02/01/2010

Ah, Canada

Beginning next week, it will be all Canada all the time with the start of the Winter Olympics from British Columbia. Down here in the States, there will be a resurgence of all things Canadian, from Joni Mitchell and Neil Young to Labatt Blue and Moosehead. We're still working on curling, in terms of both comprehension and appreciation (shuffleboard analogies just don't get it), but this will be a good opportunity to dust off a couple of DVDs from the collection and enjoy "Canadian Bacon" and "Newsroom" for about the zillionth time. 

Before luging forth, though (and I am truly psyched about the skeleton), here's a hats off to Canada's Thoroughbred racing community for giving the memory of Bobby Frankel one last hurrah in selecting Champs Elysees as the 2009 Sovereign Award Horse of the Year. True, the horse was a carpetbagger--British born, American-trained and Saudi owned. But Champs Elysees practically set up shop at Woodbine with four starts, climaxed by a victory over an admirable field in the Canadian International last Oct. 17. Frankel died one month later.

It has been noted that Champs Elysees was the first American-based horse to take top Canadian honors since the 3-year-old Peaks and Valleys in 1995. It is of even more significance that he is the first American-trained horse so honored since eligibility for Sovereign Awards was altered to require a minimum of three starts on Canadian soil. This is a protectionist stance, and clearly in keeping with a philosophy that takes the glories of free trade only so far. You might show up once and take our money, say the Canadians, but you will not buy our love. At least not after just one date.

The folks who run the Eclipse Awards should take note. For too long, one-shot foreign horses who swoop in to win a Breeders' Cup event have been subsequently rewarded with an American championship as well, as if the money wasn't enough. This is roundly discouraging to U.S. owners who campaign all year long in good faith, showing up for major stakes all over the continent, while the likes of Islington, High Chaparral, Conduit, Johannesburg, Banks Hill, Goldikova, Miesque or whoever could wipe the slate clean with one afternoon's work.

Clearly, it is in the best interests of American breeders that Europeans continue to believe an American championship can be won with just one race. Commerce trumps fairness every time. And as the driving force behind the rules for the Eclipse Awards, the NTRA has done nothing to discourage that synergy. Remember, the NTRA and Breeders' Cup used to operate under the same roof.

These days, however, they are separate entities, and what's good for the Breeders' Cup is not necessarily good for the rest of the American racing season, which supposedly is the concern of the NTRA. The NTRA should take steps to require that horses appear at least twice in North America--three times would be better--to be eligible for an Eclipse Award. This is not an unreasonable request, and if winning an Eclipse Award is truly an incentive for overseas owners, the benefits would be many. Since the idea that the Breeders' Cup is a "world championship" has been pretty well debunked--without serious representation from Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South America--anything that encourages international competition should be welcomed.

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Canadians got their championships right, but they leave a bit to be desired when it comes to dealing with appeals before the Ontario Racing Commission, Canada's governing body.

One of the races that featured Champs Elysees last year was the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes, run way back on Sept. 20, in which the Horse of the Year finished a troubled fourth but was moved up to third upon the disqualification of the alleged troublemaker, Marsh Side, who finished first. Champs Elysees was clearly bothered that day, and might have been best, while runner-up Just as Well, an innocent bystander, was declared the winner.

Robert S. Evans, Marsh Side's owner, quickly appealed the disqualification of his horse, which was his right under the rules of the road in Canada, and the case was kicked up to the commission level. More than four months later, the Ontario Racing Commission has yet to schedule a hearing date. This has left several owners in the lurch, including Jonathan Sheppard, who both owns and trains Just as Well. Sheppard was paid second money, with the difference between first and second--about $320,000--still sitting in an interest-bearing horseman's account at Woodbine pending the results of the appeal.

Sheppard insists he's not fretting about the dough, which is a gentlemanly attitude, but he did make a couple of valid, practical points. Were Just as Well being marketed as a stallion this spring, is he a Grade 1 winner or not? (Don't think it wouldn't make a difference.) And if Just as Well is to race, which is the plan, would allowance weights and eligibilities be based on his past performance line from the Northern Dancer, which places him first, or the reality of the purse distribution, which defines him as second?

To his credit, a spokesman for the Ontario Racing Commission did not use the Canadian winter as an excuse. He did allude to a "backlog" of appeals, and that the Marsh Side case would come up for consideration this spring. Being from Southern California, I really don't know when that is, but half a year is an awfully long time to leave the result of a major race dangling.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 02/01/2010 07:25:13 PM
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01/21/2010

Recountability

There was a lot of bother about the fact that the announced result of the older filly and mare category in the Eclipse Awards was 231-1, with Icon Project, a darn fine mare, getting the one and Zenyatta the rest. The lone holdout was identified as being among the voters accredited by the Daily Racing Form, which of course caused a great storming of the offices in downtown Manhattan by inflamed Zenyistas. Because the culprit -- supposedly exercising his or her voting rights -- was not specifically named by NTRA spokespeople, out here in the West Coast branch office I was subjected to harsh verbal attacks in the local mall, my colleague Jay Privman had his nice new car egged (thank goodness for the rain), and Steve Andersen was refused service at his favorite pub. Furthermore, when visiting publisher Steven Crist headed home for NY after attending the awards dinner, a TSA official at LAX who happened to cash in the Breeders' Cup Classic forced him to submit not only to a full body scan, but also a stern psychological grilling and confiscation of his Swiss Army hairbrush.

