Susie Blackmon's Posterous - Filed under 'Zenyatta'

February 12, 2010

Sports Briefing - Horse Racing - Zenyatta vs. Rachel Will Happen After All

The showdown between the undefeated mare Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, the unbeaten 2009 Horse of the Year, is once more on at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. The track%u2019s president, Charles J. Cella, agreed to move the date of the Apple Blossom Invitational back nearly a week, to April 9, and restored the $5 million purse if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta show up.

The matchup looked dead Wednesday when Rachel Alexandra%u2019s trainer, Steve Asmussen, said his 4-year-old filly would not be in top condition by April 3, the original date for the race. He will most likely prepare Rachel Alexandra for the Apple Blossom with a $200,000 stakes race on March 13 at the Fair Grounds, where Rachel Alexandra is based.
That race, which is yet unnamed, is for 4-year-old fillies and older mares.

Recommend More Articles in Sports � A version of this article appeared in print on February 12, 2010, on page B11 of the New York edition.

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January 25, 2010

Rachel-Zenyatta offer up to $2M - ESPN

Updated: January 21, 2010, 10:43 AM ET

Rachel-Zenyatta offer up to $2M

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By Mary Rampellini
Daily Racing Form
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Sam Houston Race Park will offer a maximum purse of $2 million if Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were both to start in the track's Gallery Furniture Distaff that has a tentative date of March 27.
Sam Houston and race sponsor Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale have been pursuing a showdown between the two horses for several months, first setting a date of Dec. 5 for a $1.5 million race, then Jan. 30. Sam Houston has now moved the date again and left room for purse negotiations after learning in the last week that Zenyatta has come out of retirement and will race in 2010.
"In light of the news, we're going to keep doing what we've been doing to try and get the two ladies here," said Andrea Young, president of Sam Houston.
The race would be run over 1 1/8 miles on Sam Houston's main track and would be open to males. The minimum purse will be $1.5 million, with McIngvale willing to negotiate up to $2 million, officials said. Both horses would have to start for the race to be a go.
Young said the March 27 date is negotiable.
Rachel Alexandra was named Horse of the Year on Monday night, while Zenyatta won the Breeders' Cup Classic in November.

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