Breeders' Cup Saturday: Lost in the Afterglow (Part 2 of 2)

I admit I was looking forward to seeing Zenyatta put to the test. This was uncharted territory for the mare, and something I had been beating my drum about ever since she won the Ladies’ Classic. More than anything, I had wanted to see her run on dirt against the boys. I had even gone so far as to play devil’s advocate and hope it would rain to see her put to the ultimate test—the mare had never seen an off track in her life. And here the track was, a strange wet mix of cold dirt. It had been watered almost too much, in my opinion. I had mud sloshing up my pants. I saw on the tote board that it was rated as “fast,” but personally, it didn’t feel fast to me as I strode over it to my spot. Churchill’s dirt is a thick clay-like dirt, and when it’s wet and properly dried out, it doesn’t have puddles quite like it did this night. There was no sun to dry it up; the chilly November air kept the dirt hard and muddy. But what do I know? I’m just here to take pictures.

Kent Desormeaux demonstrates a great jubilation shot (AP)

I found a to-die-for spot on the rail, almost exactly where I would squat if there were only four other photographers, and not a hundred, on a smaller stakes day at Churchill. It would be a perfect place to take the “jubilation shot” I had been assigned to. In what seemed like no time at all, the post parade began for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It was the single most bone-chilling call to the post I’d ever heard on trumpet; not for a minor key or an ode to Halloween, but for what it meant was about to go down. This was it. This was the moment we’d all come to witness. For us photographers, this was do or die. We had complete and utter darkness to work with, with one single beam of light draped over the finish line—and only when they crossed at the finish, mind you—as our sweet shot. On TV, the lights look all awesome and glorious at night. I can tell you in actuality, it is a photographer’s worst nightmare. The light emanating from the newly-installed lights at Churchill are great for the human eye, but they’re not enough for a camera trying to freeze the rapid motion of a horse running balls-out down a racetrack.  Cameras also have a difficult time focusing on things they can’t properly see in the dark, which makes night photography even more fun. So here is basically what you have in a night race: two, maybe three frames (if you’re lucky) that are actually well-lit at the finish line. The rest is a complete crapshoot that can only be saved from the miracle of Photoshop or if you’re trying to do a side-pan shot so the horse looks blurry to artistically show motion.

Breeders' Cup Saturday: Showtime (Part 1 of 2)

Some things need to marinate in you for quite some time before you’re able to adequately put your observations into words. At the track, it can be especially difficult for a photographer to let all of the surroundings and gravity of history soak in, because we’re hyper-focused on the action and getting the shots we need for an assignment. It’s also easier to just let our pictures tell the tale; sometimes, there are no just words to describe what it truly feels like to be within the eye of the universe.

Night racing at Churchill Downs

While the undercard races (meaning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Sprint, Turf Sprint, Juvenile, Mile, Dirt Mile, and Turf) all seemed to rush by in a blur for me that championship Saturday, I was able to force time to slow down for the big show long enough to catalog every moment in my memory. It’s taken me a while to want to share these thoughts and reflections, because that night, I witnessed what I believe to be one of the all-time greatest races in modern history, and being in the presence of such an overwhelming event is humbling. It also feels a little sacred, to be honest. I am so lucky to have been a part of it.

My Breeders' Cup experience: Thursday shenanigans

After getting my hopes up about the Kentucky Derby, only to have them shot down, I didn't want to get excited about the Breeders' Cup. It was sort of devastating, to be told your lifelong dream-come-true is going to happen, only to find out a week before you leave on the trip that actually, there was a mistake and there wasn't enough credentials for you. (Yes, this actually happened to me.) So all the while I drove down to Louisville, I kept expecting to get a text message or a phone call breaking the news to me in the ninth hour that I wouldn't be credentialed to shoot the Breeders' Cup World Championships after all. I was almost expecting it, all the way up till I went to the Galt House Hotel to pick up my press credentials. It wasn't until I looked down at my name printed on the thick plastic card did I finally feel the pressure release and let myself believe that it really was going to happen. I was seriously about to shoot the biggest two days in racing I'd ever witnessed in my life. What was more, I was going to have a front-row seat to one of the single greatest races of my generation: the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic, where the great Zenyatta would make her career bow.

