Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Zenyatta News

Birthday Day!

Team Z is in Kentucky for Zenyatta’s 8th birthday. We celebrated yesterday with Zenyatta, Baby Z and Lane’s End staff. Cards and gifts from the fans were highlights of the day, along with a very special birthday cake of pears and carrots. It was a rainy morning, but the sun came out just in time for the festivities. Baby Z got a kick out of all the attention and had just as much fun as his mom.

Everyone had a great time… no foolin’!

Here’s to another great year!

Z had a great time reading her birthday cards. Photo by Kyle Acebo.

Z''s cake by Cyril.

Reader Interactions

694 Comments

  1. / Reply

    Zenny so glad you had a happy birthday. Loved hearing baby Z. Winny in the background.
    Thank You Ann and Jerry and the Lane’s End staff for the video’s
    @Dottie we love and miss you.
    Dawn will have your mother in my prayers.
    @Barbara Wood hope your safe from the bad weather in Texas.
    Can everyone believe its just a little over 4 weeks untill the Derby. I’m taking off a vacation day that Friday will make a long weekend. Yippeeeeee I’ll get to see the Oaks this year hopefully.
    I don’t know about everyone, but I am looking so forward to seeing Hollywood Park open. I believe it is this month I hope. Hope TVG airs all the races.
    @Dottie I told David to Tell you to come back every now and then. Now listen you just have to because we miss you very much. IOh, and Zenny I am going to have to have the boiled peanuts watching the Oaks and Derby. i am as bad as you with your carrots and pears. Hope there ready here in South Georgia by then, well maybe North Florida they will be ready. Ha Ha Zenny were just too funny aren’t we. Better go for now you and baby Z have a wonderful night. Sweet Dreams. Love, Peggy

    • / Reply

      Peggy N, so happy for you going to the Derby, hope you have a great time. Blow a kiss to UR, Hansen, El Padrino, Alpha, and do me a special favor and whisper in Take Charge Indy’s ear…….”DO IT FOR YOUR DADDY!” I pray they all come home safe.
      Hugs

      • / Reply

        Hi Sue and Sign, my message by me was misleading, I am just going to be able to watch it on TV this year. So Sorry I wish I was going., I am just tickled to be off that day. Didn’t mean to be misleading. You can tell how excited I get just by being home to watch it on Tv. Can’t you. I did get to go to the Breeders Cup back a few years ago and that was just fantastic at churchill Downs. Did get to see Zenny just breifly going through to the saddling area. It was just wonderful. I do want to go to the Derby one day. I’m a Take Charge Indy fan too. You know how I love his dad.

        • Oh well, Peggy N, watching the Derby is always
          Fun and you can still buy a hat and have a mint
          Julip. One of my friends and her family used to
          Have a derby party every year. It was great fun.

      • / Reply

        Dear Sue, Peggy N and Sign:

        I like Take Charge Indy too. My first choice would have been Bernie’s Consortium, but he has a bone chip in his ankle as you know and won’t be going. So I’ll be rooting for AP Indy’s TCI. Have to say, if Alpha runs in the Derby, part of my heart will be with him, Bernie’s Boy. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Have a wonderful time at the KY Derby; don’t forget to buy that special hat;
      I think that is one of the most fun things at the Derby of course other than
      the horses.

      My new Favorite is Take Charge Indy; such a lovely story about him in Bloodhorse
      by Steve Haskin. Imagine and AP Indy colt needing a home at the Keenland
      Sale. A little conformation issue. Buyers there really have specific criteria and
      if the horse don’t meet it. XXXXXX

      • / Reply

        Sign, I know what you mean about T C Indy. I read Haskin’s article about him and his owner and she so reminds me of the Mosses and the way they love their horses. Interesting that she used to ride him herself across their land and not strictly on a track. He grew out of his physical problem and maybe that cross country riding would be good for all our horses, when you think about it running around a track all the time would develop only one side of the body. I think I read M.Matz takes his horses cross country. Well , I’ll be rooting for TCI too I hope he does his daddy proud. Hugs

        • Great to hear we are both TCI fans. It is so very
          Interesting that he had those conformation
          Issues with such sucessful racing mom and Dad.
          Goes to show you genetics is a real crap shoot.

