Happy Wednesday!
This morning, the fields will be announced for the 2011 World Championships. I’ve just heard that 193 horses did pre-enter for this year’s events! 29 of them will be coming from overseas!
In our sport, so many wonderful horses…so accomplished, so talented, so dedicated…have paved the way for ALL OF US who followed. MY JOHN saw this collage and couldn’t resist taking the photo. He absolutely loves and respects the history of our sport. It is so important to take the time and honor horses who have done so much for our industry.
When you trace pedigree lines so many of these names appear. These horses and their accomplishments truly did impact our sport….not just on a racing level…but to the breeding sheds for decades and decades.
I wonder…as they announce the fields this morning….which horses will be etching his / her names into the historical journals for our sport in the generations to come?
Goldikova has already made such an impressive mark as she returns to defend her title for the 4th year in a row. This is truly something to be honored. My pal, Gio Ponti, is cross-entered in both the MILE and the CLASSIC. Hmmm…I wonder which race his connections will select? This will be his third straight year of Breeders’ Cup participation…on a such a high level. What an outstanding achievement this is!
Several other very talented horses as Switch, Courageous Cat, Midday and Shared Account (to name a few) who have very prominently participated in prior CUP RACES are returning to the event this year. Anytime an athlete can remain at such a high performance level for so many seasons…it is noteworthy on so many levels. I must say, I am SO PROUD of ALL OF THESE HORSES and THEIR CONNECTIONS!
All the best to the 193 pre-entered horses as they continue to prepare for their respective races. We will have so much FUN following them during the next several days!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Countdown to MY PARTY…10 days! I’m getting SO EXCITED! Buy Tickets
Susan from Fl
Just printed the BC entries..wish u were in them! Peace & Happiness to u Z!
Christine B in Nor Cal - Placerville
Good morning, Z! Thank you for all of the BC info! Love the photo!!
Christine B
Erin
Thanks Zenny for sharing John’s photo and everything else, too. I love you so.
Dallas from Texas
Hey baby girl, yes the countdown is on to your party…10 days, can’t wait. You’re the greatest of all time.
Love you baby girl
Lori
Hi Z! I have a whole room of our house dedicated to racing memorabilia and photos. I so enjoy reading about great horses of the past, and watching new champions, too!
Kim Noble
And look who is right in the middle – the immortal Man o’ War!!!
Cheryl
Love reading about the BC when you post. I follow it other places, but your posts are the very best. Was at your race last year and you make the whole day very special. Will never forget. Yu are the best.Love you.
JAG Adores Zenyatta & John Henry / CA
Good morning Mamma Zenny ~ Happy Hump-Baby-Bump Day, Sweetie!
~~~~~
I was leaning in real close to look at the collage ~ wondering if John Henry was included (wink wink). If he hadn’t been gelded I doubt he would have become a “great” horse (fate), but I also wonder if he had off-spring how they would have turned out :-) He continues to watch over YOU and your unborn FOAL! Pssst March 9th ;-)
~~~~~
{{Hugs}} and Kisses Queen Zenyatta and Baby B/Z XOXOXOXO
Judy G
Gloria Jeanne - The O.C.
Zenny – Your John is so cool. Thanks for sharing. I’m a little sad about the great horses who will not be running at the Breeder’s Cup this because of injuries…. I am however always thankful that nothing ever happened to you and that you have always been healthy and safe.
Can’t wait for the Breeder’s Cup next week… Still wish I could go to Your Pary but it’s far and costly and Mom is still every sick and needs my help. Maybe next year you can have another Party at Santa Anita and I can go to that one.
Hugs and Love.
JAG Adores Zenyatta & John Henry / CA
@ ALL
Thank you to all the Posters who have included your State/Country ~ brings us closer as a “family” don’t ya think!?
Judy G
Shannon from Cool
Man O’ War died on November 1, 1947 – 64 years ago.
Always good to see Big Red remembered.
Elaine G from Deerfield, Illinois
Hello again.
To all you horse racing fans–Question number 1. I have always wondered…
What are the requirements for Grade One,Two and Three races?
Does a horse have to earn a certain amount of money to be eligible in order to participate? If so what amount. Do the requirements vary from state to state or are they standardized throughout the country?
Mary Werner
We have had a lot of fabulous winners in the past, but You were the FIRST mare to ever win it. No one compares to you sweetheart!!!
Brigid Matthews
As always, thank you so much to all of Zenyatta’s family for sharing so generously.
Joyce in Vegas
I read your posts every day and have been amazed and humbled at the multitudes who share such a deep love for horses, in general, and YOU in particular; who support each other not only in the good deeds they do but also in their times of need; who are not ashamed to admit that they have cried when watching YOU and others do what they are born to do. YOU have changed the face of racing because of YOUR owners and YOUR team and YOUR special abilities. YOU are the embodiment of your ancesters who can only look down on YOU with the same amazement and awe that we do. YOU are a horse of a lifetime and I am honored to have witnessed such greatness. Years from now, they won’t talk about how YOU lost by inches. They will talk about how YOU ran what was and will probably be the greatest race any horse has ever run. My thanks to: Dottie who keeps us informed about YOU and all aspects of racing; John whose patience and genius allowed you to develop into who YOU are; Mr. and Mrs. Moss who share YOU with your adoring fans; and to all of us who share a love for all these magnificent creatures.
Cheryl Smith
Great Photo! Thanks for sharing! BC races are going to be very exciting! I pray for the safety of all horses and riders. Love you pretty lady!
