October 2009 Archives

For those bettors who haven't had much luck in past Breeders' Cups, a new bet will be offered this year -- a wager on which jockey wins the most races during the two-day event scheduled for Nov. 6-7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

The bet will likely include 14 entries -- 13 individual jockeys and a field bet that will include all other riders. If this bet had been available in 2008, Garret Gomez would have been the winning selection after the New Mexico native won a record four races over the two days, including three on the second day.

A tie will be treated like a dead heat, and wagering will be offered beginning Nov. 5 after riding assignments have been announced.

In addition, bettors will be able to wager on a Ladies' Classic-Classic daily double for the first time.

Hey, both these bets may flop, but I applaud the Breeders' Cup folks for at least trying something new. You never know if something is going to catch on unless you try it.

After all, there were horsemen who believed the Breeders' Cup would never catch on as a big-time event when it debuted at Hollywood Park in 1984, and look at it now.

Are you kidding me? Ten -- 10!!!!! -- Grade 1 winners in 2009. The Kentucky Derby winner. The Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner. Santa Anita Handicap winner. Pacific Classic champion. Last year's winner of the Santa Anita Derby and Travers. A multiple Grade 1 winner on grass who will be trying to transfer his elite form to Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

I mean, c'mon, this is one race that would stand on its own merit even without the added bonus of Zenyatta, the unbeaten super mare who appears ready to tackle the boys for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

Just give us the other high-caliber stakes stars and this is a great betting race. Factor in the intrigue of Zenyatta trying to become the first distaffer to win the Classic, and this is high drama folks. And you thought last year's Ladies' Classic at Santa Anita rocked, wait until you hear the ovation for Zenyatta if Mike Smith gallops her back in front of the clubhouse after she's won the Classic.

And this is not even considering the two European stars (Mastercraftsman is likely to opt for the Dirt Mile) -- Rip Van Winkle and Twice Over -- who will try to duplicate the upset victory by Raven's Pass in last year's Classic when two-time Horse of the Year Curlin finished fourth.

"It's one of the great fields for the Classic, top to bottom," Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said on a Wednesday conference call set up to announce pre-entries for this year's event.

Amen to that.

* Trainer Todd Pletcher has pre-entered 12 horses for the World Championships, scheduled Nov. 6-7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet. Among the entries is Florida Derby winner Quality Road, scheduled to run in the $5 million Classic against the likes of Colonel John, Gio Ponti, Summer Bird, Mine That Bird, Richard's Kid and perhaps the unbeaten mare Zenyatta.

* Trainer John Gosden, a former Southern California fixture who saddled two Breeders' Cup winners in 2008, including Raven's Pass in the Classic, has a 2-year-old filly who could give him his third victory in two years. Rainbow Quest, Europe's 2008 champion 2-year-old filly, jogged over Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface on Saturday and is being pointed toward the $2 million Filly and Mare Turf at 1 1/4 miles on Nov. 6.

* Former jockey Joe Steiner, who works horses regularly for trainer Bob Baffert, is extremely high on Baffert's latest 2-year-old talent, Lookin at Lucky, who is the favorite for the $2 million Juvenile on Nov. 7. Steiner was aboard the Unbridled's Song colt when he worked six furlongs in a bullet 1:11.80 last Wednesday at Santa Anita. "He went real easy," Steiner said of the colt who is 4-0. "I let him just kind of stretch his legs. That's all he did. He's doing things in a good way all the time. He's really got a terrific attitude." Lookin at Lucky worked again this morning, going six furlongs in 1:12.40. Baffert says Lookin at Lucky is the best 2-year-old he's had in at least the past five years.

* Five other Breeders' Cup hopefuls -- Always a Princess (Juvenile Fillies), Zensational (Sprint), Careless Jewel (Ladies' Classic), Colonel John (Classic) and Richard's Kid (Classic) also worked this morning. Always a Princess went five furlongs in 1:01.20, the speedy Zensational traveled four furlongs in 46.40, Careless Jewel went six furlongs in a bullet 1:11.20 for trainer Josie Carroll, Colonel John breezed five furlongs in 1:02.40, and Richard's Kid drilled six furlongs in 1:12.80.

Bob Baffert lost one of his best chances for a Breeders' Cup victory Sunday when he told the Daily Racing Form he will not pre-enter Indian Blessing today in the $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, a race she finished second in last year behind Ventura.