          So love Graham Motions traing style galloping
          Over the grass as well, more of a Euro style. All
          TB in England gallop out in the open. You are right,
          So surprised the TB don’t get more track sour.
          Graham Motion talks a lot about training each horse
          Individually. Some don’t like to got to the track as much.

          Love Micheal Matz round pen to let the TB play and roll
          After training safely.

  2. / Reply

    Barbara Wood (Texas)

    Hope all is well with you. I saw the weather reports and immediately thought of you. Hope we all here from you soon with good news that you are all OK.

    Love, good thoughts and prayers coming your way.

    Darlene Daniels

  3. / Reply

    Dawn give your mom the biggest hugz and Z L♥ve from me! Will think of her and you throughout the day tomorrow!!

  6. / Reply

    @Darlene Daniels
    @Peggy (N) South Georgia
    Marshall (NC)–Thank you all so much for sdking. We are fine. Waco is smack dab in the middle of Texas (“deep in the heart of Texas”). We had some hail and an inch of rain, but all the bad stuff was north of here.
    I forgot to mention congrats to the KY basketball fans on their national championship and congrats to our dear Lady Bears who won it all last night and finished 40-0, something no college team has done.
    @Dawn Conrad–prayers for your mom today (and you too while you wait!)
    Hugs to all. (Soggy Texas ones)

  7. / Reply

    Hope all you Texans are okay down there, so far no loss of life, thank God. I heard more storms expected so I pray all of you stay safe. Hugs

  8. / Reply

    Looks like you had a fabulous birthday Zenyatta. I know how happy you were to see your family and friends. It sounded like Prince Z was having fun to with his new family. Here’s wishing you many more birthdays to come. Love you soo much. Lou in Tx

    Today is supposed to be a pretty day here in Tx. My heart goes out to all those who lost soo much. I live not to far from Lancaster where you saw all those trucks being thrown around but am fine here. No damage just alot of wind and rain. Thanks for everyone’s concern. Deeply appreciated.

    • / Reply

      Dear Lou in TX:

      Glad you are safe. Heart goes out to all of those in the path of that awful tornado. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Glad you are safe Lou, Houston only had torrential rains with minimum flooding which is uncommon for us. Floods are our specialty.

    • / Reply

      Lou in TX,
      YAY! Happy to hear from you and that you escaped the awful weather, too.

      signofthetimes,
      Very glad that you are okay, too, and that the flooding was minimal.

      Stay safe in Texas!

  9. / Reply

    HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY ZENNY!!!!!
    Just back from a wonderful, (and much needed), vacation with my Sis in FLA. Spending quality time with family is priceless in our sometimes stressful lives. So elated to see that yours made it there to share in the joyous occasion of your birthday celebration. First time I have found this blog since your diary sabatical began. Yippeee!!! Good to know we can all still be in touch.
    LOVE to YOU and BABY Z
    PEACE & LOVE

  10. / Reply

    DEAR GREAT ONE
    HAPPY BELATED 8TH BIRTHDAY. YOU DON’T LOOK A DAY OVER 5, MY DEAR! You have such a lovely head; your eyes are so beautiful with a slight slant; your muzzle so refined. And you are so well-preserved for your age! You are looking good., girl

    ON ANOTHER NOTE — I WANTED TO LET ALL MY Z’ISTERS KNOW THAT MARLENE DODGE CONTACTED ME YESTERDAY ENROUTE FROM RENO TO RED BLUFF. Her trailer contained 8 horses she took from the Nevada feedlot. She got a bonus horse using some last-minute funds that came in. I wish I could upload the photo for you all to see. They are all lined up in the trailer patiently awaiting their new homes. It is a very nice shot. She will drop off 4 in Red Bluff and then head down to Valley View Ranch. She was going to sleep in her truck if need be on this very long drive — I’m guessing 5+ hours from Reno to Red Bluff and then at least 7 to get back home from there. She wanted me to let all of you know and thank you all again!