That being said, I had prepared a little by creating a “Horse Racing Playlist” on my iPod, which consisted mostly of songs I pictured Zenyatta war-dancing to in the Classic, as well as songs that would dramatically illustrate the pounding hoofs of the field turning for home, and the angelic chorus that would sound as the big mare began to unwind her devastating late kick. So I guess a little part of me did want to believe in miracles. Thankfully, I wasn’t denied mine this time around. This playlist was my constant background music the entire Breeders' Cup, pumping me up each morning and preparing me for the the final showdown at the end of it all. By the time I was shooting the races, "Kashmir" was ingrained in my radiohead on a constant loop.

Who's to blame?

Originally posted on Smile Politely.


Seconds after the field broke for the 2010 edition of the Breeders' Cup Classic, track announcer Trevor Denman cried, "Zenyatta is dead last!" The grandstand erupted with an appreciative laugh. The whole stage was set for a show, after all, and most of the 72,739 people watching from the stands weren't just your typical race-goers, they were fans of the starlet, Zenyatta. They knew her usual moves, her typical dramatic run as she always came from the back of the pack to sweep past rivals, giving them a performance to raise their voices to ear-splitting crescendos before snatching victory at the wire. It always seemed like she was saved from being buried near the back of the pack, as if carried on angel wings to win by some miracle of God; because doubtlessly, if there is a God, He, too, must be a Zenyatta fan.

But as Zenyatta found daylight off the final turn and started sailing over that hallowed stretch of ground toward the finish line, goosebumps racing down our arms with every great gobbling stride, we watched the birth of history as a stubborn horse by the name of Blame denied her that miracle. Make no mistake, Blame is not evil incarnate. Zenyatta simply met a freight train she could not run down this day. As they bobbed heads past the wire, Blame saw her and sped away from that behemoth, never knowing that great mare would put him in the history books alongside the names of Upset and Onion, the greatest spoilers of all-time. Zenyatta returned to be unsaddled to a standing ovation for her runner-up effort. Despite the jubilations of winning jockey, Garrett Gomez, Blame only received a smattering of cheers for his victory. Like an ending written by the Coen brothers, it wasn't a finale like everyone expected, but it was a finale none would ever forget.

The real tragedy of the 2010 edition of the Breeders' Cup Classic wasn't that Zenyatta lost, but the fact that a public that could've enjoyed the champion for two unbelievable years didn't discover her until her last career race, which, as luck would have it, was the first time she was ever defeated. While a crowd of 72,739 fans packed the grandstands at historic Churchill Downs that Saturday, and millions more tuned in their TVs to watch the coverage on ESPN, the world stopped for three minutes to watch Zenyatta attempt to go out unbeaten with a record of 20-0. But that fairy tale ending just wasn't meant to be.

Featured in W Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Oprah's O Magazine this fall as one of the top 20 most influential females in the world, the champion racemare was also given a spotlight on 60 Minutes the Sunday before the Breeders' Cup. As it turns out, the public is, in fact, interested in horse racing. With a little renewed attention thanks to Disney's film adaptation of the legendary Secretariat, Zenyatta was given every chance to be a star in the public eye. But this all came too late for a nationwide audience to truly appreciate her.

It's not realistic to think that everyone who witnessed this year's Breeders' Cup is going to rush out to subscribe to TVG or HRTV on their dish, but had this all happened last year, when Zenyatta was going up against males for the first time, think of all the great performances people could've enjoyed. While all save one of her races in her 2010 campaign lacked the crescendo of a match-up versus males, perhaps the grandstands at Oaklawn, Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Hollywood Park would've been standing room only had all this press come before the curtain fell on Zenyatta's career.

