Could This Finally Be The Proposal To Bring Rachel Alexandra And Zenyatta Together?

Many tracks and many officials have tried and all have failed.

So the most recent attempt to get the two top horses in the sport on the same track at the same time could be laughed off as another swing and a miss—until one realizes that the two sides are fairly receptive to the idea this time around.

Perhaps the $5 million dollars is causing the connections of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta to not dismiss the notion too quickly and perhaps the figure will actually bring the two together for the first time.

Oaklawn is attempting to lure the top two horses of the Horse of the Year. Rachel Alexandra won the honor last month and was followed by Zenyatta, the only other horse to be deemed a worthy competitor in the category.

The racetrack is shooting for a raising of the stakes of the April 3 Apple Blossom race to entice the two female horses.

If they race, the purse will be raised to $5 million and will be converted to an invitational, the length of the race extended by a sixteenth of a mile to one mile and an eighth and will invite filles and mares no less than four-years old.

If they do not race, the purse will remain at $500,000, the field will be limited to 10 and will resort back to a handicap of 123 pounds per horse.

In the past, Rachel Alexandra’s connections, headed by owner Jess Jackson, have steered away from the races, stating his then three-year old was being rested for the rest of 2009 and would not race her on the synthetic surface of Santa Anita, the host track of last November’s Breeders’ Cup race that including, and was won by, Zenyatta.

The next stickling point was that following the Breeders’ Cup, Zenyatta’s connections stated that they were leaning towards retiring the now six-year old and breeding her, but that idea was shot down when the team decided to race her at least for one more season and actually had the Apple Blossom as a goal.

But following the proposal each came is talking more positively. Zenyatta’s camp called the possibility “exciting,” but stated she will probably start whether or not Rachel Alexandra is in the field and the purse is $500,000 or $5 million.

There is still some trepidation from Rachel Alexandra’s trainer Steve Asmussen.

“It’s great to see how much interest there is in the mares, and hopefully it will come together,” Asmussen said. “From a timing standpoint, it’s less than optimum.”

Asmussen was alluding to the fact that the filly is just now beginning to get back into racing shape following her last running, and victory, in September 2009.

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