JAG Adores Zenyatta & John Henry / CA
HRN Power Rankings – Active Horses
http://www.horseracingnation.com/polls/current/PowerRankings_Active
Judy G
sharon in seattle
Joyce in Vegas and Cheryl S. – thanks for writing exactly what’s in my heart and mind!!!
Cynthia H.
What a fabulous photo! I have been straining these aged eyeballs to try to identify all of the illustrious horrses pictured. I think I see War Admiral, Ack Ack, Tom Fool, Gallant Fox, Kelso, Majestic Prince, Count Fleet, Damascus, Carry Back, Exterminator, Dr. Fager, Man O’ War, Round Table, Citation, Native Diver, Omaha, Native Dancer, Nashrullah. Can anyone help fill-in the blanks? Can anyone make out the horse in the lower left corner?
JAG Adores Zenyatta & John Henry / CA
Gio Ponti, It’s Tricky in Final BC Works
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/65785/gio-ponti-its-tricky-in-final-bc-works#ixzz1buMG8ks9
Pat Beck
Can’t wait to see you, Z! Love you always.
JAG Adores Zenyatta & John Henry / CA
Complete Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/pdf/2011BreedersCupPreEntries.pdf
SHERRY D. WV.
HELLO ZENNIE AND FANS.. I REALLY LIKED THE HISTORY PHOTO. SOME HORSES YOU KNOW BY THERE FACE MARKINGS. THE COUNT DOWN IS GETTING CLOSER. HOPE THE WEATHER IS GREAT. EVERYONE INVOLVED HAVE A GREAT TIME AND SAFE TRAVELING. LOVE TO ALL, SHERRY D. WV.
suew
Zenny, what a wonderful photo…so many greats of the breed are represented. As I’ve said many times before, YOU are the standard of today because of your heart, intelligence and unbelievable talent. All of your team must be so proud of you…especially as they (we) reflect on the contributions you have made to the sport of Kings and QUEENS.
Abigail from Montreal
HI ZENNY, DOTTIE & ZEN VILLAGERS (as in “It takes a village…)
Well, that photo collage is right up my alley!!!! I have collected old thoroughbred photos for about the last 15-20 years. Adoring BOTH thoroughbreds and photography made it a natural kind of hobby. At this point, the collection must be into the 100’s.
As some of you may know, North American newspapers are selling off their photo archives and replacing them with libraries of digital images. I assume what they must be doing is scanning the original photos & saving them to disc. And me being me, I worry (incessantly, really) about the history that dies as these photos are scrapped and/or sold on places like eBay. It occurs to me –frequently — that whoever is responsible for said scanning & saving might not even recognize many important thoroughbreds. And if you believe they are ALL important (thoroughbreds) it becomes doubly sad. I mean, someone might recognize Man O’ War as important, but not some big-hearted colt who ran 98 races and won 11 in his career in the 1930’s…so this poor guy probably gets incinerated! History is a narrative and it needs to be protected and preserved. So I’m doing my “bit” in a small way for posterity. As we come to rely more and more on computers as information storage, things like good thoroughbreds who never became household names kind of “fall of the radar” — FOREVER.
When I do an article for THE VAULT and readers see a “Copyright restricted” handwritten on the photo, that is a photo from my collection. In the future, I intend to put up a few photo galleries of more from my collection on THE VAULT. I actually have photos of amazing fillies like First Landing and Dark Mirage, as well as great sires like Challenger II, who came from England and sired Challendon in the USA, as well as shots of Count Fleet (hard to find & one of my favourites!).
The collection goes back to the 1920’s and comes forward to the 1980’s, all original photos. And the photography! Some of it is just breathtaking. I love to make myself a cup of tea and settle down with one of the albums to just lose myself in thoroughbreds…..
Love to all!
sharon k in albuquerque
To Joyce in Vegas~ Well said!! Love you Zenyatta! As I watch this year’s races, I will always remember that INCREDIBLE stretch run you made last year that tore us from our seats! MUCH love to you and your connections and BABY “Z!” On a side note…go GIO PONTI, Uncle MO and Havre De Grace!! Best of LUCK to all!
Ingrid in MA
LOVE this photo! And I can see you got your fabulous ears from the equably fabulous Man O War! Just think – someday, YOUR picture will be in that collage, Zenny! (Although it should be in there already, in my own humble opinion!)
Love you, sweet girl!
Janie (in L.A.)
Oh, how I wish I could go to your party, sweet girl. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since your last race! And it won’t be too long until we see your darlin’ baby’s appearance – time sure goes by fast!
Mary Margaret
Thanks to Zenyatta and all Zenyatta fans for all the information you share. It is all so very interesting. I hope it never stops. Looking forward to all the BC goings on. Wish I could be there. I’ll be watching everything on TV. Stay happy and health Zenyatta. Love you my Queen.
Kimberly Potter
My Beautiful Zenyatta~ I just bought a 32 in Flatscreen TV so I can watch this years BC races. I am so excited! It will be the next best thing to being at your party! I love you Zenyatta!
@Joyce in Vegas~ Lovely post…you brought tears to my eyes…
@JAG~ Thanks for the links to the Power Rankings and Pre-Race Entries. (and all the links you post) So much to look at and study.
@Havre de Grace~ Go Baby, Go Baby, GO!
May they ALL come home safe and sound!!!!
Zenyatta’s #1 fan in Montana!