Zenyatta 2009 Oak Tree Horse of the Meet

ARCADIA, Calif. (Nov. 8, 2009)—Undefeated Zenyatta, who etched her mark

indelibly into racing lore with a history-making triumph over males in the

Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Saturday, was unanimously voted Horse of

the Meet in the annual Media Poll for the Oak Tree season.

Her stirring last-to-first victory under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith,

witnessed by an electric on-track crowd of 58,845, extended her winning streak

to 14, surpassing Personal Ensign’s record of 13, and thrust Zenyatta firmly

into the forefront for Horse of the Year honors against the 3-year-old filly

Rachel Alexandra. The latter three times defeated males in an unbeaten campaign

of eight starts this year but did not compete in the 26th Breeders’ Cup World

Championships.

“We are very proud of this honor, as we are of all that Zenyatta has

accomplished,” trainer John Shirreffs said when apprised of the award. “I don’t

know what more I can say about her, except that she is Zenyatta. It was a great

day.”

Asked whether he thought Zenyatta deserved to be Horse of the Year, Shirreffs

said, “How can she not be? She’s the Horse of the Decade. To me, she’s the horse

of a lifetime.”

Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, Zenyatta also was named Horse of the Meet in Oak

Tree’s Media Poll last year. The 5-year-old daughter of Street Cry earned

$2,700,000 with her Classic victory, almost equaling her previous total of

$2,774,580 and thus nearly doubling her career earnings to $5,474,580.

Zenyatta also was named the meet’s outstanding older horse and the outstanding

filly or mare; the Classic was chosen Race of the Meet, and Zenyatta’s

first-ever victory by a female against males in the Classic was named

Accomplishment of the Meet.

Mr. and Mrs. Moss, for their display of sportsmanship in running Zenyatta

against males in the Classic, rather than the Ladies’ Classic, which she won

last year, were named Owners of the Meet.

The balloting was dominated by Breeders’ Cup winners.Conduit, winner of the $3

million Turf, was named outstanding grass horse, while Juddmonte Farms’ Midday,

winner of the Filly & Mare Turf, was voted outstanding grass filly or mare and

outstanding 3-year-old filly. Man of Iron, a 3-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway

who posted a nose victory at 6-1 in the mile and three-quarter Marathon,

outpolled rivals to be named the meet’s top 3-year-old.

Norfolk Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky, beaten a head by 30-1 shot Vale of York

in the Juvenile, was named outstanding 2-year-old, edging Vale of York on the

basis of his Norfolk win and the fact that he broke from the disadvantageous No.

13 post position in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile. She Be Wild won honors as top

2-year-old filly thanks to her game 7-1 surprise in the Juvenile Fillies.

Dancing in Silks, who registered a 25-1 upset winning a four-horse photo in the

Sprint, was voted outstanding sprinter.

For the second straight meet, Bob Baffert was named outstanding trainer. The

recent Hall of Fame inductee set an Oak Tree record with 24 victories, topping

the previous mark of 22 set by Doug O’Neill in 2003. Baffert also won four

stakes races this meet to share the lead with Shirreffs.

Rafael Bejarano, who edged Joel Rosario for Oak Tree riding honors after a

meet-long duel, was voted outstanding jockey. Bejarano won 31 races to Rosario’s

30. Others receiving votes were Mike Smith and Garrett Gomez. Christian Santiago

Reyes was named top apprentice rider by virtue of 13 victories, which placed him

in the top 10 in the standings.

Shadow of Illinois, who won an optional $62,500 claiming race by three-quarters

of a length on Oct. 18, was named claiming horse of the meet. The durable

9-year-old California-bred son of Illinois Storm trained by Anthony Saavedra

formerly competed in stakes races and won the Grade III San Simeon Handicap at

Santa Anita in 2005.

2009 OAK TREE AT SANTA ANITA MEDIA POLL

Horse of the Meet: Zenyatta        2-Year-Old

Filly: She Be Wild

Older Horse: Zenyatta                

Sprinter: Dancing in Silks

Older Filly or Mare; Zenyatta     Claimer: Shadow of

Illinois

Grass Horse: Conduit                

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Grass Filly/Mare: Midday           

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano

3-Year-Old: Man of Iron            

Apprentice Jockey: Christian Santiago Reyes

3-Year-Old Filly: Midday            

Race of the Meet: Breeders’ Cup Classic

2-Year-Old: Lookin At Lucky        

Accomplishment: Zenyatta’s Classic Win

Buoyed by perhaps the greatest performance in Santa Anita history, the Oak Tree

at Santa Anita meeting ended on a high note Sunday as the racing world continued

to resonate with awe in the wake of superstar Zenyatta’s devastating win against

males in Saturday’s Gr. I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic before an on-track

crowd of 58,845.

Held for an unprecedented second consecutive year at the same venue, the two-day

Breeders’ Cup World Championships attracted a total of 96,496 fans on-track, up

from 82,578 last year, for an increase of 17 percent. Friday’s attendance of

37,651 was an increase of 20 percent over last year’s day-one crowd of 31,257.

“We are obviously very pleased with the way we were able to finish up this

week,” said Oak Tree Director and Executive Vice President Sherwood

Chillingworth. “The Breeders’ Cup on both Friday and Saturday exceeded our

expectations across the board. The fact that Zenyatta’s connections chose to run

in the Classic on Saturday set the table for what has got to be one of the most

successful Breeders’ Cups of all-time and a performance that no one who was here

will ever forget.”

Compared to last year, on-track handle for the Breeders’ Cup increased both

days, despite the fact there was one less race carded on each day. Friday’s

on-track handle of $7,097,789 was up 3.6 percent over last year and Saturday’s

on-track take of $12,177,982 was up three percent over 2008’s figure.

The common pool handle for Saturday’s 10-race card was $98,489,877, a decrease

of six percent from last year’s 11-race program. The $49,875,648, wagered on

Friday was a one percent increase over the 2008 10-race Friday card. This year’s

two-day common pool total was $148,365,525, down from last year’s $155,740,328.

As was the case last year, Oak Tree’s Pro-Ride synthetic main track performed

flawlessly on racing’s biggest stage. “We had zero injuries on the main track

over the two-day Breeders’ Cup,” said Chillingworth. “The main track played fair

and safe, and we just can’t ask for anything more than that. I want to

congratulate our Track Superintendant, Rich Tedesco, and his crew for doing such

an outstanding job. As we did last year, we had a safe, competitive two-day

event on national television (ESPN and ABC) and that is certainly huge for us

and for the sport.”

A challenging local and national economy contributed to significant declines in

attendance and handle throughout the 31-day meeting which began on Sept. 30.

Average daily on-track attendance declined by 11 percent, while on-track handle

was down 16 percent. All sources handle was down 15 percent.

Live racing returns to Arcadia on Dec. 26, opening day of Santa Anita’s

traditional winter/spring meeting.

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