|
|
Zenyatta honored as Oak Tree's Horse of the Meet
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." 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. Zenyatta also was named Horse of the Meet in Oak Tree's Media Poll last year. Jerry and Ann Moss, for their display of sportsmanship in running Zenyatta against males in the Classic, rather than the Ladies' Classic (G1), which she won last year, were named Owners of the Meet. 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," Oak Tree Director and Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth said. "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 3 percent over 2008's figure. The common pool handle for Saturday's 10-race card was $98,489,877, a decrease of 6 percent from last year's 11-race program. The $49,875,648, wagered on Friday was a 1 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," Chillingworth said. "The main track played fair and safe, and we just can't ask for anything more than that. I want to congratulate our Track Superintendent, 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 September 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. For the second straight meet, Bob Baffert was named outstanding trainer in the Media Poll. 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 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. Santa Anita will be open for simulcast wagering beginning Wednesday and throughout the Hollywood Park Fall live race meeting, which begins on Friday. Live racing returns to the Arcadia, California, oval on December 26, opening day of Santa Anita's traditional winter/spring meeting.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