We were all ready to launch an internal office plan for enhanced interrogation (see photo at left), but then it was learned, through more conversational methods, that it was veteran editor Duke Dosik, DRF's vice-president of custom publishing, who inadvertently topped the older filly and mare selection boxes with "Icon Project" instead his intended answer. There was even a press release from the NTRA explaining how it happened (http://www.ntraracing.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=44415). We will now pause while Duke enjoys his 15 minutes of fame.

I suppose everyone feels better. But three things bother me:

--Who cares if someone might have voted for Icon Project anyway? To my mind, given the climate of controvery surrounding synthetic surfaces, there very easily could have been a voter out there who refused to consider any horse without traditional dirt form for one of the traditional main track awards, and Icon Project, a runaway winner of good races at Belmont and Saratoga, was a viable alternative once past Zenyatta and Life Is Sweet.

--What does this mean in the future if someone would like to submit a protest vote, or tab a sentimental choice? Will they be rooted out and their choices held up to similar scrutiny?

--And when will the NTRA devise a user-friendly electronic ballot that both mirrors the simplicity of the old paper ballots and eliminates the touchy quirks of so many digital forms. Dosik was guilty of a typo, on deadline, after having filled out his ballot once (with Zenyatta on top) and having the submission rejected. He was not the only voter who had to make more than one submission before a ballot was accepted.

The whole idea that there are still three voting "blocs" seems to persist as well, like a nagging infection, long after bloc voting was dropped and all votes counted on an equal basis. NTRA officials continue to issue a vote total breakdown, though, with separate sub-totals for the National Turf Writers' Association, the Daily Racing Form, and the NTRA (which includes racing secretaries and Equibase chartcallers) as if they hail from separate Balkan states. Of the three groups, only the turf writers eventually go public with who voted for whom--a prurient display of transparency, if you ask me. But the point is, either a voter is qualified to cast a vote or not qualified. If there are unqualified voters in the pool, there needs to be a way to weed them out. Public ridicule is not a good way.

The worst fallout from the whole affair, though, was the fact that in assuring the people from the NTRA he meant to vote for Zenyatta in her category, Dosik pointed to his vote for Horse of the Year as proof. It was for Zenyatta. He did not have to admit that, but now he has outed himself as an East Coast guy who voted for the California mare. Such an admission is sure to cause Duke more grief than his ballot misprint. Maybe he should have just stuck with Icon Project.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 01/21/2010 03:23:24 PM
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01/19/2010

Rachel Rocks

Not even the considerable star power of Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, could alter the reality of the 2009 Horse of the Year vote, and so the award went to Rachel Alexandra by a margin of 130-99.

In a surprise video apearance, Sting's image beamed down upon the gathered hundreds in the ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, like a benign, very hip Big Brother, as the Zenyatta bunch collected her award for champion older filly or mare. (Jerry Moss, of course, ran A&M records, Sting's label.) He wished them luck in the big dance later in the evening. He sang nothing from Zenyatta Mondatta. Not a note.

The result, to be honest, was not a surprise, and the final total provided reassurance to supporters of Rachel Alexandra that nearly 57 percent of the voters agreed that her brilliant season, a mixture of the traditional and the daring, defined the established essence of a Horse of the Year campaign. No new news was made.

Zenyatta's supporters, represented by just over 43 percent of the voters, probably will go to their graves believing that they voted for the best "horse," and never mind what happened over the course of the "year." Theirs was an uphill battle, though, and in some ways it was amazing that Zenyatta got as many as 99 votes, considering the fact that she woke up on the morning of the Breeders' Cup Classic with a total closer to zero. That's a lot of ground to make up on a runaway leader in the clubhouse like Rachel Alexandra in the course of an afternoon's work.

In fact, with just 16 votes required to flip the result, it is not a stretch to suggest that Zenyatta needed only one more piece of meat on the plate and the whole thing could have been hers. It might have been enough had she run and won--instead of scratching from--the Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap on Kentucky Oaks Day, for instance, or beaten males on one other occasion, in a race like the Californian at Hollywood Park, or the Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita. But she didn't. It's over. The page has turned to 2010.

And now the hard part begins...getting these two horses together. But how hard should it be? In 1923, the powers of racing managed to get Epsom Derby winner Papyrus on an eight-day voyage to New York for a showdown with Kentucky Derby winner Zev. In November of 1938, after a number of head fakes and physical setbacks, the West's Seabiscuit finally met the East's War Admiral. In the years following WWII, superstars Armed, Stymie and Assault tangled so many times people got them confused. In 1964, Kelso and Gun Bow traded blows like LaMotta and Sugar Ray. In 1967 and '68, Dr. Fager and Damascus met four unforgettable times. Then later there was Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, and we all know how we felt while that was going on. Emotions ran so high during their four races that to this day--like abandoned Japanese soldiers on tiny Pacific islands long after the surrender--there are Easy Goer fans who still think he was the better horse. Is this a great game or what?

