Posts Tagged ‘moneigh’

As you may know, our intern, Natalie Voss of the University of Kentucky Equine Program, submitted a piece a few weeks back throwing her hat in the ring for Rachel Alexandra as Horse of the Year. It was a strong piece and one of hundreds that have or will be written on the subject. But when I read the following piece about her perception of the media wars between the two camps, I was impressed by her analysis of a subsection of this larger argument. I don’t necessarily agree with her, but of course that’s not the point.

On a side note, this was submitted to us last week but because of the shorthanded nature of the Paulick Report, I regrettably didn’t have time to look at it until yesterday. I bring this up to give her credit for noticing the potential return of Zenyatta before others in the mainstream press.

- Bradford Cummings

By Natalie Voss
As 2009 comes to a close, the Eclipse Award ballots are finding their way to voters and once again the Rachel vs. Zenyatta Horse of the Year debate is lighting up blogs and message boards in the Thoroughbred world. I’ve already voiced my opinion on which filly I would like to see win the award although I believe both are deserving of the honor. However, the more interesting part of reading the headlines is not the same old debate but instead the media campaigns both horses’ supporters and connections have been running post-Breeder’s Cup.

Outside of my opinion of her qualifications as Horse of the Year, I think Zenyatta’s camp has been more guilty of electioneering than Rachel’s (although they eventually picked up on the concept also). While it’s reasonable that California should honor a champion who has brought them extra attendance and handle with a retirement ceremony attended by Gov. Schwarzenegger at Hollywood Park, the subsequent announcement that the Lady’s Secret Stakes would be re-named for her rubbed many the wrong way. Stripping Lady’s Secret of that honor in order to make more headlines was completely unnecessary.

Also reasonable is the assertion that her official workout several weeks later was done just “to take the edge off”. (We’ll ignore the fact that there was no cause to have a supposedly casual work officially timed and published.) 



Things really started getting ridiculous when it was announced around the same time that Zenyatta would parade yet again, on the opening day of Santa Anita despite her retirement. Sure, it was a great opportunity for fans to see her again, but what motive did her owners have for delaying her trip to Kentucky for a repeat her ceremony at Hollywood?

She also made news with the auction of Moneighs to benefit retired racehorses (a great cause but awfully convenient timing). Because of all these photo opps and press releases, Zenyatta’s connections received the Big Sport of Turfdom Award for “their efforts to work with media and track publicists”. And indeed they did make an effort.

Rachel’s group was slower on the uptake; although she made news for her workout and shipping schedule, as an active racehorse this would have been carefully tracked regardless of the approaching Eclipse ballots. Jess Jackson did come forward to the press in early December about his attempts to set up a match race with Zenyatta (which put a lid on the Mosses’ attempts to publicly compare the two fillies). The Fair Grounds stepped up soon after, hinting that such an opportunity could come again in early 2010 in the New Oreleans Ladies. Rachel also got her name in the papers for charity with an announcement that $20,000 was donated to the V Foundation for Cancer in her name.

In my opinion, such obvious campaigning on the part of each filly’s connections and the California tracks cheapens their accomplishments. It will demean the accomplishments of whichever horse wins the Horse of the Year title. Perhaps worse, it will make it easy for outsiders to look at the highest honor in our sport and say that like so many other things in the horse world, it was all about politics. 



Yet, the Mosses and Jackson are perhaps demonstrating that it is possible to use the national media for good rather than further bloodying the evil face it has given the sport. This may not have been their intent as each campaign their champion filly, but I can only hope that somewhere Alex Waldrop and all NTRA employees, the self-declared marketing gateway of the Thoroughbred industry, are taking notes.

It is about time that someone among the horse racing higher-ups recognized the enormous marketing potential that lies in all our equine and human atheletes’ accomplishments year after year. After all, how many of us didn’t grow up in a training barn but became immersed in racing when we saw a horse like Zenyatta parade at Hollywood, or Rachel jogging in the fog at the Fair Grounds? If you build the energy, the stories, the excitement after a year like this one, the fans will come.



Sounds like good material for the NTRA’s New Year’s Resolution, doesn’t it?

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On the eve of some great racing – the 2009 Dubai World Cup and the Florida Derby, it is a good time to point out the times the Paulick Report has highlighted the brighter side of life in the Thoroughbred industry. While the news seems pretty bleak and often is, there are many positive things we can all focus on as we look forward to an exciting 3-year-old season — for both colts and fillies.

Back during the week of Thanksgiving, we spent each day highlighting one of the many strong Thoroughbred charities working hard to make our industry a more humane one for the horses that compete and the people who help put on the show. We began that week with Anna House, an extension of the Belmont Child Care Association AT Belmont Park that provides childcare for the hard-working backstretch employees. There was ReRun, a horse adoption organization that put together an auction of their “Moneigh” collection to raise funds. We explored the multi-faceted mission of Thoroughbred Charities of America, a former colleague of mine at the Bloodhorse and Thoroughbred Times who dedicates much of his time to the Salvation Army, a halfway house of sorts in Tranquility Farm which transitions Thoroughbreds from the racetrack to adoptive homes and the Exceller Fund, named after the hall of fame horse who died tragically in a European slaughterhouse.

We also featured The Pickens Plan…not the one that’s trying to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. This Pickens plan was run by T. Boone’s wife Madeleine who has a passion for saving wild horses and restoring some of our nation’s tradition of mustangs roaming the Western front. Having an extensive background in the industry after being a partner in the Eclipse award-winning racing and breeding operation with her late husband Allen Paulson, she has decided to work towards giving many of these unwanted animals a sanctuary. We wish her luck and will continue to follow her quest in 2009 and beyond.

And then there are the untold stories of racetracks that are doing things right, both morally and financially. We tip our hat to Suffolk Downs, the first track to step up with a “zero-tolerance” horse welfare program that bans trainers whose horses are sold to slaughter. I had the great pleasure of visiting both Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park early in 2009. In a time when many tracks are struggling and see slot machines as their only salvation, these two are concentrating on the racing in Thoroughbred racing…and creating a winning product.

It has been a strong fund drive this week and I want to thank those who provided us with moral or financial support.  I feel blessed to have this opportunity to help shape the conversation as we travel through these important crossroads. Sometimes it seems like a daunting task to find long-term solutions to this sport we all love so much, but together I believe we can truly change the course of our industry. If you think the Paulick Report is an effective tool in working through these problems, I ask that you consider a donation of $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or $50 to help further enhance this site. When considering your donation, compare our value to the $50 cost of a Sports Illustrated subscription, $100 for a year of the Bloodhorse and $1,000 for a full year of the online Racing Form subscription. All donations are kept strictly anonymous.

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