Thanksgiving means much more than getting out a nail punch from the tool shed and expanding your leather belt by a notch. It's a time to reflect and appreciate as much as anything; and those of us who work in, and enjoy, the horse racing industry truly have been blessed in 2009.
Three truly lovable figures made 2009 a year that we honestly must put aside our political and observational differences and relish. In no particular order, this was the year of Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta and Calvin Borel. I had the personal pleasure of standing within inches of all three this year, and that makes me as thankful as any racing fan alive.
Too often we all fall victim to bemoaning what we don't have in the racing industry. That's the nature of the beast in a venture where losing is the rule, and winning the exception. In a race of 12 horses, 11 lose, and so do their actual and emotional supporters. It is difficult then to immediately change allegiances, set aside preconceived notions, and immediately bask in the winner's circle adulation of a particular victor.
But in 2009, the wondrous performances of Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta and Calvin Borel not only became embraceable, they were instant bear-hug material.
On Thursday of Kentucky Derby week, I stood by the mile-chute gap at Churchill Downs and marveled as Zenyatta posed alongside trainer John Shirreffs. I walked closer for perspective and could not believe the physicality of this glorious animal. If ever an Amazon comparison for a Thoroughbred racehorse was appropriate, this was your adjoining picture for Webster's dictionary. You can appreciate Zenyatta's unbelievable racing accomplishments from television, but you don't get the complete picture of what you're actually dealing with until you stand next to her. She has an intimidating physical presence and attitude like I have never, ever seen with a racehorse.
The following day, Oaks Day, the excitement was dampened by the announcement that Zenyatta would scratch from the Louisville Breeders' Cup because the track conditions were less-than-ideal due to overnight rains. The attention now turned to a star 3-year-old filly who had turned heads all week by the way she cruised over the Churchill Downs oval. Rachel Alexandra was pure athleticism, but by no means a daunting physical specimen. While Zenyatta could simply stand still and impress you by glaring, Rachel Alexandra had to put her intimidation to use while in full stride. And, boy, did she ever.
I stood along the outside rail not far up from the finish line as Rachel Alexandra widened through the stretch of the Oaks. The lead steamrolled from 15 lengths or more to 17, 18 and finally a record 20-1/4 lengths when the dust settled. The hair stood up on my neck and arms, knowing I just witnessed something truly incredible.
Blessed as I am, I was assigned to get Calvin Borel's immediate reaction for the official Kentucky Oaks Notes Team. I got to cross the track and take part in a crazy winner's circle in the infield, then try and tackle a speeding bullet of a jockey for a quick comment as he was going back across the track. I couldn't help but think at that moment I was trying to squeeze the thoughts out of the happiest man on the face of the Earth.
The wonderful thing about a historic Kentucky Oaks is that you only have to wait 24 hours for the next bit of history to be made. Derby Day was next, and it began on a wild note when morning line favorite I Want Revenge was officially scratched at a press conference at Churchill Downs' auxiliary media center. While disappointment for the horse and his absence from the race soaked the media gathering, some even commented aloud that they wouldn't well up any tears for black-hatted co-owner IEAH Stable or trainer Jeff Mullins.
The 2009 Derby had every reason to be forgettable, downright negative, in fact. The filly had stole the show the previous day, and most pundits and fans spent the overnight hours getting some rest and wondering what might have been had Rachel Alexandra been entered on Saturday instead. Meanwhile, potential morning line favorite Quality Road had already been withdrawn just prior to entries being taken, a loss that stung even more so when his successor as the Derby's chalk, I Want Revenge, could not overcome a recurring ankle injury and had to be declared from the roses.
Chances for a memorable 2009 Kentucky Derby seemed to have passed. As a historically non-descript field mired through the sloppy track and appeared to be any horse's race at the eighth pole, along came bitty Mine That Bird and rail-riding Calvin Borel to snatch chaotic excitement from the jaws of dullness. Nobody knew who the heck the No. 8 horse was, leaving each of his scurrying for a glance at our programs. By the time we shook our head a few times in confusion, 50-1 shot Mine That Bird had opened up 6-3/4 lengths on the field and Calvin Borel was in full salute of the grandstand just after passing the wire.
"Are you kidding me?" is all I kept screamingand, yes, I was screaming. Professional rancor goes out the window when you're standing trackside and see something that you thought was truly impossible. I'm not talking improbable, I'm talking impossible. "Calvin-freaking-Borel!" I remember shouting. As much as history will remember Mine That Bird as the Derby-winning HORSE, the immediate reaction was that we may have just seen the first JOCKEY win the Derby.
I had covered trainer Chip Woolley and Mine That Bird all week as part of my official Kentucky Derby Notes Team assignments. Yes, consider me a lucky bird. In the 12 years I've been honored to be a part of the Notes Team, it was the first time a horse I was assigned to actually came through and won the Derby. You feel a part of the team. The next morning, I was blessed to take my wife and daughter by the barn, and Chip was gracious enough to allow my 3-year-old to come into the shedrow and meet his history-making 3-year-old.
Horse racing was blessed with its most positive, endearing winning story on Kentucky Derby Day, not to mention Oaks Day in the hours prior. Two weeks later, Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird put on a Preakness show we'll never forget. Later in the fall, Zenyatta closed the curtain on the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships with a Classic performance that could not have turned out any more impressive had it been scripted.
On the four most visible days of the racing year in terms of attendance and exposure, the superstars of Thoroughbred racing obliged. Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta and Calvin Borel have given us a lifetime of reasons to be thankful that we got to witness horse racing in 2009.
Originally Posted on ESPN