Except for what Jess Jackson referred to as a "popularity contest"--his description of the Eclipse Awards-- Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta did not meet in 2009 because there was no real opportunity. Now there are nothing but opportunities, and both Jackson and Moss seem ready to seize them.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 01/19/2010 10:58:27 AM
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01/17/2010

Game On

In the immediate wake of the anouncement on Saturday that Zenyatta would continue to race this season, at age 6, John Shirreffs stood in the breezeway of the Santa Anita clubhouse mezzanine and chatted amiably with anyone who wandered by. Most of the crowd, horsemen and fans alike, offered congratulations and thanks. Congratulations for what Zenyatta has accomplished and thanks for what was perceived as the trainer's role in convincing Ann and Jerry Moss to back away from their original intention to close the book on Zenyatta's racing career.

"Just do me a favor," cracked Bob Baffert. "Don't run her in the Santa Anita Handicap."

Baffert's got the family horse, Misremembered, aiming for that prize. But Shirreffs wouldn't make any false promises. At various times, depending upon the audience and the sincerity of the question, Shirreffs addressed running in the Dubai World Cup ("Why?"), facing Rachel Alexandra ("I'd want to get a race into her first.") and when, in fact, Zenyatta could be ready to go ("Tomorrow."). This last one was said with the straight face of a man holding trip aces an nothing showing. Go ahead, you call his bluff.

Anyway, it was all good fun. And, contrary to some thoughts on the subject, the timing of the decision made the events of Monday night at the Eclipse Awards Dinner that much more exciting. Zenyatta will get an Eclipse Award. Rachel Alexandra will get an Eclipse Award, then one of them will get another one, all played out in an atmosphere rife with anticipation for something other than the Triple Crown, for a blessed change.

Until she loses a race, Zenyatta will continue to make history with every step she takes. Still, it is unreasonable to expect Zenyatta's 6-year-old campaign to look like the one unfurled by Susan's Girl in 1975, when she started 17 times and earned the third of her three Eclipse Awards:

Download Past Performances Susan's Girl It is not, however, unreasonable to hold Jerry Moss to his published wishes of nearly a year ago, when he foresaw Zenyatta on a much different flight path in 2009 than the one she took in 2008. He wanted her seen by fans far and wide, but instead she raced only in California, unwaveringly focused on a Breeders' Cup finale. Even though things turned out okay, many were justifiably left wanting more.

More they shall have. Still, let's not give these folks too much credit for doing things that have been done before. Azeri was 6 when she won the third of her three straight championships in 2004. Track Robbery was 6 when she capped her championship season of 1982 with a nine-length win in the Spinster. The South American Paseana was 6 1/2 by the calendar when she won the second of her two championships in 1994. Estrapade was 6 when she beat the boys in the 1986 Arlington Million, on the way to her Eclipse Award. Champion Brown Bess was 7, champion Typecast was 6. There were others.

Few will ever know what it is like to own a horse like Zenyatta, or Rachel Alexandra, or Lookin at Lucky, or Summer Bird, or any of the other champions that will be honored Monday night. Still, we try to slice off a little piece of the glory for ourselves, claiming the privileges of discovery and appreciation.

Even so, there are pockets of unrest. Believe it or not, there are those on record who believe that the announcement of Zenyatta's retirement after the Breeders' Cup Classic was a psychological warfare operation to squeeze a bit of sympathetic support from susceptible Horse of the Year voters.

There are people who believe the Mosses changed their minds because they were either convinced or informed, on the hush-hush, that Zenyatta had lost the vote for Horse of the Year, leading them to selfishly toss their mare back into the ring in an effort ease their grief and right what they perceived as an historic wrong.

There are probably even those who think Jerry Moss needs the money, or that Zenyatta is really some freakish, sterile hermaphrodite -- half male/half female, half horse/half dinosaur -- and that any idea of breeding her was absurd in the first place. Also, given the dire predictions of a shrunken racing economy over the coming years and the fact that a foal produced by Zenyatta in 2011 probably would not see the light of a racing day until 2014, who could blame her people for running for the money on the table right now?

All these things can be believed, and more, with enough imagination and sufficiently small regard for the facts on the ground, or for the past quarter century of respect and regard with which the Moss racing operation has been viewed. If such fantasies give the believers comfort, there is no real harm, as long as they leave room for the rest of us who prefer our controversies and conspiracies to have real victims and serious consequences.

Jerry Moss says he changed his mind because he loves to watch Zenyatta run. He is not alone. Now watch what happens.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 01/17/2010 04:13:05 PM
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01/11/2010

Mas Moss

Instead of poking and prodding Jerry Moss for a straight answer to the question, "Is Zenyatta retired or what?" last Saturday at Santa Anita Park, the flower of Southern California racing journalism (I confess to being among the wilted) would have served our readers--not to mention the kid's college fund--a whole lot better if we'd asked him for a tout on Banner Lodge in the third and Neko Bay in the eighth.

Banner Lodge is a 6-year-old son of Chester House who paid $6 in winning an optional claimer on the turf. (In his youth, Moss worked at Banner Lodge in Connecticut, and the head waiter's name was Chester.) Neko Bay is a 7-year-old son of Giant's Causeway who paid $12.40 in winning the San Pasqual Handicap at a mile and one-sixteenth on the synthetic main. (Moss and his wife, Ann, once ventured to Neko Bay in Antarctica.) The Mosses have younger horses, but they're just not ripe yet. Both winners were accompanied by Mike Smith, who was wearing a brand spanking new set of Moss colors featuring their traditional bright pink and a green so green you knew it had never gone through the wash.

