For anyone who wants to ask me what I think of the Horse of the Year debate, my answer is this: while I could lay out a case for both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, I thought the bigger story was that two girls would be on the final ballot for the first time in the 111 years that the honor has been handed out.
I have a soft spot for the last female Horse of the Year: I had just started at TVG when Azeri was starting her reign over the racing world, highlighted by 2002 Horse of the Year honors. Then, while I was working at Churchill, I was lucky enough to touch (ok, hug!) the superstar when she was yanked from retirement and shipped into D. Wayne Lukas’ barn for her whisker-loss run in the ’04 Humana Distaff.
What struck me most about Azeri’s recent $2.25 million trip through the Keeneland auction ring wasn’t the pricetag: that’s a fair price in this market for a horse who did what she did on the track but who’s still completely unproven as a broodmare.
The more interesting part is that she’s going to Japan. But the more I thought about her going to Asia, the less I was surprised.
After all:
My first car was a Ford ZX2, my second a Chevy Blazer. I now drive a Hyundai Elantra.
My high school (which counts Will Ferrell as a grad) was 55% Asian when I started. It was 70% when I graduated.
My office used to be in midtown Manhattan. Now I work on the KoreaTown border.
My mom’s fiance is Thai.
While the rest of the world can gripe about buying everything with a Made In China label – racing has long understood that international success doesn’t extend to just the European Union or Dubai. And, yes, while the meltdown of the UAE economy will certainly effect racing’s many segments, the Asian market is stable and ready to pounce where the Sheiks can’t.
In a somewhat ironic twist, the Dubai debt crisis happened just as a slew of American horses – including Belmont/Travers/Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Summer Bird – were making their final preparations for a run in the Japan Cup Dirt – a longstanding end-of-the-season target for many. Things didn’t go so well for Summer Bird (or, rather, for his right front leg), but America still had a runner in the field. And many American-based jockeys – including Calvin Borel and Rajiv Maragh – made return trips for the Japan Cup Turf.
Plus, Darley kicked off this week’s stallion news with Pyro joining Storming Home in bringing American pedigree to their Japan division (along with fellow Japan residents Silver Charm, Charismatic, and War Emblem).
To boot, the Hong Kong Jockey Club recently hosted a “Name Our Chantal” competition to honor Chantal Sutherland – the only woman to race against 11 men in the Cathay Pacific International Jockey Championship. The contest drew 6,119 in just 5 days (that’s an average of over 1,200 submissions per day), while the Kentucky Derby Twitter account has just 2,204 followers in 8 months (and a scant 322 Tweets to its name).
I know most racing folks are wary of the Asian countries because of what happened to Ferdinand. Yes, I share the same “you don’t get to kill a Kentucky Derby winner and get away with it” philosophy. But that was a sad wake-up call the industry needed and won’t let happen again. Most horses sold or shipped over for breeding purposes have a “return to the US” clause built into their contracts nowadays thanks to him. If we’re not going to let horses cross borders where slaughter is legal or horsemeat is eaten, then we’d have to cross Mexico and Canada (respectively) off the list too.
Given that we don’t have the centuries it would take US racing to fix itself and Dubai is suddenly not as viable a savior as we’d all planned for, I’m all for Asia stepping in to fill the void. If you don’t think they do it right over there, here’s some food for thought: even without having on-track wagering, racing is such a draw that they broadcast the major stakes on the jumbotrons of Tokyo’s town center.
Can you imagine New York City freezing for two whole minutes while the Kentucky Derby plays in Times Square?
Yeah, me neither.
Very entertaining post, Molly.
Your high school was Stuy?
btw, 111 years of Eclipse Awards?
And, NO, can't imagine NY freezing for 2 mins while Derby was run.
I went to University High in Irvine, California – the 4th best in the state & 16th best in the country (at least when I was there!). It's down the street from UC Irvine (go Anteaters!), but is best known as pretty much the halfway point between Hollywood Park & Del Mar.
And, Sid is correct (and this post updated) – Horse of the Year honors have been handed out for 111 years … Eclipse Awards for 39.