be #1 !!!
Signofthetimes
Girl Power in 2007 Belmont!!!!! Love the photos and
Tour of Belmont. Taiga is gorgeous. Love the Bay fillys and colts light or dark. Is Big Sandy like running on the turf or
Deep soft dirt? It should be a great race. Thank John
For all the photos. Have a great day Zenny!!!!
Anna Wiley
@Signofthetimes: R2R rocks! Girl power. :D
@Sweet, Dear Zenny: Tiago looks super! What an adventure to come in the TOP THREE with CURLIN and RAGS TO RICHES, of all horses! Tiago must have been a truly great horse!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@ EVERYBODY: BELMONT!!!!!!!! Yes!!!! I can’t wait. I think that Animal Kingdom, Master of Hounds, and Nehro will be putting on a very strong performance, but Shackleford is amazing. I think it will be him ALL THE WAY. He had an admirable performance in the Preakness, and he was second practically the whole race. Then he moved up, and you could virtually SEE the power and energy bursting from him. And at the end, too, he kept it up, holding his own over Animal Kingdom, who was bringing on a strong finishing kick. I believe Shackleford has what it takes to go all the way in this race, but I would love to hear everybody’s opinions on the favorite, Mr. Derby Winner Animal Kingdom, Nehro, the second-Derby-placer, and Shacklford, the Hero of this year’s Preakness, as well as all the other runners. Who do y’all think it’s gonna be this year?
Good luck all Belmont Hopefuls!
Love,
Anna
Linda/Maryland
Love You Zenny~!
Dona
Eastcoastkid –
It’s okay to think Secretariat was the greatest but when you put others down to make your point, check the facts.
I think he was a great horse but I never cared for him. For some reason, he just didn’t do it for me, but that doesn’t affect my opinion of him. What matters to me is that he won 16 of 21 races. Man O’ War, Native Dancer and _enyatta all had better records, having lost just once in their careers. No matter what Secretariat accomplished, he still lost 5 times. As far as his Belmont win, For me it pales in comparison to Silky Sullivans’s Santa Anita Derby win where he was behind by 30 lengths and still won going away by 3 lengths. Or, the 6 1/2 allowance race where he was 40 lengths behind in the back stretch, 15 lenghts behind at the 1/2 mile pole, in 7th place and 7 lenghts behind at the top of the stretch and won by 1/2 length. To me, that was the greatest race I ever saw, period. He’s the only horse in modern times, to be clocked at 22 seconds flat for a final quarter and he did it several times.
I for one, would bet everything I had on John Henry, in his prime, against Secretariat. To go even further, I personally don’t even rate Secretariat above Citation, who could run on any surface and at any distance. Be it 2 miles or a sprint, he was awesome.
Librarian
Dear Zenyatta, You are one smart horse, and you know what important information needs to be shared. I read your posts often, and enjoy all of the racing info you teach us, but today you hit the nail on the head. I came home from school and wanted to check the results from Belmont Park, but the NYRA site had nothing for today, June 9. I went to the Equibase site, and again, no results for today. Now I was getting really curious, so I checked The Bloodhorse magazine to see what might be going on at Belmont, and there was no information about the races today, nor was there any mention of this at DRF.com. Since I am not easily discouraged when trying to find out an answer, I decided to try later, after I checked your website and read some of your inspiratinal thoughts. And there it was, the answer to my question…racing was cancelled at Belmont today because of the heat, and the danger it presented to horses and humans. Thank you for keeping us posted, I know where to go when I want good timely info.
Stay cool in this early heat wave, Zenny.
Hugs and kisses…
judy berube
Dear Kennedy’s in San Diego:
Thank you so much for pointing out the Bloodhorse “And There Off” in the Belmont video. What a beautiful tour of Belmont Park. Never have seen it before. The grave site of Ruffian is kept up beautifully with flowers. Brought tears to my eyes. The park itself has so many awesome views; Secretariat’s Statute, the gorgeous white pine tree and the duck pond, to name a few.
Hugs, J.B.