So much is said about what the horse racing industry is doing wrong. Horses retire too early to build a fan base; horse racing propaganda is limited to the people who already know about the sport and follow it religiously; too many big races are restricted to specialty cable stations; there are many complaints. What unfolded in the press in the days leading up to the Breeders' Cup was a test of what the industry could do when it had every opportunity to seize the public's interest. People discovered Zenyatta, and they loved her. Is it really a surprise? Here we have the most charismatic equine ever to step foot on a racetrack, a female, an undefeated champion, but the nation isn't properly introduced to her until her final bow. It's akin to discovering Paul Newman in Road to Perdition, his last big-screen role; what we see is a glimmer of greatness, but it's too abrupt to get a taste of a performer who is surely respected as one of the greats of all-time. Think of the tragedy of never having seen the actor at his most dazzling in The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; this is the reality of Zenyatta's legacy with the millions of viewers who tuned in to see her for the first time this past Saturday. They were built up about how great she was going into the 2010 Classic, and they witnessed a performance where the mare put her heart on the line, but they didn't get the thrill or the satisfaction that we in the racing world have become accustomed to over the years: they'll never understand the tears that come from seeing the explosive, against-all-odds, last-to-first kick that come as a result of knowing her.

Zenyatta has done everything right. It's the industry that let her and itself down. Before the 2009 Breeders' Cup, racing had its shot to tell the world about our prized mare. Perhaps it doubted her too much. There were a lot of people out there who didn't, after all, think she could beat males that first time. But this year, if all you knew came from Oprah, W, or 60 Minutes, you wouldn't have thought that she could lose coming into the 2010 edition of the Classic. According to statistics, three times the amount of people than last year tuned in to watch Zenyatta go out undefeated at Churchill Downs. Is publicity only earned from a guarantee? Did any of the millions who may have watched Zenyatta for the first time take away how special this mare was, even in defeat?

Now that Zenyatta has rounded her last field of rivals, has literally danced her last dance, what can the industry take away from the events that elevated Zenyatta's status to world fame? Will it step up to the task of reaching out beyond its already-established fan base and try to bring in new faces? All the public needs is to be exposed to a good story and a good horse. Is that really too great of a task? If not for her record-setting streak of 19 straight wins, I hope that Zenyatta's legacy will be to teach racing how to promote itself and the stars who make it all possible.

Zenyatta has given us the reins, now. What will we do with them?

My final thoughts on Horse of the Year 2009

Originally posted on Smilepolitely.com...

And so it begins. For months now, arguments have been hurled back and forth like a mud-slinging match between political parties, and I've tried to stay away. The fights have erred on insulting, and both sides have angered me with their accusations. If you're at all tuned in to the horse racing world, you know this debate has become infamous: who deserves Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta? Many articles have been writ on this subject—some thoughtful, some ridiculous—and since this article will be the year-end edition of The Call to the Post, I've decided to break my silence and give my final word about the two top contenders for the most coveted Eclipse Award. (That way, if I should die in my plane flight going to or coming from Santa Anita over the break, all of you will know how I truly stood on this topic, because obviously the masses have been waiting with baited breath far too long...)

In order to make an intelligent opinion on this debate, one must know the facts of both sides. We will start with Zenyatta, then go on to Rachel, stating each's attributes for why she should win the Eclipse for Horse of the Year, and then contrast their detractors.

Zenyatta completed a perfect season with 5 wins in 5 starts, four of them Grade I victories. She became the first female horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic when she won the race in her patented last-to-first running style, when challenged against males for the first time. The Classic was called one of the deepest fields in history, boasting a Kentucky Derby winner, a Belmont and Travers Stakes winner, an Arlington Million winner, as well as top stakes runners from Europe. The Classic was surely the biggest test in the 5-year-old mare's career; not only did she break slowly and start on the wrong lead, but she had to come between horses with her furious late charge, something she'd never had to do before. As a big horse, standing at 17.1 hands, it's very difficult to weave between traffic, but Zenyatta did that and then some, going on to score America's richest race by a length. And she did this like she was running against a bunch of mid-grade fillies, her ears pricking and without breaking a sweat. Zenyatta's victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic capped off a perfect career; she was retired unbeaten in 14-for-14 races. The popular mare brought the Santa Anita crowd to its knees in celebration; the presence, the power, and talent of Zenyatta is something unlike we'll probably ever see again.

