In November, The Saturday Post started an annual fan poll to allow racing enthusiasts to cast their picks for their favorite champions in various categories during the 2010 racing season. The votes are in. Take a look at our fan favorites!
Horse of the Year – Zenyatta.
By an overwhelming 97 percent of fan votes, Zenyatta commanded a solid victory for “Horse of the Year” in our racing poll.
During her career, the great mare commanded rock star power through claiming victory after victory in nineteen consecutive outings. She is the highest female earning racehorse of all time in North America. She won the most consecutive Grade I victories in the sport. She pulled three “three-peats” in the Clement Hirsch, Lady’s Secret and Vanity. Finally, Zenyatta made history through becoming the first female to ever beat the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2009.
Beyond the record books, Zenyatta brought many intangibles to the sport. She delighted fans with her dizzying ‘dance routines’ in the paddock, video footage of her guzzling a Guinness in her stable and invited everyone to take a “virtual ride” on her back through a helmet camera she used during a workout.
She also brought the sport into the national limelight. Zenyatta was featured as one of the most powerful women of 2010 in Oprah’s magazine, as well as a figure in the “Society” section of W fashion magazine. She claimed ownership of Los Angeles in her billboard entitled, “This Is My Town,” as part of a marketing campaign for the L.A. Dodgers Baseball Team. Finally, Zenyatta’s segment on 60 Minutes served as the first time the show had ever filmed a piece on a racehorse.
Simply put, Zenyatta delivered a show that was unimaginable before she began her racing career. She made people wonder. She made people cry. She made people marvel at her beauty. And, in the process, she added excitement to the sport for both long-time enthusiasts and newcomers.
Best Older Male Horse – Blame. With 65 percent of votes in his favor, Blame won the fan poll for Best Older Male Horse. During his career, Blame won nine races in thirteen career starts and retired with career earnings of $4,368,214. In 2010, he won three Grade I victories, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Best Older Female Horse – Zenyatta. Aside from “Horse of the Year,” 86 percent of fans also voted for Zenyatta as the “Best Older Female Horse.” Goldikova served as the second choice in the fan poll for this category.
Best Three-Year-Old Male Horse – Lookin’ at Lucky. Preakness-winner Lookin’ at Lucky won best “Three-Year-Old Male Horse,” capturing 74 percent of the votes in our racing poll.
Best Three-Year-Old Filly – Blind Luck. With five Grade I wins, Blind Luck won “Best Three-Year-Old Filly” with 85 percent of fans voting in her favor.
Best Two-Year-Old Male Horse – Uncle Mo. With an undefeated record in three starts as a two-year-old, including his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Uncle Mo has won “Best Two-Year-Old Male Horse” in our fan poll with 80 percent of the votes.
Best Two-Year-Old Female Horse – Awesome Feather. With a six-race undefeated record, Awesome Feather has won the fan vote for “Best Two-Year-Old Female Horse,” with 78 percent of votes in her favor.
She rocks the horse race world….
I LOVE how the votes turned out!!
Yes…the public got it right! HOY…for sure…how aboout a horse of a lifetime, too!
The public gets it right - now we have to see if the Eclipse awards gets it right.
They need a new award for an exceptional horse like Zenyatta, too.
Spot on! I hope the Eclipse Award voters are paying attention.
Right on target! If only we, the public, could place those votes.
Yep! The public has the correct answer! ZENYATTA - Horse Of The Year. Even in defeat 2010 was the year of Zenyatta.
Zenyatta……we won’t see nothing like her for years and years to come… ZENYATTA - HORSE OF THE YEAR. You bet. Eclipse Award voters do the right thing for this great, great horse.
97%. . .the voting public knows a HOTY. . .let’s hope the Eclipse voters are that smart!!
I too hope the Eclipse Award voters are paying attention. Inward or outward, it is your choice.
Long live the Queen! Nice job of spreading the glow to all who have stood in her giant shadow! Besides Zenyatta, there were other worthy horses, to be sure, and you have generously made them a part of the story that is Zenyatta.
Thanks for the wonderful comments, everyone! I can’t wait to see how the Eclipse Awards turn out.