Baffert is not happy with the way Indian Blessing, a 4-year-old Indian Charlie filly, has been handling Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface. She worked six furlongs over the track in 1:12.80 Sunday morning, prompting Baffert's decision.

"I think I'm going to pass," he told the Daily Racing Form. "She just doesn't like the track. What can you do? She looks good. It's frustrating. I'm not going to pre-enter because I don't want the temptation to change my mind."

Indian Blessing, who has won 10 of 16 starts for earnings of $2.9 million, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park in 2007, leading to an Eclipse Award as top 2-year-old filly that year. She was voted top female sprinter in 2008.

Scheduled to be bred next year, Baffert said he did not know if Indian Blessing would race again in 2009.

Baffert has never been a supporter of artificial tracks, speaking out in support of the new trainers group called California Horsemen for Change recently. One of the new group's main beefs with management is synthetic race tracks.

Third in Breeders' Cup victories with seven, trailing only D. Wayne Lukas (18) and Shug McGaughey (nine), Baffert could still enjoy a big Breeders' Cup weekend despite Indian Blessing's defection. His top hopefuls appear to be Lookin at Lucky in the Juvenile, Always a Princess in the Juvenile fillies, Zensational in the Sprint, and Richard's Kid in the Classic.

Baffert could tie Lukas' record of winning the same Breeders' Cup race three years running if Zensational wins the Sprint. He saddled Midnight Lute for victories in the race the past two years.

Lukas saddled the winner of the Juvenile three consecutive years, beginning with Capote in 1986 and following up with Success Express and Is It True the following two years.

Summer Bird, the 3-year-old son of Birdstone who is one of the most improving horses in the country, worked five furlongs over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface in 1:00.45 between the thrd and fourth races Sunday in preparation for a start in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7.

The winner of the Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup is a top candidate to win an Eclipse Award as top 3-year-old male, and trainer Tim Ice believes he should receive Horse of the Year support if he wins the Classic.

Kent Desormeaux, Summer Bird's regular rider, flew in from New York for the workout and guided the colt through splits of 24.42 and 48.56. Summer Bird galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.03 and Desormeanx was pleased with the work.

"He enjoyed it and he galloped out super," he said.

"The work was great," Ice said. "This was exactly what we wanted. He looked super getting over the track and he's been getting over it very well ever since we got here.

"Kent had a ton of horse under him and he just let him work on his own, within himself. I'm super-happy with how he's trained here and how he's handled everything. We'll walk tomorrow and he'll go back to the track Tuesday morning."

Ice said Summer Bird will have one more work before the Breeders' Cup.

"He'll work five-eighths next Saturday," he said.

Many have already conceded Horse of the Year to Rachel Alexandra, who went 8-0 in 2009 and beat the boys three times during a spectacular season.

But Tim Ice, trainer of Belmont, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Summer Bird, believes his 3-year-old son of Birdstone should receive strong consideration for the award if he can win the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

Summer Bird, who lost by six lengths to Rachel Alexandra in the two 3-year-olds' only meeting in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 2, arrived at Santa Anita this week to begin preparations for the Breeders' Cup and will work between the third and fourth races Sunday over the artificial Pro-Ride surface.

Kent Desormeaux, who won Oak Tree riding titles from 1990 through 1992 and has been aboard Summer Bird for the Haskell and the colt's three big victories, will fly in from Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Ky. for the workout.

"Even when I ran him in the Haskell, Kent came in once before the race to work him," Ice said. "Basically, I just want Kent to get a feel for him over the track. Not that Kent doesn't know the track, but I want him and the horse to be in sync when they're over it together. It's always a plus, I think, to have the rider work him over the track."

One thing is for certain -- Summer Bird will clinch top 3-year-old male honors, if he hasn't already, with a victory in the Classic.

In recent years, the Breeders' Cup has attempted to increase its total mutuel handle by going international, striking deals with France in 1996 and then more countries after that.

In 2007, the Breeders' Cup reached an agreement with Hong Kong, and on Thursday they took another major international step by agreeing to a deal with Great Britain-based Betfair, which adds a potential 3 million customers that are now allowed to participate in a common Breeders' Cup mutuel pool.

"This is a very big deal for us in the expanding internationalization of the Breeders' Cup," said Breeders' Cup official Jim Gluckson in an e-mail.

The Breeders' Cup will receive a percentage of the revenue from exchange bets placed by Betfair customers. Betfair will also video stream the Breeders' Cup, scheduled Nov. 6-7 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

In exchange betting, customers lay odds and others place bets on those odds. Betfair takes a percentage of the handle before the payoffs.