In the closest call of her career, Zenyatta won by a determined head in the 2009 edition of the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar. Her late running style nearly got her into trouble in that race, and perhaps her regular jockey, Mike Smith, was a little too confident going into it. Zenyatta hung dead last in the middle of the turn, and didn't start to pick off horses until the rest of the field was beginning to turn for home. The stretch looked desperate as Zenyatta began to make her charge, her stride lengthening, Smith imploring her to dig deep for all she had, and it was with the heart of a champion she was able to get up to the wire and keep her record perfect by her tenacious head. In truth, it wasn't Zenyatta's fault the race finished so close; it was more like bad timing by her jockey. After the race, Smith acknowledged his error and marked the big mare still wasn't blowing when she returned to the winner's circle. Only human error, it seems, could make this champion come close to failure, but her class always shone in the end. Steve Haskin said it best in his article about Zenyatta after the Hirsch: "When you're last in a field that is strung out a dozen lengths, and then they wind up going three-quarters in a sloth-like 1:13 3/5, and you're still 4 1/2 lengths back at the eighth pole, and you have to come home in :23 1/5 and then a final sixteenth in about :05 3/5, and you get there, there is no doubt you are something special."

Rachel Alexandra has also had a perfect season, winning 8 of 8 starts, five of them Grade I races; three of those races were won against males, one of those against older males. As a 3-year-old filly, Rachel Alexandra has accomplished feats never before recorded in modern times. She was also the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown; she won it coming out of post position #13, which no other horse had ever done before. She won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 ¼ lengths, the largest margin in the race's history, and became the first Oaks winner to not only run in the Preakness, but to win both those races. No 3-year-old filly has ever gone against older males so early as Rachel did in her career and won, which she did in the Woodward. She set a new stakes record in the Grade I Mother Goose, and broke Ruffian's record largest margin of 13 ½ lengths by 5 ¾ more. And she has done all of this in whatever running style the circumstances ask of her, whether it be front-running, from just off the pace, or coming from behind horses.

Though an argument could be made for each of her tests against males as to which her best performance might be, most would contend the Woodward was Rachel's most impressive victory, though she won it by a smaller margin than any other start in her 2009 season. Just as in Zenyatta's Hirsch victory, which was her closest brush with defeat, Rachel won in her own unbelievable way; but instead of a nail-biting last-to-first dig to the wire like the 5-year-old mare, Rachel was forced through blistering fractions to not only set the pace, but to hold off the attacks of older males throughout the entire race, and finally, the late-charge of Stephen Foster winner, Macho Again. And just as in Zenyatta's Hirsch, when the last few strides seemed too insurmountable to overcome, the champion found some way to clench victory before it could be yanked out of reach. In short, Rachel Alexandra has time and time again been put into a situation that stacks all odds against her, whether it be her age, her sex, her post position, or simply her running style, and all threats she has turned away with her guts and class.

To lay blemish to either of these phenomenal females would be to dishonor what they've accomplished, and I will not go so low as to do such. I love both equally, and do not hold one above the other, because they are too different to compare. Essentially, Zenyatta and Rachel are an apple against an orange. Both have had a sensational season 2009, laying the boys down on the track like so many beaten and broken victims in the wake of their brilliance. If either should be faulted for not running in a particular race, it is their connections, and not the horses themselves, that should be picked on. The Eclipse Award is for Horse of the Year, not race of the year, and even a race that featured both of these champions would not have lowered my opinion of either, nor would it have proven anything. A single race is flawed and does not prove absolute answers, though both these females have run time and time again to prove one thing: there is no male that can measure up to them.

