Zenyatta "in", Lady's Secret "out" · 25.11.09

The Oak Tree Racing Association, which operates the autumn racing season at Santa Anita, has announced that Zenyatta will be honored by having the name of the race she won in both 2008 and 2009, the Lady’s Secret (G1) renamed The Zenyatta, effective next year.

Now I’m all for honouring Zenyatta by naming a race after her, but not at the expense of Lady’s Secret. The “Iron Lady” was Secretariat’s greatest offspring — named Horse of the Year in 1986 after winning the Breeders’ Cup Distaff when it was still run at 1 1/4 miles, she won ten of her fifteen starts that year, all graded stakes races, and defeated top male horses in the Whitney Handicap and elsewhere. Eight of those Stakes wins were G1s, including seven in a row. Think of Zenyatta’s five races this year, with one against the boys — and Rachel Alexandra’s eight races, including three against males — and then marvel at what Lady’s Secret accomplished.

The decision is completely disrespectful of a brilliant part of racing’s history, and the speed at which it was announced — less than three weeks after the Breeders’ Cup — suggests that it is largely political in nature. Steve Haskin argues that Oak Tree and Santa Anita did it to a) get on the Zenyatta bandwagon before either Del Mar or Hollywood Park re-named one of their own stakes races for the big race-mare, and 2) help the lobbying effort to have Zenyatta voted Horse of the Year ahead of Rachel Alexandra.

If that’s true, then shame on them. And if it wasn’t political, it is a massive PR blunder on their part, a perfect example of well-meaning stupidity, and almost as shameful. Read the comments from Haskin’s article cited above, as well as this discussion thread, to see that I’m not the only one who feels this way.

It’s probably too late to rescind this decision, but hopefully either Santa Anita will see fit to re-name one of their other G1 stakes for Lady’s Secret, or even inaugurate a new race in her honour, or some other track will do so.

If you liked this you might like:

What do you think?

Textile Help