Last year, international handle for the Breeders' Cup was $17.6 million.

I could have sworn I saw some Breeders' Cup officials walking around Santa Anita this past weekend wearing Yankees and Phillies caps.

Let's face it, the Breeders' Cup DEFINITELY does now want a Freeway Series between the Dodgers and Angels, and they'd really prefer if neither team was in the World Series.

Think about it for a minute -- there's never been a Freeway Series, and if it did occur, the front pages of every sports section in Southern California would be full of World Series stories, relegating pre-Breeders' Cup coverage to second-tier status.

Even if only one of the two teams makes it, Games 4, 5, 6 and 7 are scheduled to be played the week leading up to Breeders' Cup XXVI, with Games 6 and 7 -- if necessary -- slated the same days as post-position draw day and Breeders' Cup eve.

Nope, there are probably no bigger anti-Dodgers and Angels fans right now than the folks who run the Breeders' Cup.

In my opinion, racing fans can expect two and maybe three changes to the current Breeders' Cup format after this year's 26th running on Nov. 6-7 during Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

* This will be the final Breeders' Cup run over a synthetic race track. The backlash Breeders' Cup officials have felt over holding the event at Santa Anita and its synthetic Pro-Ride surface for an unprecedented second consecutive year -- not to mention the number of horsemen who continue to jump off the artificial surface bandwagon by the day -- are too strong for event organizers to ignore.

* This will also be the final year where the Breeders' Cup will include 14 races. In these tough economic times when horse racing numbers -- both in attendance and betting handle -- are in decline, officials just can't afford to continue to offer as many races. Look for the less-popular races like the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf and/or Juvenile Fillies Turf to perhaps fall by the wayside. The Marathon may survive only because it has a purse of only $500,000.

* This could also be the final year of the two-day format, although this is more up in the air than the two aforementioned items.

I had an interview with Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli recently and he said a decision on the two-day setup, the number of races and any potential purse cuts will be coming soon.

"What we've always said internally and publicly is that we're going to evaluate the two-day format and the 14-race program card following this year," Avioli said. "This will be the third year that we've had a two-day format and the second year that we will have had 14 championship races. Some of the criteria that we're going to use in evaluating it are going to be the graded stakes races, the graded quality, it's going to be the level of participation that we have in these races from the top horses in the world.

"Each race in the world gets a ranking from the International Federation of Horse Racing Authority, and last year for example the Classic was the No. 1 race in the entire world. And we had a handful of other races in the top 10 in the world. So we want to make sure the races that we're putting on are quality races with quality fields. We're also going to take a look at the total amount of wagering that we receive on these races because that's relevant to our bottom line.

"Last year was the first time we had a two-day format with a full Breeders' Cup card on Friday and I don't think this gets noted enough, but we set a North American record of over fifty million dollars for the most money ever wagered on a weekday in North America on horse racing. So from our one-year experience, the two-day format and the 14-race card worked very well, but we're going to take a wait-and-see attitude and see how it goes this year and then make any changes for next year that need to be made following that evaluation.

"We had approximately 30,000 people in New Jersey at Monmouth (Park) for the first Breeders' Cup Friday (2007), and that was in an absolute torrential downpour. What we have to constantly remind people is that this is something new. This is only the second year of this and if this is going to succeed, which I believe it will, it's going to take three, five, 10 years for it to reach its full potential."

D. Wayne Lukas, still the Breeders' Cup all-time leading trainer with 18 victories, also set another record when he saddled the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile three consecutive years in the 1980s. It's the only time a trainer has won the same race three years running.

This year, Bob Baffert, a distant third to Lukas with seven Breeders' Cup victories (Shug McGaughey is second with nine), can tie Lukas' mark by winning the Sprint for a third consecutive year after finding the winner's circle with Midnight Lute the past two Breeders' Cups. He'll saddle Zensational, who figures to go postward as one of the choices if not the favorite, this year.

Baffert also has a solid shot at two more Breeders' Cup victories with Lookin at Lucky in the Juvenile and Indian Blessing in the Filly and Mare Sprint. Indian Blessing ran a strong second behind Ventura in last year's Filly and Mare Sprint and the two figure to hook up again this year on Nov. 6 at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

Two other Baffert runners, Richard's Kid (Classic) and Always a Princess (Juvenile Fillies), also could find the winner's circle with any sort of good fortune and pull Baffert closer to Lukas, the man who introduced the white-haired trainer during his Hall of Fame induction this summer.