"Originally, it was malachite green," Moss said, summoning the name of the gemstone.

"By now you can call it Moss green if you want," chirped Smith. "Just like Claiborne orange."

Moss and his closest advisers continue to hold to the line that Zenyatta is retired and will be bred. When asked why she is still in California, they point to the Weather Channel and impugn the Kentucky climate. When asked why she is still tossing off half-mile works every couple of weeks, they insist she needs the occasional blowout to keep her from going stir crazy. When asked if it will make a difference if she wins the Horse of the Year vote or not, they say of course not.

"It's a nice problem to have," Jerry Moss said as he followed Banner Lodge out of the paddock last weekend. The "problem" could have been a reference to the media attention from speculation about a change in Zenyatta's plans. It could have be about having a finalist for Horse of the Year. He even could have been talking about when some kind of announcement might be made.

This time last year, Zenyatta was doing nothing more than jogging around the training track at Hollywood Park. By the third week of January, 2009, she began galloping. After winning the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic on Oct. 24, 2008, she did not have another recorded workout until March 2, 2009, a half-mile in :48.80. Then look what happened.

No one asked my advice, which is usually the best time to give it, especially for free. But if there is going to be some kind of announcement made about Zenyatta's future, I would hope it goes something like this:

If Zenyatta is going to be retired, the fact needs reaffirmation, underlined by her disappearance from California. The Mosses need be concerned about nothing other than Zenyatta's well being. But why perpetuate such a tease? Zenyatta is so deeply identified as a racemare with her Hollywood Park training grounds and the John Shirreffs barn that as long as she lingers out West, confusion will reign. Not that confusion is a bad thing.

If Zenyatta is going to run again, the announcement needs to be made before the Horse of the Year envelope is opened next Monday night in Beverly Hills at the climax of the Eclipse Awards dinner. If the Mosses wait until after the award is announced, and Rachel Alexandra wins, it will seem impetuous and self-serving, two things that Jerry Moss is definitely not. It would be okay, though, if Moss makes the announcement earlier in the evening when they accept Zenyatta's inevitable Eclipse Award for champion older mare. They would bring down the house. Then, no matter whose name turns out to be in that envelope for Horse of the Year, the mood for the evening would already be giddy, the future would glow with possibilities, and the Stonestreet wine would flow.

The only variation would be the ultimate dramatic gesture, a throw of the dice made possible only if NTRA president Alex Waldrop utters the "Z" word when he opens the Horse of the Year envelope. The Mosses could step to the stage and announce that, because Zenyatta has been so honored, they feel obligated to keep a sound, healthy, 6-year-old Thoroughbred mare with just 14 starts in competition for another season, for the pleasure of fans everywhere, answering all challenges from all comers. I know, I know. If I want a Disney ending I should go see that Frog Princess thing. Just let me have my dreams.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 01/11/2010 02:14:52 PM
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01/05/2010

A Rose Is a Rose

The deadline for submitting the name of a 2-year-old racehorse to The Jockey Club is Feb. 1. After that, it costs an extra $75. This is not exactly a deterrent, especially if an extra week or so of mulling possibilities comes up with the modern version of "Citation" or "Man o' War." But then, a name is only as good as the four legs and heart that carry it forth into battle, or something like that.

We can say the name of a horse makes no difference in how he or she performs, and that would be correct. Was there ever a sillier handle than Seattle Slew, or one more pedestrian than John Henry, or more obscure than Kelso, or a more obvious confluence of sire and dam than the name imposed upon the son of Forli and Lady Golconda?

But then Forego carried a lot more weight than just his unspectacular name, and after awhile he became defined on his own terms, of durability, consistency, and courage in the face of chronic unsoundness, just as Seattle Slew, when said aloud, summons to this day an image of raw speed and fearless abandon.

If names didn't count for something, we'd all be wearing bar codes. And, like any writer, I've always fancied myself more qualified to name horses than the people who breed, foal, race and pay the vet bills. For instance, I have never understood the claustrophobic tradition of imposing some combination of the names of the sire and dam onto the offspring. Were this carried into common practice on a wider scale, my byline would include a mishmash of Orvil and Elsie. Thankfully, my sainted parents chose not to perpetuate names that have since disappeared from the modern menu. As for horses, it sometimes works and the combo clicks (Foolish Pleasure, What a Summer, Roman Brother). But just as often the effect falls flat (Pleasant Stage, Royal Native, Gun Bow) leaving it up to the horse to make something out of a blank page.

There are, thank goodness, creative souls who feel an obligation to make the names, designed to be proclaimed loud and clear by Denman and Durkin, at least sound interesting. The late W.T. Young cracked open an atlas and was working his way through the continental United States (Cheyenne City, Salt Lake, Boston Harbor). Ann and Jerry Moss of Zenyatta fame tap their rich experiences and exotic friends (Sardula, Giacomo, Tarlow, Neko Bay). The Irish of Coolmore turn often to history and literature (George Washington, Galileo, Yeats, Dylan Thomas), while the Maktoums have the advantage of an entire Arabic vocabulary from which to entertain.

I keep a list of lines and titles from the John Stewart songbook that would sound rockin' good attached to any racehorse worth his halter nameplate (there is precedent--the works of Jim Morrison, Bruce Springsteen and Hoagy Carmichael, among others, have been mined for horse names). Momentary Madness, Runaway Train, All Time Woman, Grace of Rain, Irresistible Target, Moonlight's Alright, Slow Blue Tango--tell me any of those wouldn't jump off a Kentucky Derby program page. 

