by Joe Drape in the November 7, 2010 New York Times.
She had been defeated for the first time a couple of hours earlier in a race that will go down as one of the all-time thrillers. But there Zenyatta was with her trainer John Shirreffs on the grass outside her barn at Churchill Downs. Shirreffs kept Zenyatta close to the fence for a reason: her admirers kept coming for a closer look.
They pressed against the chain link, snapped photographs and told Zenyatta what they thought of her.
“You’re still the queen,” is how one put it.
They came Sunday morning, as well, just to take a final look at the big mare who had come within a head — maybe even half a head — of retiring from the racetrack with a perfect 20-0 record. Zenyatta had not failed in their eyes, or in the eyes of a great many other people.
She just couldn’t get past a tough colt named Blame after spotting him and the rest of the boys nearly 20 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
It didn’t take the thoroughbred industry long, though, to indicate that it may fail Zenyatta. In the interview room, Blame’s owner, Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm, was lobbying for his colt to be named Horse of the Year.
“Well, I thought the battle for Horse of the Year was fought about a half-hour ago, and Blame won it,” Hancock said. “She’s a great horse, Zenyatta is. But she had her shot to get by, and she didn’t do it. So I don’t think you can vote for her.”
Horse of the Year is an honor taken most seriously by breeders who can potentially add several zeros to their bottom line if they happen to be standing one. Blame was officially retired after the Classic and will stand at Claiborne Farm.
Zenyatta’s and Blame’s stretch duel had been beyond stirring — it was a breathtaking few moments that made even the most hardhearted among us believe there was some kind of higher power working somewhere. Now Hancock, whose farm is celebrating its centennial anniversary, was reducing it to a business transaction.
Horse of the Year voting is done by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers Association and The Daily Racing Form. In the days, and weeks ahead, the honor will be pontificated upon with the fractured logic that has helped erode the popularity of horse racing.
These are the numbers: Blame won three of four starts this year. Blame is an excellent racehorse, and if there’s a flaw in his résumé, it’s a pin prick — he lost the Jockey Club Gold Cup by four lengths to Haynesfield, who finished second to last in the Classic field.
Zenyatta won five of six starts — all Grade I’s, with her only loss coming against Blame and the boys in the Classic. She has been knocked for staying in California and on its synthetic racetracks, and not challenging the boys more, even though she beat them last year in the Classic. That was the message Hancock was pounding in his lobbying.
“He won three Grade I’s,” he said of Blame. “He’s taken his show on the road. He’s done everything that’s been asked of him. I can’t believe that he wouldn’t be Horse of the Year.”
The New York Times has a policy of not allowing reporters to vote for awards, but if I had a vote, I would cast it with the more than 72,000 people who gave Zenyatta a warm and raucous reception as she returned to the grandstand with a tearful Mike Smith on her back.
When Garrett Gomez brought Blame back, he lifted his hands to the fans, asking them to applaud his colt. They did, a little, and with restraint.
Zenyatta has not saved racing — she’s not a miracle worker — but she made it respectable, fun even, for people to go to the racetrack for the first time. She put the sport back on national television with a “60 Minutes” segment, and with articles in W and Oprah magazines.
Other than everyday horseplayers, had anyone ever heard of Blame?
Zenyatta brought people to her barn at Hollywood Park, and to the fence here at Churchill Downs. Blame will bring deep-pocketed breeders to Hancock’s farm in the bluegrass.
My vote is with the people. Zenyatta is not only Horse of the Year. She’s the Horse of a Lifetime.