Lukas saddled Capote, Success Express and Is It True for Breeders' Cup Juvenile victories from 1986-88.

My column in Friday's editions will deal with some of the many problems facing horse racing in California, one of which is the need for the trainers and owners to come together as one so they can negotiate with track management from a position of strength.

Two of the trainers who support the new group California Horsemen for Change, John Shirreffs and John Sadler, both would like the see the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the trainers reunite.

"I know the horsemen would like to see a reunification of the CTT and the TOC," Sadler said. "They wanted to take any power away from the trainers and give it to the owners (when the old Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association was disbanded in the early '90s), but that's changed where most of those guys are not there.

"It was about giving the owners the power and the tracks loved it because then it was the owners fighting the trainers and nobody looking at them. To move forward today, the two organizations should be one and then they can negotiate better with the tracks."

Said Shirreffs: "The TOC does not necessarily want the trainers group with them. That has been the standing position of the TOC, that they're willing to help us but they don't necessarily want us to be a part of their group. I think it's very frustrating for the trainers because basically the CTT doesn't have any real decision power in what goes on as far as (purse structure). Those are all TOC issues, so the CTT doesn't really have a voice in it. I think it's very frustrating on that level."

Personally, I think the whole industry is frustrating on a lot of levels.

Sea The Stars, one of the best horses to race in Europe in many years, was retired today, meaning of course he won't be coming to race in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 7.

Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli released the following statement:

"Sea The Stars has had an extraordinary career by any measure and we wish his connections the best and thank them for the careful consideration of the Breeders' Cup. We remain focused on the 26th Breeders' Cup World Championships and the strong fields scheduled to compete, including the sensational undefeated mare Zenyatta, the best horses in training in the US and an outstanding contingent of international runners that will try to match the success the European horses enjoyed last year."

It's my belief that this latest development only increases the chances that Zenyatta will face the boys in the $5 million Classic. So far, there's nothing that should scare away her camp. She loves Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface, and I think that incredible turn of foot will be there no matter who she is racing against.

Trainer John Shirreffs is best known for his work with the super 5-year-old mare Zenyatta, but this week he's in the news because he's one of the major players with the California Horsemen for Change -- a new group of Southern California-based trainers who are unhappy with California Thoroughbred Trainers and have pushed for a special election to replace the CTT's entire nine-member board.

But this isn't all about the anti-synthetic tracks fervor that has sprung up over the past 18 months. This also has to do with many other issues, including the shrinkage of purse sizes, medication and the distribution of Advance Deposit Wagering revenues. It's also about the lack of communication the disgruntled trainers feel has existed between the CTT executive board and members of the organization.

"As an example of what's going on in the industry and an example of not having all the cards on the table, there was a rumor that the TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California) was supporting Santa Anita in getting dates from Hollywood Park, which obviously would shorten the (existence) of Hollywood Park," Shirreffs said. "If they take dates away from Hollywood Park, that pushes them closer to closing. And for a lot of trainers, for myself in particular, we would not want to see that happen.

"We would hope that the TOC would do everything it can to keep both race tracks operational. To favor one track over the other is not a position the CTT should be supporting. And if they are supporting it, that's against the majority of the trainers' wishes.

"Those are the kind of issues, the gray areas, that we really don't know because they don't come out and explain themselves to us. Suddenly, it's always the board says this and that, where they could easily say the membership is split on these issues, but they don't do it that way."

Reports have surfaced today that an unidentified horseman has threatened to sue the California Thoroughbred Trainers if the group follows through on a vote taken Friday morning at Santa Anita that called for new elections to fill its nine-member board.

An emergency meeting of the CTT board was called for this morning at 10 a.m. to discuss the matter.

At the root of all this is a newly formed group of trainers, calling themselves California Horsemen for Change, who have reached a boiling point and want to see major changes in the sport in California.

"I think that's the feeling that is pretty much amongst the majority of the trainers in Southern California," trainer John Shirreffs said. "They're looking for some sort of a change, and I think they felt that the (CTT) board was not transparent or responsive to their requests."

Preparing to seek decertification of the CTT, the CHC met with the trainers' group Friday afternoon in an attempt to resolve their differences. Members of the new CHC include Shirreffs, Bob Baffert, Doug O'Neill, John Sadler, Mike Mitchell, Clifford Sise, Bruce Headley and Darrell Vienna, among others.