The first of February is also the publication date of an unassuming little book with a awkward, mouthful of a title and a premise that sounds like an eighth-grade writing assignment. Given a chance, though, "Horsenameographies" proves to be an accrued pleasure, building its own, steady case as an opportunity for people to define themselves in terms other horse lovers would readily understand. The publishers of the book at Caballo Press in Michigan (they did the Joe Hernandez biography, "The Voice of Santa Anita") cast an e-net far and wide to collect material. Respondents were asked to invent the name of a racehorse that told their personal story, or at least the part of their story they chose to reveal. You would be surprised what people are willing to reveal these days. Or maybe you wouldn't.

Some of the names are accompanied by a few lines of explanation, or an autobiographical vignette, or even a photograph. Some stand alone, daring--or defying--interpretation: Likely Story, Just Add Milk, Question Everything, Good Girl Gone Bad. There are stories both funny and poignant, bearing horse names that any suspense novelist could love: Dead Reckoning, Electric Dice, Bad Axle, Moondog. There are those straightforward types who sum themselves up in a name of one word: Nerve, Dodger, Imagination, Grateful. Others tiptoe along the edge, guaranteed to give The Jockey Club fits, among them Hot Flash, Circumsized, PMS and a Handgun. The things people will reveal.

There are more than 445,000 Thoroughbred names in active use, so it's little wonder that the personal collection includes names already made noteworthy on the track, including Unbridled, Fly So Free, Winter Solstice, Kentuckian and Never Say Die. There was also the delightful realization that I knew a few of the people who submitted names, among them my Racing Form colleague, Jay Privman, Thoroughbred of California managing editor Rudy Groothedde, the popular bloggers Marion Altieri and Vic Zast, and Cathy Montgomery-Sheppard, the wife of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard.

Anyway, "Horsenameographies" looks like a fun, quick read and a possible spark for both thought and conversation, never a bad thing. And if a racehorse owner picks it up and gets an idea for a good name, so much the better. Given the topic, though, I just wish the book had a better name.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 01/05/2010 01:16:27 PM
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12/28/2009

And the Winner Isn't...

Everybody with a blog, a telegraph key, or a piece of chalk and a hunk of sidewalk seems to feel obligated to divulge the choices they are making for the various Eclipse Awards honoring performances of 2009. This correspondent is not among them. It's not that I am embarrassed by my selections (although there would be arguments I should be), or that I suffer from some twisted form of agoraphobia, afraid to take my opinions out for a walk. It's just that I have always believed in the sanctuary of the voting booth, and the terms of privacy afforded while being part of a process that is far more significant than its individual components. As a voter with the National Turf Writers' Association, I had no choice. All votes were disclosed. Lately, voting as a part of the Daily Racing Form delegation, my selections have been as public or private as I've wanted them to be. Now, though, as a member of a digital community that tends to wear its heart, along with other vital organs, on its sleeve, I would feel remiss if I did not at least draw a couple of lines in the sand.

My editors already forced my hand on the Horse of the Year choice, in a two-sided throwdown with Randy Moss, an esteemed broadcaster and clear thinker who has never let a trace of arrogance leak into his sure-handed delivery. He is racing's gift to football. After reading Andy Beyer, however, my life has changed (see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/25/AR2009122501584.html). I was told, in a certain number of words, that I was a drooling moron for voting for Zenyatta, because there was not even a whisper of a debate required, and that if I insisted on doing so I should pretty much check my laptop at the door and go back to grouting tile for a living. But then, that is part of Andy's charm.

I will confess flat out that if California Flag had won the Hong Kong Sprint--instead of losing by less than two lengths after being hounded on the pace by a Japanese zero--I would have voted for him for champion sprinter without batting an eye.

I was taken aback the other day when an HRTV Eclipse Awards preview show did not include Ramon Dominguez among its top four candidates for champion jockey. I included Dominguez among my top one for the Eclipse Award, based on a season that was unrivaled in terms of both quality and quantity (were it not for you-know-who, it would have been Ramon in the Breeders' Cup Classic winner's circle atop Gio Ponti). Dominguez will end the year in the first three on the money list and not that far behind only Russell Baze in winners.

I do not want to vote for a breeder, because too many things happen between what they do and what we see on the field. I do not want to vote for steeplechase horses, because as much as I appreciate what they do, that is not the game I signed up to cover. And I have always been opposed to voting for a champion apprentice jockey because I think success at that particular job should be its own reward, and because they have a lot of life yet to live. Besides, the last thing they need to own up to, at the age of something-teen, is an Eclipse Award. It's like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to a first-term President.

This year I made an exception, though, for two reasons. First, I did not see the "abstain" button on the ballot. And second, in voting for Michael Straight, I felt like I was honoring an apprentice who gave up more for trying to live the dream of a riding career than ever should be required. He is 23 and he can't walk. As for those dreams...

In the category of trainer, the common wisdom concedes the statue to Steve Asmussen for his record setting season of winners and what could be, if Andy Beyer is right, his third consecutive Horse of the Year trophy (the last man to train three straight Horses of the Year was Carl Hanford, with Kelso, who reigned from 1960 through 1964).