Joan
Belmont Stakes– very interesting facts about the BS. SInce 1971 only 5 horses have run a faster second half than the first half of the race and Secretariat is not one of them.
1974 Little Current won with a 1:16:00 first half and 1:13:20 second half. Next in 1978 was Affirmed with 1:14:00 first half and 1:12:80 second half. The 3rd horse to accomplish this wasTemperance Hill in 1980 with splits of1:15:80 and 1:14:00. The fourth in 1998 was Victory Gallop at 1:14:80/1:14:20 and the last of the five was the wonderful filly Rags to Riches in 2007 at 1:15:68/1:13:06.Swale had exact times for both halves at 1:13:60. The greatest of them all Secretariat in 1973 was 1:09:80/ 1:14:20. He has the fastest time since 1971 for the first half of the run on Big Sandy.I have only looked at records back to 1971, but Secretariats first half is a killer and to finish off the way he did, unbelievable.
I am still trying to figure out which way to go, it is all about the distance and who can get it. AK, Nehro,Santiva, Master of Hounds could but shipping all over the place and quarantine barns won’t exactly help him. Brilliant Speed is breed for the distance also. So there is a lot
to consider. I’ll figure it, can’t wait to see the run and pray they all come home safely.
Love ya Z, what a horse.
Judy (Maass) Gadwood ~ CA
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/search.cfm?l=eng
SEARCH: Type Zenny!
Signofthetimes
@Rachel
Remember behind every good horse is a good farier. Not usually horses fault often shoes wrong and shoeing process
not correct. MMM also has new jockey. Kathy says he “can run
forever”. We will see. Live AK, Shakelford may out
run his pedigree and Master of Hounds.
Judy (Maass) Gadwood ~ CA
Correction: Type in GROUP SEARCH: Zenny
ZenyattaRules
You are my hero Zenyatta. Seriously.Most girls have posters of celebrities in their rooms. the only celebrity on MY wall is u. Good luck in the Belmont. You deserve to win.
=)
judy berube
Dear Anna Wiley:
Already posted my picks for the Belmont earlier. Thinking AK to win, with Stay Thirsty, MMM and maybe Nehro or Santiva. Hugs, J.B.
Jane D
Wish them all a safe ride.
Linda in NJ
Hi Zenny!! Yes here in New York and New Jersey it was 97 today. I thought I would melt. Zenny, I am very excited because I am going to the Belmont. You’re right, it is a huge track. Animal Kingdom as a good chance, but Nehro is racing and he is good. Better go it is lighting. We are about to get a bad thunder storm.
@Hey Z fans: Anyone going to the Belmont? Let me know.
Sue Noel
Oh my gosh—the posts the last few days have been SO wonderful!!!
@Dawn Conrad–Was SO relieved to hear from you with your good news!! The longer it took to hear from you,the more worried I got!! Our prayers were answered and I am SO-O-O-O GRATEFUL!!!What a blessed day you had at Barn 55!! You deserved every thrilling minute!!It must have been hard to keep from sobbing in happiness–I’m sure I would have just been a mess! It must have been amazing to be able to touch E–she seems so lovely and looks very kind.Please give # 19 a pat for me!!
@Susan in TN–have to e-mail back to the rescue to have my donation credited to my choice for the foals name. Glad they are going to get one of those balls–guess that one ias mainly for Rootbeer–if they all like it maybe I can send some more money for another one. So sweet that Chester follows you around like a large quiet dog—he obviously loves you!!
@Karen Gogue–Loved your cake for dear John!! Would love to help do something for Dotties big day–how shall we all plot off-site???????
Queen Z,can’t wait for the Belmont!! Watched “Secretariat” twice last weekend!! Like always,my biggest prayer is that they all come home safe. I love MMM’s story ,and his trainer’s,so I guess my heart leans there,but there are so many good ones,I’ll just be happy with whoever wins as long as they are all a-ok!! Hope it’s been a great day for you and that you will rest well tonight and have a happy day tomorrow with the sun on your back and a soft breeze to ruffle your mane. LOVE YOU!!!