In a statement released this morning, the CHC announced it met for an hour with the CTT board to discuss issues that concern the new group. Presumably high on that list of concerns are:

(1) The synthetic race tracks
(2) How the Advance Deposit Wagering funds are split up
(3) Shrinking purse sizes
(4) Overall communication between the CTT board and members of the CTT

According to the release, the CTT board voted 5-4 Friday to hold new elections.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird went into Saturday's Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet off a 10-week layoff. He had no pace to run at and jockey Calvin Borel said he was struggling over the synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

Still, he managed to close from 10th to finish sixth, beaten about four lengths, and the extra quarter mile of the Breeders' Cup Classic figures to play in his favor if his connections decide to go that route.

"He looks OK this morning," trainer Chip Woolley said. "He came back good, I think. I haven't talked to the owners much since we've run, so I'm not sure exactly what we'll do from here, but the horse ran pretty good. There was not quite enough pace in the race to set it up for him, and we might have been a little too far out of it. It's kind of hard to say.

"It's never a good thing when your horse is off 10 weeks and coming into a Grade 1 race like that. It's kind of hard to be maybe as sharp as you want to be. I tried to tell his owners last night, it's not like you got beat a fading 10 lengths or something. You were the only horse left running in the race, you were still closing ground. From the head of the lane to the wire, he makes up about six or seven (lengths)."

What might be most troubling were Borel's words immediately after the race.

"He had a perfect trip, but he got to struggling a little," he said. "When I asked him to go get them, he was struggling over the track a little bit. Maybe a little bit firmer ground where I can just let him break and pick him up easy - instead of this quick - will be better for him. I don't know if that will work. But I do know one thing. He's a lot better horse on the dirt. When you ask him here, he goes to struggling instead of just running. I don't know. We'll have to work on that a little bit and see what happens. But I think he'll be all right."

It's tough to work things out if a horse doesn't like the track, although the way he came running late seems to indicate he didn't dislike it that much. He'll probably run in the Classic on Nov. 7 and get a better pace to run at. Then it will just be a matter of if he's good enough.

Trainer John Shirreffs says the unbeaten Zenyatta, who matched Personal Ensign's record unbeaten streak of 13-0 Saturday with her usual come-from-behind victory in the Lady's Secret Stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet, is as sweet as can be around the barn.

"Zenyatta's the sweetest horse you can imagine," he said in the winner's circle after the 5-year-old daughter of Street Cry again overcame turtle-like splits to unleash the powerful closing surge that has led to victories against every distaffer she's raced against. "I mean, she licks her groom. You could lay down next to her in the stall and she wouldn't move. She could be your pillow. For being the strong filly that she is, she's just really got a great, sweet personality."

Sure she does, and then she gets on the race track, pins her ears up when jockey Mike Smith asks her to run, and annihilates anything in front of her. She's unlike any distaffer we've seen in these parts in quite some time -- maybe ever.

"When she passes the other horses, she just puts her ears up," Shirreffs said. "It's like, 'It's me, and I'm here.' "

Here to knock their socks off.

Zenyatta has now won 12 of her 13 races on synthetic surfaces, but Shirreffs strongly believes she's a better horse on dirt. She turned in what owner Jerry Moss considers her most impressive victory in the 2008 Apple Blossom Handicap over Oaklawn Park's dirt track, firing on all cylinders in the stretch to zoom past reigning Eclipse Award winner Ginger Punch and win by 4 1/2 lengths.

Shirreffs, who's watched his standout mare close and win time and again now while chasing slow fractions, wondered aloud Saturday what she'd be like while racing on dirt.

"Can you imagine if she was running in 46 and 47 (second) half miles, what she'd be doing at the end of a race?" he asked. "Just imagine it. Do the math, as they say."

The math says she's 13-0 and sitting on the chance to become the first distaffer to win the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita. Shirreffs and Moss say they'll make a decision when it's time, but it says here they've already pretty much made up their minds -- she's going to run in the Classic against the boys.

"We want to see how much she's got in her tank, so we'll see what happens," Moss said when asked what factors will go into the decision regarding which Breeders' Cup race Zenyatta goes in.

Magical Fantasy is headed to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6 on a four-race winning streak after winning Saturday's $300,000 Grade 1 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita.

