Some Serious Zenny Cash

At this time last year the Betfair trading for the Breeders Cup Classic was about expected. Zenyatta - overbet to be sure at 5-2 - was 5 and a half to one at the betting giant via the exchange. Scanning the chat boards, as well as speaking to several big hitters, that was about right according to them.

This year it is all together different. She is taking loads of cash; now down to just north of 2-1. And of course, this is not "newbie" cash or from a lady with a Zenyatta hat: betting at betfair before the races is not a Sunday picnic. Those newbies will be there, but they will be there on betting day.

Speaking to an assortment of players, both at Betfair and here, it is not at all like last year. Many think 5-2 is a fair price on the big mare, when nary that opinion I could find twelve months ago. I know someone that got sizeably filled at 3-1 who ain't trading it out. It will be interesting to see if the sharpies are right, or like last year wrong.

Animals Get Ya

Darryl Kaplan wrote an interesting piece in Trot this month discussing how animals really can pull on us.

"As objectively as I can look at it, no human athlete throughout history has been able to reach us emotionally the way a racehorse can. Whether it’s Secretariat, Cam Fella, Barbaro or Admirals Express, there is an attachment we can make with a racehorse that no other sports figure seems capable of." he wrote.

I could not agree more. People are people. They make human decisions and they do what is expected of them, and if they do that, it is not overly moving to me. But a horse, well that is entirely a different matter. To read more of his thoughts, click the link above.

Western Fair has dropped their pick 4 to 15% takeout. Great stuff. HANA profiled the London track today on their blog.

Pacing Guy does not like late odds changes, but who does? He explains his Saturday betting the Meadowlands. Pari-mutuel wagering was invented over 100 years ago. Over time it has lasted, but lasted for one reason : horse racing is a monopoly, unable to look past its nose. This system is archaic, obsolete and embarrassing for a 21st century gambling sport, as proud as horse racing is. In its present form (for win markets) it should have been gone twenty years ago.

One of the most insane arguments against Zenyatta (which you have touched on before) is that she "has not beaten many grade I winning females." Don't laugh - this ridiculous argument has been put forth by many. Jennie Rees, thank goodness, writes about it in huge headlines today:

There's a reason Zenyatta hasn't beaten a Grade I winner this year: She wins all the Grade I races

Way to go Jennie. If a team won four straight Super Bowls a headline would never be that the team was suspect because they have not beaten a Super Bowl winner the last four years, but in racing (with plenty of Zenny bashers) it is commonplace. The people putting forth this argument are either biased, stupid, or both.

12 Minutes of Exposure

Last night, as everyone knows by now, the 60 Minutes feature on Zenyatta was aired. As we opined below in our piece on "Focus", I think the power of this piece is palpable and we are in for a very well-watched Breeders Cup Classic.

The reaction in the community is expected, and something we often see in this sport, because we are a niche sport. Just like the Secretariat movie, for a sport to have a mainstream media, or mainstream movie-goer attraction, the insider elements are always glossed over, and insiders get pissed.

On the net, just this past twelve hours, I have read insiders griping that the feature:

i) did not mention the horse of the year battle with Rachel Alexandra

ii) that Zenyatta's speed figures are not that good

iii) that she did not travel very much outside California

iv) that she races better on pro-ride etc and is a synthetic specialist

The reasons for this apparently, is because (one or more of): CBS sucks, Mike Smith sucks, the media is in the tank for Zenyatta, or people are blind and do not know how to handicap. Some of these people are professional trolls obviously, but many are not.

Conversely of course, the mainstream sees - fast horse, she looks friendly with kids, her trainer, owner and handlers love her, she drinks beer, she never has lost a race, she is the oldest horse in her next (and final race), and she is a girl racing boys.

Nothing else matters to them and this piece was amazing in conveying that story.

It is absolutely the best story (by far) that this game has relayed by way of a racehorse in modern racing history. And it was the most watched story on a racehorse in generations, if not ever.

Save the speed fig talk, the who did she beat talk, and the overrated talk for another day. Today is a day to embrace racing, because a superstar named Zenyatta will have the general public talking about a racehorse for all the right reasons.