However, those who vote for Asmussen based upon his statistical domination had better be prepared to do it every year for the foreseeable future. His setup is virtually slump-proof. Asmussen's business model of franchise operations at multiple tracks--both large and small--has combined the numbers of Jack Van Berg with the purse emphasis of Wayne Lukas, when they had numerous stables throughout the land. Lukas topped the money table 14 times between 1983 and 1997 but received only four Eclipse Awards along the way. Obviously, the novelty faded as Wayne's domination persisted. This should be Eclipse number two for Asmussen, and the end is not in sight.

There will be token votes for John Shirreffs, for his work with Zenyatta and Life Is Sweet, and for both Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert, whose numbers justify any amount of support. However, there was one worthy candidate who had a scaled back season, still admirable by his own lofty standards, who won't have a champion but should have a finalist in a couple of categories, and whose name has been synonymous with Eclipse Awards. This was also the last chance I'd have to vote for Bobby Frankel. So I did.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 12/28/2009 02:21:05 PM
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12/27/2009

John, John

John Shirreffs even made himself laugh with this one. As he waited for the signal to bring Zenyatta to the track Saturday afternoon for her public appearance at Santa Anita, exercise rider Steve Willard had strayed from the main stable road with the big mare. "Come on!" beckoned Shirreffs with a wave of his arm. "You'll miss the parade!"

Of course, Zenyatta was the parade, and she put on a rousing good show, with a gallop the length of the stretch and halfway back, and long, riveting pauses in front of the packed grandstand apron and clubhouse loges. She was performing on a low dose of the common tranquilizer ace-promazine, just to soften her racing edge, and she had begun to sprout the hint of a fuzzy winter coat, but no one in the grateful opening day crowd knew the difference. Zenyatta was and ever will be the Thoroughbred who gave Santa Anita its greatest competitive moment since the operatic final ride of Johnny Longden in the 1966 San Juan Capistrano. By the time she was being led back to the barn, she was doing her Zenyatta goosestep, and more than a few in the crowd were left wondering, "When is she going to run?"

She's not, though. She is retired. And only the greediest among us would ask for more from a racehorse who never let anyone down for two solid championship seasons. Still, another "farewell" appearance like the one on Saturday was as much a tease as it was a treat. And the fact remains that Zenyatta still gallops every day and breezes the occasional half-mile at her Hollywood Park home base (most recently on Dec. 21, in :49.40), that there are no plans to send her to Kentucky for breeding until the end of January, and that a stallion has yet to be selected to father her first foal. Besides, in the John Shirreffs scheme of things, were Zenyatta to race again she would be getting right now the same six months off she got between her 2008 and 2009 seasons. If she were to race again. What cracks me up, though, is the fact that Zenyatta is farther along in her training toward motherhood than Rachel Alexandra is toward her return as a 4-year-old in 2010. I know, that's comparing apples and peaches. But it just cracks me up.

I think the whole Zenyatta crew is having such a grand time in the afterglow of her Breeders' Cup Classic performance and 14-0 career that they really don't care if comeback rumors spread. "That's what rumors are for," winked Shirreffs, lapsing into his most enigmatic mode. Let's give them their long goodbye.

Following the parade, and before the more serious business of the La Brea Stakes and Malibu Stakes took place, Shirreffs made a point to stop for a moment at the freshly unveiled statue of John Henry now commanding the north side of Santa Anita's grandstand fountain. Any critical reviews of Nina Kaiser's remarkable bronze were rendered inconsequential after Ron McAnally stood beneath the revealed statue and softly said, "It looks just like him." Fans were still lingering at the site as the sun set on opening day, taking pictures, just staring, remembering.

"I only saw him once," said Shirreffs, who was happy to sign a few more Zenyatta souvenirs as he admired John Henry. "Most of that time, while he was running, I was at the farm, in Loma Rica. But I was working here for Brian Mayberry for awhile and one morning I saw John Henry stop by our barn on his way to the track. He went--" and here Shirreffs made one of those horse noises he likes to make--"and then moved on."

Only the most fortunate trainers get a life-changing horse, a horse by which all others are measured and always fall short. Lucien Laurin got Secretariat. Bud Delp got Spectacular Bid. Ron McAnally got John Henry, Bill Mott got Cigar. Shirreffs got his, and there will never be another.

With the John Henry statue and Zenyatta live action short, Santa Anita's ringmasters pretty much emptied the nostalgia bag opening day, and there were more than 35,000 fans there to enjoy the show. Now the hard part begins, slogging through what is predicted to be a wet January with a downsized horse population and five cards a week to fill. The huge gap between the majesty of the Santa Anita setting and the sight of four-digit crowds rattling around inside on weekdays over the coming months begs for strategies that have yet to be applied. Fewer dates, fewer races, smaller arenas, alternative gambling and forms of entertainment--they are all significant moves in the reinvigoration of the game.

The sorry part of the story is that Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta came along at a time when economic forces had already taken the starch out of the sport. We will never know if a head-to-head showdown would have made any difference beyond the memorable moment. The fact that they were two years apart in age and 2,500 miles apart in training grounds made their intersection difficult in the most friendly environment. In fact, Rachel Alexandra ran in exactly one race for which Zenyatta was eligible, while Rachel was eligible to all five of Zenyatta's races, but was otherwise engaged.