    Jeanie

    • / Reply

      Dear Jeannie:

      God Bless her and you for alerting us when horses need help. We always want to be aware so that we can help in our small way. Hugs, Judy and Russ

    • / Reply

      Such good news about the horses! Wish Marlene would not have to stay in her truck though. Maybe you could figure out how to post the picture to Zenyatta’s facebook page. Even though I’m not on Facebook, I’m sure I would be able to see it. Thanks for always letting us know what’s going on with Marlene and her wonderful missions!

    • / Reply

      Thanks, Jeanie, for keeping us alerted to these rescue needs! Blessings to you, as well as to Marlene and her charges. Take care!

  13. / Reply

    Whew !!! It has been a busy few days with little time to spare; so unlike usual days.

    Thanks so much to Lanes End and Team Z for the photos and videos and tweets
    of Zenny and her son 12 Z. Also love the cake, those special carrots with all the
    green stuff and the most healthy. Bet 12 Z has not been eating any yet. It is so much fun to teach foals to eat carrots; they kind of move them around in their mouth, they drop out and humans pick them up and give them back to the foal. A long but fun process.

    Z 12 has a cute little whinny when mom gets attention, he better get used to it his mother is the QUEEN of RACING.

  14. / Reply

    Dell Hancock, Claibourne Farms, tells a very cute story about LURE when he was a foal. The Queen of England was visiting the farm and LURE was standing in line with
    his mom ENDEAR, the queen passed by him a little too quick for his liking.

    He looked at her and stepped forward as if to say “What about me, I’m special, too”

    That reminds me of 12 Z whinnying when his mom is getting all the attention.
    “Don’t forget about me, I am special, too. “

  15. / Reply

    Here is a horse joke which will segue into another horse joke. Both are golden oldies, and I am sure most will recognize them. What is the difference between praying in church and praying at the race track? At the race track, you really mean it. It seems that a guy went to the races to try to win enough money to pay his rent. He said the himself “I’ll just go down to the rail and watch the first few races. Maybe I can pick something up about the track bias.” The man noted nothing unusual about the races. A front runner won the first while a stretch runner won the second. The one thing he did notice was a priest standing at the rail making gestures with his hands as the horses passed on their way to the starting gate. When he made these gestures at a horse, the horse won the race. He said to himself “This is it. The next time he does that I am going to put all my money on that horse .” Sure enough, when the fifth race rolled around the priest again made some gestures and the man then ran up to the windows to place his bet. Unfortunately for him, the horse dropped dead in the middle of the stretch. Devastated, the man sought out the priest and explained to him what had happened. The priest listened sympathetically, then said “You are not a Roman Catholic are you?” The man admitted that he wasn’t. “Well, if you were, you would have recognized the difference between a blessing and the last rites.” To finish things, here are a few hall of fame redneck jokes. You might be a redneck if the pigs refuse to eat your slop. You might be a redneck if you have ever stolen clothes from a scarecrow. You might be a redneck if you have barnyard animals living in your house. You might be a redneck if you dated your momma’s current husband in high school. And, especially for Sue Frederick and Sally B, co-presidents of Wisconsin chapter, you might be a redneck if you have Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap in your bathroom.

  16. / Reply

    Happy Birthday Zenyatta, so glad the Z TEAM came out to celebrate with you. I see you are back to having some of your favorite treats . That was a great cake and it is good to see you having a fun time. We miss hearing from you but are glad that the Z Team are keeping us up-dated on how you are doing along with baby Z. Sending you and Baby Z love and kisses.

  17. / Reply

    Happy Belated Birthday Zenyatta!!!
    Lots of Love, Linda xoxo
    p.s. How is your Beautiful friend Tasty and her baby? Cannot wait to see photos!! xoxo

  18. / Reply

    Happy Birthday Z! Love the pictures of your birthday party!