2009 will be known as the year of the girls, where we were blessed to see two completely different horses, one a five-year-old mare, the other a 3-year-old filly, show us what it really means to be a Great, a champion for the ages. Both will go down in history, and an Eclipse won't add to or detract from their legacy. If it were up to me, I would give them both the award, because they each deserve it in their own way. But as there must be a democratic voting system, and if I were only able to choose one horse, I would look at which horse has had the most complete season in 2009, and that horse is Rachel, without a doubt. While Zenyatta also had a perfect season, she was not allowed to race until half of the year was already over, and of those races, all three tracks where she competed were in the same state, California. When she was scheduled to run her first race of 2009, in the Louisville Distaff at Churchill Downs, Zenyatta's connections scratched her when the track turned up wet the night before. As for Rachel, she won as many Grade Is as Zenyatta had starts for the entire year, faced males three times, and accomplished unprecedented feats for her age. She ran at seven different tracks this year, and in six different states. Though Rachel's owner didn't enter her in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the filly had run 11 races in less than a year's time, and that much running is taxing on a horse competing at her caliber at her age; for the filly's best interest, resting her for a 2010 campaign was the right decision.

My opinion of the Horse of the Year awards can be summed up with a chuckle. After calling the Grade I Mother Goose Stakes, where Rachel Alexandra romped by 19 ¼ lengths and set a new stakes record geared-down, track announcer Tom Durkin laughed as he looked at the margin, the way the race was won, and the numbers. Though the race's order of finish was more than obvious, and Rachel's win uncontestable, the track announcer's job requirements forced him to make the following announcement: "The results," he said with a chuckle, "are not official."

The 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic from the best seat in the house

Welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of Ghostsnapper! The horse racing industry has a lot to be thankful for this year, and how better to celebrate it than reminiscing about what we witnessed in the Breeders' Cup Classic?

One of the all-time perks of being a horse racing photographer is having the honor of watching history unfold from pretty much the best seat in the house. There's nothing quite like standing only a jump behind the finish with your hair actually flying in the wind of horseflesh, being carried in that current of adrenaline and flurry of glory; yes we sometimes even cherish that clod of dirt that gets flung in our lenses.

Thus, while I was watching the party erupt at Santa Anita Park after Zenyatta took the Breeders' Cup Classic, a piece of me ached like a missing limb that I could not be there in person to witness history. And since the technology of time travel has not yet been perfected, and I can't go back and somehow experience that moment first-hand myself, I did the next best thing and contacted some of my fellow photographers who were lucky enough to be at Santa Anita on that glorious day for the sport.

The following are direct testimonials from three extremely talented photographers, whose work has been seen everywhere from Sports Illustrated to Blood-Horse. They are Bud Morton and Bob Mayberger (east coast invaders, from Massachusetts and "New Yawk"), and California consummate, Charles Pravata; all great all-around guys whom I feel lucky to consider friends. I asked them their thoughts of the Breeders' Cup Classic experience, and here are their answers...

Bud Morton: "In two decades of photographing thoroughbred horse racing, I’ve witnessed my share of “would-be historic” race days. Failed Triple Crown attempts, epic matches where the wonder horses finished up the track, hyped and honored horses losing on their big day. The dream never came true.

"This year the dream came true, not once, but twice. I had the privilege to be photographing and attending the winning efforts of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta as they made their historic runs at Saratoga and Santa Anita. As these fine fillies crossed the finish line and marked their places in history, the feeling and response of those in attendance was almost identical. Being on the track gives you a unique perspective and feeling. Waves of applause and goodwill flowed to the winners as they returned, and strangers high-fived each other. Even if you were not a fan of the winner, you rejoiced in their accomplishment and felt great that you were there for it. Having an east coast, “real dirt”, old-school bias, I guess that Rachel’s win in the Woodward was more special for me personally, but to have been able to record both events was something I will never forget."

