Jackson was gutsiest

If there were a fan vote component to the Eclipse Awards as there is for the Cartier Awards in Europe, then it would be tough to envision a scenario in which Zenyatta did not secure that block of the voting for 2009 Horse of the Year.

Indeed, Zenyatta was the overwhelming choice for best horse to race in 2009 (a list that included not only Rachel Alexandra but also Sea The Stars) in the third annual Thoroughbred Times "Best of" poll.

These types of polls serve as an interesting study in the recency effect given that Zenyatta raced twice since Rachel Alexandra last competed. I am surprised that Rachel Alexandra would be completely out of mind considering she is still in training, but how else to explain the choice of Zenyatta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as the gutsiest decision by an owner?

The Rachel Alexandra-Zenyatta debate is a good one that will continue to play out until one of their owners receives the Horse of the Year trophy on January 18. I am voting for Rachel Alexandra in that category, but I can understand why anyone would vote for Zenyatta depending on which criteria you most value. If the Breeders’ Cup is the most important race to you, then Zenyatta is an easy choice.

That said, I cannot understand why anyone would choose Jerry and Ann Moss’s decision to race Zenyatta in the Classic as gutsier than Jess Jackson’s decision to acquire Rachel Alexandra for $10-million, along with co-owner Harold T. McCormick, and run her in the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) less than two weeks later.

When Zenyatta started her five-year-old campaign as an undefeated champion, trainer John Shirreffs said that Zenyatta would likely cap her season and career in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1). As the year went on and Rachel Alexandra kept winning, it likely became obvious to Zenyatta’s connections that the only chance they had at Horse of the Year was to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic going 1 1/4 miles against males, a distance at which Rachel Alexandra did not compete.

Zenyatta won the Breeders’ Cup in thrilling fashion, and I can understand the vote as that being the best race in North America this year, but the decision to race her there was more sporting than it was gutsy.

Sure, the entry fees are more for the Classic than the Ladies’ Classic, but Jackson and McCormick spent more than $10-million to get Rachel Alexandra in the gate just a year after Eight Belles’ breakdown following her runner-up finish to eventual champion Big Brown in the 2008 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).

That is, there was much more than money at stake for Jackson and even the whole industry in the Preakness. Jackson was putting his reputation, good name, and the health of the entire Thoroughbred industry on the line. Even Jackson’s wine business would have likely felt the sting of media scrutiny had something bad happened to Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. To be fair, more than Horse of the Year was at stake for Zenyatta. Her connections put her unbeaten streak on the line against tougher competition, and a terrible performance coupled with the possibility of a big win by Music Note in the Ladies’ Classic the previous day could have even cost Zenyatta a second championship.

Still, Jackson had more to lose.

One gutsy thing that both owners did was agree to write an essay about why their horse should be Horse of the Year. For a first-person account of Jackson and Jerry Moss waxing poetic about their prides and joys, be sure to check out the December 26 edition of Thoroughbred Times.