I would steer anyone to Steve Crist's recent column on this site (http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do?NID=109724&subs=0&arc=0) decrying the state of a sport that was not somehow able to get its two greatest attractions together on the same stage, with full television resources unfurled, sponsors scrambling on board and horseplayers hanging from the rafters. Yes, they were both on the grounds and entered to run at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks day last May, but that was as close as it got, and too early to make a difference. A bad track kept Zenyatta in the barn, while Rachel won by a pole. So there you go. When in doubt, we can always blame the rain.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 12/27/2009 12:16:23 PM
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12/21/2009

Larger Than Life

It is a symptom of any poor economy that the art world will suffer. Horse racing art, such as it is, figures to suffer even more than its mainstream cousin. A harsh critic might suggest that there are only a handful of truly accomplished equine artists plying their trade, producing truly significant painting, sculpture and photography. But without patronage--forever a function of the economy--the next generation of talent will have no soil in which to grow, while the established, respected practitioners will suffer from lack of commissioned work.

That is why it is so encouraging that on Saturday, at Santa Anita Park, a major piece of equine art will be unveiled. In ceremonies during the afternoon, Ron McAnally will officially pulled back the curtain on Nina Kaiser's lifesize bronze of John Henry. That means 15-2 hands and about a thousand pounds of bronze. There will be gasps, cheers and tears. And that will just be from me. Imagine the sound from the hundreds gathered in the immediate vicinity of the Kingsbury Fountain, where the statue is being installed, from the thousands at the track watching on video screens, and from those viewing at home who will be moved by personal memories of the great Thoroughbred and the sight of this permanent monument to his achievements.

I was fortunate to have been allowed a very early sneak peek of the John Henry in Kaiser's studio more than a year and a half ago. As embryos go, it was a mere dot on an ultrasound--or in this case a 12-inch clay model on Kaiser's workbench, which was eventually transformed into a thousand pounds of patina-enriched bronze. She was at the time worrying over every detail, as the great sculptors will. Was the angle of the knee correct? Was the hip full enough? Was the head set naturally? Was the expression true? The commission called for John Henry to be captured under tack, which makes sense, since he was and will be forever known as the ultimate Thoroughbred warrior, although at that point he wore only his trademark sheepskin shadow roll.

The commitment to Kaiser and the John Henry statue survived the transition of Santa Anita into the bankruptcy proceedings of its parent company, Magna Entertainment. And thank goodness, for now there will be a modern counterweight to the antique sensibilities of the lifesize Seabiscuit statue standing in the Santa Anita walking ring, not to mention a West Coast version of the John Skeaping's Secretariat in the Belmont walking ring, and Alexa King's Barbaro fronting the main entrance of Churchill Downs.

Kaiser, like any artist worth her shaping tools, figured to be nervous as a bug boy on Saturday at the unveiling, since she usualy is. But a call to her earlier in the week revealed a woman of serene anticipation, and it was too early in the day for chardonnay.

"I was at Santa Anita last Thursday and peeled away some of the wrapping to check the patina," said Kaiser, whose bronzes of Charlie Whittingham, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay set the standard. "Everything looked fine, and then Ron Charles walked up and said, 'Come on. Let's see it!'"

That would be Santa Anita president Ron Charles, the man who green-lighted the John Henry commission, and who gets to say things like "let's see it" and make it happen.

"The reaction from the handful of people there made me feel very good about it," Kaiser said. "If they were pleased, I was pleased. I even forgot for a second the few little things I'd change if I could have it back."

On Tuesday of this week, the image of John Henry was being mounted on its base, and then on Saturday, Kaiser will release her latest creation into the world. If the unveiling unleashes a flood of John Henry memories, that will be a good thing. He is an old acquaintance who will definitely never be forgot. I've got a more than few treasured, first-hand recollections, including the sight of him on his pallet being lifted into a jet transport for the trip to Chicago and that first, historic Arlington Million. He was curious and calm, while his younger traveling mate Super Moment fretted and shook the lift. John Henry looked at him as if to say, "Sheesh, the kids today." John Henry won, over ground he loathed, by the nod of his nose. Here is his complete record: Download John Henry

The trip to Chicago was 28 years ago, last August, and shoot me if the memory still burns. John Henry, a Thoroughbred of abiding integrity, gave racing enough great thrills to last a lifetime. He was the last truly bi-coastal star, uniting fans in respect and admiration, with even a trainer of record in both New York and California during his first Horse of the Year campaign. To suggest that there will never be another one like him misses the point. There never were a lot like him in the first place. But before I babble on and on, this is a good place to open the floor. In the meantime, I can't wait to stand in front of that statue and listen to the stories.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 12/21/2009 02:43:51 PM
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12/14/2009

The Deciders

Everyone's got a year-end list. I've got a year-end list, one I've decided to call "Best Decisions of 2009." Hopefully, that is self-explanatory. Here's 10 of them, because that's as far as I can count without taking off an Ugg boot:

Free Joel -- I applaud any board of stewards that scrutinizes every ride for its level of craft and honesty of purpose, This year, the cases of Jeremy Rose, Jordan Springer and Joel Rosario displayed a heightened sensitivity to the perception of race-riding by various segments of the public. In the case of Rose, who was cited for whipping a horse in the eye, his three-month suspension (reduced from six) by Delaware officials was a blatant bone thrown to animal rights extremists, who would have jockeys riding head down over the saddle. Springer's 10-day ban by Del Mar stewards for an excessively chilly, losing performance on a horse arguably best was torched by an angry crowd of horseplayers at the palace gates. But when Joel Rosario was formally accused of stiffing a horse at Del Mar, it took two hearings for the stewards to decide the case was without merit. This was a good decision, and not because Rosario has proven to be a raw talent of exciting possibilities. It's because there wasn't any proof, and this is an accusation that serious needs proving.

