If only I could have gotten my own picture that day at Santa Anita. It was a beautiful November afternoon. The sky was a marvelous blue and the crowd was enormous. So big was the crowd in the grandstand that day at Santa Anita that getting a picture of Zenyatta would have been the most difficult of tasks. Certainly more difficult than predicting her victory that day. I left my camera at home. Getting her picture that day she beat all the best males the world could run her way would have been great.  I could have added it to the pictures I took of Rachel Alexandra the day she opened her 2010 campaign.

You see, after the BC Classic I wrote as if Zenyatta had already won Horse of the Year honors. Surely she was going to be the chosen one. But it wasn’t to be. No, the ‘conventional’ racing gods felt that Rachel Alexandra was the one worthy to be called 2009 Horse of the Year. Afterall, she did beat the boys herself including ’50 to 1′ Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and the eventual Belmont winner Summer Bird.

I was at the Fair Grounds the day Rachel opened her 2010 campaign.  It was the New Orleans Ladies Stakes — a race that was written for her. And in a twisted tale of fate, Zardana, a horse sent by trainer John Shireff’s as if on a ‘scouting mission for the Queen,’ wore down the reigning Horse of the Year and gave Zenyatta her victory by proxy — as if to prove a point. Surely the outcome wasn’t what Jess Jackson and Steve Asmussen had in mind. But, it just may be the only satisfaction Zenyatta will ever get from the filly who might have been favored more because of where she raced then who she beat.

On Friday, Zenyatta will attempt to win her 16th straight race in the $500,000 Apple Blossom (G1). at Oaklawn on a conventional dirt surface where she had hoped to meet ‘this Horse of the Year’ in a race she’s already won.  I’m sure that the connections of Zenyatta knew that a very lucrative meeting with ‘the champ’ would be at risk when they sent Zardana down to New Orleans. It wasn’t about the money.

In my mind, I’ll always have a picture of Zenyatta. You see, it’s the one where she’s rolling home down the middle of the track wearing down Gio Ponti in the final yards of the 2009 Breeder’s Cup Classic to remain undefeated.  It’s the picture of her in the winners circle as the first filly or mare to win a race written to bring together the best horses from around the world in a test of stamina. And it’s the one I have of her being crowned Horse of the Year.  Oh, if only.

On Saturday Bob Baffert sends out Lookin’ At Lucky for his final prep before the Kentucky Derby in the G1 Santa Anita Derby.

From a betting standpoint it’s a tough race to handicap even though Lookin’ At Lucky looks pretty good on paper at 4 to 5 odds. And that should make any ‘exotic attempt’ to cash a winning ticket that much easier, assuming Baffert is trying to win it.

Here’s why I won’t be putting my money down in the G1 Santa Anita Derby this Saturday. Baffert was quoted in the Daily Racing Form saying:

“I just want him to come out of the race healthy and alive,” and “It’s not a do-or-die race for me. If I can keep him fit and healthy, he can carry me the rest of the way.”

Well that’s nice to know for the other owners and trainers who are willing to try and take that statement to the bank this weekend. Even a second or third placed finish for a purse of $750,000 on Saturday might be enough in earnings to get into the Derby.

It’s understandable that Baffert wanted or needed to get one more ‘hard work’ into Lookin’ At Lucky before the Kentucky Derby. He has a right to run him and I’m sure they will be trying. But you have to be able to read between the lines of the Daily Racing Form. And sometimes those lines tell you to wonder that if Gomez gets stuck down on the inside or blocked in mid-stretch would he instinctively try to win it or instructively try to protect the horse at ALL cost.

Sit back and enjoy the race. If you like Lookin’ At Lucky this time you should love him in a few weeks at a bigger price. And at least you know they’ll be trying as hard as everyone else.

Are you Lookin’ At Lucky?

Daily Racing Form reported today that Santa Anita would not be changing it’s racing surface anytime soon.

According to the article, Frank Stronach who has long held the position of MI but has been currently dealing with bankruptcy proceedings and reorganization made this statement:

“Let us open up our store when we think we get the most customers,” Stronach said. “Let the market decide . . . whoever is going to put on a better show will get the greatest market.”

There are way too many tracks running at one time and an already stretched pari-mutuel dollar is being siphoned off to lesser quality horse racing products and other forms of gambling.

Maybe consideration for horse racing operations in 6 major hubs of the country would run ‘fairs’ like in the old days. It would be operated by companies like Churchill Downs, Inc. who have successfully carried the Kentucky Derby brand for over a century and a quarter. If nothing is done then the sport of kings becomes nothing more than a circus act relying on a handful of die hard players during the week who are on a roll until the money runs out, and a pitch and catch affair with competitors for consumer entertainment dollars.

By mandating certain racing days to so many different racetrack operators within a state of each other is too many. To have multiple operations running within city miles of each other is ridiculous.

Let the races begin and may the best shows win.

We’re back with the race of the day from Santa Anita Park. The race of the day free past performances courtesy of DRF. com is available here.

We’re going to get right to the selections for tomorrow for the Sham Stakes for three year old colts and geldings.

There’s no stand out in the race and Martin Garcia has announced he will win the race and we all know that it’s not possible to predict something like that.

Or is it?

We like the race 1 -2 -5

Good luck!