The 4-year-old daughter of Diesis won the Yellow Ribbon by a half-length over Visit, with Black Mamba another nose back in third in the 1 1/4-mile turf race. The second- and third-place finishers are likely to come back in the Breeders' Cup for another crack at Magical Fantasy, who went postward as the 6-5 favorite and won for the fifth time in 11 tries on the grass and for the sixth time in 17 starts overall. She went over $1 million in earnings with the victory, hiking her career bankroll to $1,039,231.

Winning trainer Paddy Gallagher has done a great job with the filly, and jockey Alex Solis suits her to a tee. They're going to be tough to beat on their home course in the Breeders' Cup, although it's always tough for a come-from-behinder to navigate and make up ground in a large field like the Filly and Mare Turf figures to be.

"That's the number one hope, to stay here and train up to the Breeders' Cup," Gallagher said.

The winning time was a solid 1:59.59 after Magical Fantasy chased pacesetter Charming Legacy's splits of 24.02, 47.58 and 11:11.98. The winner has now won three consecutive Grade 1 races, following up victories in the Gamely Stakes at Hollywood Park and the John Mabee Stakes at Del Mar. She started the four-race win streak with a victory in the Grade 2 Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita on April 18.

Jess Jackson, co-owner of Rachel Alexandra, released the following statement this morning regarding the brilliant filly, who is undoubtedly on her way to winning Horse of the Year:

"We have seen an amazing 2009 campaign from Rachel Alexandra our
three year old filly. She not only beat the fillies by 20 lengths in the
Kentucky Oaks and 19 lengths in the Mother Goose Stakes, she beat the
boys in the Preakness and the Haskell, and older males in the Woodward.
She beat the winners of the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont. Rachel
raced on eight different tracks.

We are all looking forward to an exciting 2010 season. In the interim,
I want to sincerely thank the fans, the track officials and the media
for all their heartfelt support of this wonderful filly."

There is still a chance that Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta could hook up before the latter's retirement to the breeding shed. The Zenyatta camp has said there's a possibility she could race once or twice early in 2010 before the breeding season begins.

"If everything goes well and Zenyatta is OK, I don't necessarily think the Breeders' Cup will be her last race," trainer John Shirreffs said this week. "As for how many races she runs after that, I don't know because of the breeding season, but there's always a possibility (for a Rachel-Zenyatta showdown)."

Shirreffs went on to say that he knows Jackson and Jerry Moss, owner of Zenyatta, talked at last month's Keeneland September yearling sale, but that he didn't know the full extent of the conversation.

John Shirreffs should love synthetic race tracks. He trains Zenyatta, who has won 11 of her 12 lifetime starts on the fake stuff. Two of the three artificial tracks in the Southland -- Santa Anita and Del Mar -- favor come-from-behinders like Zenyatta, who seems to close and win no matter the early splits.

But guess what? Shirreffs hates the synthetics tracks. He always has, and probably always will.

"I'm more into developing young horses, and I find that young horses really don't like training on synthetic surfaces," he said. "Synthetic surfaces are like training on Velcro, where the horse's foot lands and it doesn't slide, it just sticks to the ground. Depending upon how synthetic the surface is, they can't rotate their foot into the track and push off. So if you can imagine running along flat-footed all the time without getting up on your toes and pushing off, I think that's probably about how it would feel to a human."

Shirreffs thinks Zenyatta would be much better on the dirt, which is sort of a frightening thought for opposing owners and trainers.

Also, Shirreffs is not happy about having to run his other talented distaffer, Life Is Sweet, in Saturday's Lady's Secret Stakes at Santa Anita against Zenyatta, who will be going for her 13th victory without defeat.

"My preference would have been to run Life Is Sweet on the grass, but Mr. Wygod (owner Martin Wygod) would prefer to run her on the main track," Shirreffs said. "Pro-Ride favors turf horses a little bit. We saw that last year in the Breeders' Cup, where horses coming off the turf ran exceedingly well on the Pro-Ride surface, so I think that's what Marty is hoping will happen again."

If Life Is Sweet, who won three graded stakes at Santa Anita last winter, including the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational, reverts back to that form, she could be a tough customer for Zenyatta on Saturday.

The list of trainers who are now not so enthusiastic about synthetic race tracks continues to grow, and no, not just old-school guys like Bruce Headley, Mel Stute and Henry Moreno.