Dutrow Power -- Okay, so they're not the Smothers Brothers, and we don't know which one their father liked best. But having been through the last few year's worth of headlines from the reformed drug user and hipshooter Rick Dutrow, who breached the heights of the game with Saint Liam and Big Brown, it is now time for Anthony Dutrow to shine. The decision of owner Rick Porter (Hard Spun, Eight Belles) to supply Tony with serious ammunition is great news, but the media will be sorely disappointed. Tony's a low-key, self-effacing family man who prefers to let his horses do the talking. You can't make him say a bad thing about his controversial brother, and about the only dark marks on his record are a few video late fees.

Magna Cum Lousy -- Blame it on the economy, the dynamics of the business, the phases of the moon. Doesn't matter. The decision of Magna Entertainment to enter Chapter 11 may wreak temporary havoc on its holdings, but in the long run the game will be much better off. If ever there was a business that does not lend itself to the pressures of satisfying modern corporate appetites, it's horse racing. Magna engulfed and devoured a number of regional tracks that might have been able to make it on their own just fine. We'll never know. And bravo to the private racetrack ownerships who said no when Frank Stronach came around flashing his wad. When things get better, they deserve a last laugh.

Jess Say No -- Whatever his reason, Jess Jackson proved to be a master politician by withdrawing Rachel Alexandra from Breeders' Cup consideration before anyone even asked. He let his filly run up a huge delegate lead in the early primaries and now probably will coast home to a Horse of the Year title, despite Zenyatta's grand finale in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Wesley Ho! -- British racing was treated to the unlikely sight of a Yakima Yankee in King Arthur's court when Wesley Ward and his giddy band of game patrons descended upon Royal Ascot in all their rented clothing splendor to win two races in the face of Europe's finest horseflesh. Whether or not World Ward I will lead to more American invasions remains to be seen. There must be any number of stables plotting heavily as we speak. Fair warning, though. We'll be welcome only until the novelty wears off and the British revert to their WWII slogan regarding American soldiers on their soil: "Over-paid, over-sexed and over here."

Free Fridays -- Okay, so Monday racing didn't work. But Free Fridays at Santa Anita was a hit, even in tough times, and represented a tiny step toward the day when the gates to the races can be torn down and fans welcomed straight off the street, without touching their wallets until they hit the windows, or the concessions. Do racetrack operators understand how baffling "admission price" is to a patron who also plays casinos? Granted, it's a different kind of show, and the horses must be seen to be believed. Still, there are some business models that need to suffer a quiet death.

Fair Game -- One that should survive, however, is the fundamental idea that in horse racing the point is to pick a winner, or at least pick a horse or horses with the intent that they place as high as possible. Betfair turns that philosophy on its head and, in its propositional offerings, encourages players to profit directly from poor performance. In the broadest sense, the pari-mutuel system already does this. A winner always profits from someone else's loss. But the reward is still directly in the win, and in that the sport retains at least a shred of dignity. These are desperate times, though, when the opportunists swoop in, sensing weakness in resolve. For now, American racing has decided to keep Betfair at arm's length. Anyway, the last thing horsemen and racetracks need is another predatory middleman peeling away their share of the betting dollar.

3's a Crowd -- Although their work is of questionable merit, the American Graded Stakes Committee inadvertantly furthered the cause of racing's recovery with the long-awaited decision to christen the Sunland Park Derby as a 3 on a scale of 1-to-3. Fine, we've all got to start somewhere. In case no one has noticed, it is the smaller, privately held regional racetracks--among them Sunland Park, Emerald Downs, Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park--that are going to keep the game afloat while corporate manatees like Magna and CDI continue to drag at the grassroots health of the business. Sunland Park...welcome to the fraternity. Now don't let your local customers down.

Classical Gas -- When the people who called the shots for Zenyatta decided to run their mare in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the season suddenly had the potential of a glorious end to match the excitement of the spring. The decision was not made lightly. These are folks who do not live through their horses--they recognize the sacrifice their horses are asked to make--and their lives would have been no better or worse had they gone another way. The fact that Zenyatta came through with an unforgettable performance was a rare reward equivalent to the chance taken. Sometimes it works that way.

Bobby's Song -- He liked dogs more than horses and horses a lot more than people, but in the end Bobby Frankel's decision to keep private the progression of his illness and its inevitable destination was a gift of class and compassion to the sport that gave him so much. Horse racing isn't pro golf, or politics, so it's never going to supply much grist for the tabloid ghouls. Bobby's battle could have played broadly, Instead Frankel allowed himself to be turned into a ghost, while still among us, quietly plucking the strings of a stable that continued to hum with the passion of his training philosophies. It should be no surprise that top assistant and now main man Humberto Ascanio has rattled off a series of good wins in the wake of Frankel's death. That was, after all, part of the bequest.

Posted by Jay Hovdey 12/14/2009 02:44:02 PM
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