    When will there be more photos available to purchase? Has that photographer taken any updated photos? I can’t wait to get my hands on some for my Zenyatta gallery and now the 12Z gallery!

  19. / Reply

    @Suzanne G
    That is a great idea. I will see if I can post the photo there. See, it takes someone from Illinois to come up with a good idea! J

  21. / Reply

    Hi Zenny: Happy Belated Birthday. Wishing you many, many more to come. So good to see videos of you. And it was extra special to hear little 12Z in the background. Too Cute!!! I bet you are just loving the nice spring KY weather.

    To All Z’sters: A special HELLO to all of you. This past weekend was a great weekend of racing. I watched the Santa Anita Oaks on HRTV. I bet all you CA Dumplings will be headed to Santa Anita track this weekend to see the Santa Anita Derby.

    Please let me know if you hear when Zenny’s sister Ebby is scheduled to run her first race. I so want to be there for that.

    Take care Zenny. I love you!!!

    Take care Zenny. And you take care of your little one too. So hopeful they post of video of 12Z soon. He is so precious.

    • / Reply

      You can go to Equibase.com and set up a free virtual stable. if you put Ebby in it, you will be notified when she works out and when she is entered in a race.

      You can put horses, jockeys, and trainers in your stable. You can also sign up for “Road to the Triple Crown” and “Road to the Breeders Cup” to get workouts and races for contenders.

    • / Reply

      Thanks for the link. Most interesting story. But, I think you feel sorry for me and wanted me to check out the “our time” ad.

  26. / Reply

    Dear Terry Crow and Z’sters:

    Just found this great website called Horse Of The Week. There’s a lengthy article on Comanche who was the mount of Captain Myles Keogh in the Battle of Little Bighorn. TC thought you would enjoy this article as you are a Civil War buff.

    Also, right after the Comanche article, there is an article on our Queen and the Prince. As you scroll down, there are many more articles on different horses. Even one about Black Jack, the horse in the Funeral of JFK. Just to let you know, some of them are sad. Hugs, JB

    http://www.horsecarecourses.com/horse_of_the_week/

    • / Reply

      Thanks, Judy! Great link to the bio’s of these wonderful horses — also good article, though sad, about the rescue in Louisiana.
      Love and Hugs!

      • / Reply

        Dear Marshall, Sue and Tony, Karen, Max, TerryC. and Ingrid:

        So glad you enjoyed The Horse Of The Week site as much as I did. Terry C., thought you would know about Comanche. Thanks for more info on him. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Judy, thanks to the link to this article. One of the best things about this site is the sharing of information with those who may not have found it on their fown.

    • / Reply

      Judy. Thanks for an excellent link. I loved the story of Comanche and how he enjoyed his sugar and beer. Also good reading about Z and RA.

    • / Reply

      Judy-Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading the story, even though I knew most of it. I have actually been to the University of Kansas and saw Comanche in the exhibit they had for him. George Custer was a great commander in the Civil War, but his prowess as a cavalry officer in the Indian wars I will leave to others to debate. There is an interesting comment at the end of the article disputing the claim that Comanche was the sole survivor of the Custer battle. There is some merit in that argument, as several of the soldiers under Custer’s overall command survived. What is true is that Comanche was the sole survivor of the detachment that fought under Custer’s direct command.

    • / Reply

      Dear Judy B, thank you so much, for posting a wonderful link, I cannot stop crying, and you know me I always cry you know I loves horses. Hugs Ingrid.

    • / Reply

      Thanks for the fantastic link! I really enjoyed the piece on show jumper Milton, brought back great memories. Thanks.

  28. / Reply

    Dawn,
    Hope all went well with your mother’s surgery today and that she recovers quickly.
    Thinking of you both with Best Wishes!

  29. / Reply

    Thanks to Team Z for the pics and for letting us share the Queen’s birthday with you and Lane’s End. We love seeing her and her little Prince!

    Best Wishes to all in TX! We’ve worried about you!

    • / Reply

      Karen-Thanks so much for this link. I see a lot of myself in Willis and hope to meet and talk with him some day.

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