Bob Mayberger: "I still haven't fully digested the Breeders' Cup and all of the visual delights that it gave us. Santa Anita is a GORGEOUS venue and, but for the controversy surrounding its synthetic track, worthy of being a permanent host to the Breeders' Cup. Sometimes when you are shooting a race you can get so caught up in the mechanics of what you are doing that you almost forget to actually WATCH the races as they are being run. That is true for many races, but thankfully there are still some horses whose star power is so strong that they cannot be forgotten or ignored when they are on the track. They simply DEMAND your attention. Zenyatta and Rachel are two such horses. Big Brown was another. You are constantly aware of their position during a race, almost to the exclusion of all others. They have IT (whatever that is), and it is wonderful and magical. I cannot believe that all 58,000 in attendance for the Breeders' Cup Classic were not staring at Zenyatta for the entire race.

"And lucky that they were, for that move that she made coming out of the final turn on the inside rail, and then bursting to her right before straightening out in the middle of the track for her final sprint, was the kind of image that will stay with me forever. To have such disappointment when she appeared blocked by traffic turn into jubilation within a matter of seconds made the entire two days worthwhile. Those are the type of moments that you hope to be able to experience first-hand a few times in your life if you are lucky.

"What I think made Zenyatta's last to first dash all the more remarkable, however, was that she was never reputed to be a horse who possessed a quick turn of foot. Her physical size is not conducive to such a move in traffic and I still marvel as I watch the replay of the Classic how she was able to change course and dart between horses as she did without clipping heels with any of her rivals. But then again, I guess the truly great ones always keep a little in reserve and save their best for last!"

Charles Pravata: "During the week leading up to the Breeders' Cup, I kept hearing "I don't know..." or 'I don't think she can do it, etc." Doubt was in the air. I was hearing this stuff from trainers, exercise riders, jockeys, turf writers, photographers, all of racing's insiders. Surprisingly, by the time Saturday came, I found myself doubting her, too. In the end, I don't think I or most other people doubted her at all. I think we were all just preparing ourselves for the disappointment we would have felt had she lost.

"[But] she didn't lose. Instead, she made history, and everyone in that building walked out of there with a smile on their face. How often does an entire racing audience leave the track feeling great about what just happened? Hardly ever. When I heard Trevor Denman say "She's starting to pick them off now..." I knew it was over. In my mind, Zenyatta was either going to beat every horse on that track or none of them at all. It was just a question of whether or not she would fire. After the buffer on my camera ran out, shortly after she crossed the wire, I pumped my fist in the air three or four times exclaiming "YEAH!!! YEAAAAHHHHH!" I gave a hug to my photographer friends Sarah K.A. and T.J. who shot the race right next to me. The three of us were in a little cluster, on our ladders, just past the wire on the turf course. I also apologized to them for letting loose after she had won. I normally don't cheer, but, this was a special occasion. When I made my way back on to the main track, the first people I saw coming towards me were fellow California photographers Bill M., Tom B., Duane L., and Shig K. Without even thinking we all just started hugging each other. I think it was special for us because she was "our horse;" us left coast photographers, with our fair-weather horses, and all-weather tracks. Zenyatta had been our girl for a while now, and when she crossed the wire in front, we all won. The joy and camaraderie we all felt when we came together on that track will be a lasting memory.

"The icing on the cake was that my dad was in attendance to witness Zenyatta's historic run. It was his first and last time seeing the mare in person, being that he lives on the east coast. A lifelong football coach and avid sports fan, he's been in attendance for the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, NCAA Football National Championship, NCAA Final Four, and the list goes on. He said of Zenyatta's race: "I've never seen anything like it." He couldn't get over how much it meant to everyone in attendance, and the fact that there were people crying all around him. Not to mention the eruption that engulfed the grandstand when Mike Smith swung her out and got clear. He knew he had been witness to one of the all-time great horses and all-time great moments in sports."

Amen to that. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!