We already knew guys like D. Wayne Lukas, John Shirreffs, Bob Baffert and Nick Zito hated the stuff, but it should really make you sit up and take notice when a trainer like Todd Pletcher, who sent tons of horses to Southern California the first year of synthetics, is suddenly backing off and is now reluctant to run his horses over them.

Here's what Pletcher told Jennie Rees of the Louisville Courier-Journal this past weekend:

"I think there was a time when a lot of people were enthusiastic about the synthetic tracks and felt like it was going to make a difference in soundness and those kinds of things," he said. "I think that enthusiasm level has decreased significantly."

Pletcher is not sure he wants to send his top 3-year-old colt, Quality Road, to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7.

"I'm not keen at all," he said. "I mean, I don't think I'd be alone to say it was not a great idea to hold (the Breeders' Cup) at one place two years in a row, period, much less on a synthetic surface. It creates a huge edge for the guys who are in California all the time and a big edge for the guys from Europe. So we're going to take the worst of it in that regard.

"You don't know how they're going to handle it until they run on it. Training doesn't seem to help."

Quality Road, a lot of experts' Kentucky Derby pick until injury knocked him off the Triple Crown trail, has never raced on an artificial track. Pletcher noted that his star sprinter Munnings ran poorly on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface in last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint.

"He's been off the board once in his life, and it was there," he said.

Asked by Rees if he will have a presence at the Keeneland fall meet this year, Pletcher said: "We will be a presence. Not a big presence."

Bottom line, folks, is that these synthetics were supposed to end the fatal breakdowns, and they aren't doing it overall. Plus, sometimes the tracks are dangerous because they are uneven and they cause injuries that never used to crop up before.

More than $40 million later, nobody from outside the state of California wants to run
on our race tracks. And there are plenty of trainers here who don't want to but must continue racing because it's their livelihood.

It's not only trainers who fall upon hard times or suffer through bad meetings that are beginning to dislike synthetic surfaces.

Take Bill Morey Jr., for example. He saddied Bold Chieftain to win Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Classic at Santa Anita -- the first time he's started a horse over the track's synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

Bold Chieftain started at Santa Anita last year during the track's first season with a synthetic, but the 6-year-old son of Chief Seattle ran in the Cal Cup Mile on grass.

Morey, who is based in Northern California and starts horses all the time on Golden Gate's Tapeta synthetic track, is another who gives the artificial surfaces less than a ringing endorsement.

"There are pros and cons," he said in the Santa Anita winner's circle Saturday. "We have horses that just don't like it, and we seem to have the horses that do like it and they rattle off some wins. I still believe we might have moved too quick on this stuff. I think it was all designed to make it easier for the handicappers, as well as safety of the track, so we'd go from one track to the other, they'd all be the same, and the handicappers wouldn't have that track variance.

"Well, that didn't turn out. Every track's got a different synthetic. Hindsight is 20-20, but they might have moved a little early. I'm a dirt man; I'd just as soon run on dirt. Although, let me say one thing -- when it rains up north, I'm happy to have this stuff because it can get miserable up there."

One horseman who recently returned from two weeks in Lexington for the Keeneland September yearling sale told me that Kentucky horsemen want no part of shipping their horses west to run on synthetic tracks.

Translation: Other than Breeders' Cup weekend, we can expect the fields to stay as short as they've been for more than a year now or perhaps get even smaller.

Trainer Mike Mitchell reported that Grazen, the 4-5 favorite who suffered a career-ending tendon injury to his right leg during Saturday's California Cup Classic at Santa Anita, was doing well in his stall Sunday morning.

Grazen was leading in the race and appeared to have a good shot to hold off the onrushing and eventual winner Bold Chieftain when jockey Garrett Gomez had to pull up the 3-year-old Benchmark colt.

"He's walking great and he's putting a lot of pressure on it as he walks," Mitchell said. "He doesn't look as though he favors his leg at all. He is retired, though, and thank God we didn't have to put him down. Hopefully, there'll be a spot for him as a stallion in California. That'd be nice.

"From here, he'll go to Alamo Pintado (Equine Medical Center in Solvang) to help him recover. Then, probably Nick (owner and breeder Nick Alexander) will go to work on finding a place that will stand him."

Bold Chieftain, a 6-year-old son of Chief Seattle, became the 50th Cal-bred millionaire and first two-time winner of the Cal Cup Classic when he went on to post a 1 1/2-length victory over Lethal Heat, who was attempting to become the first filly to win the race.

The winner of the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita may well come out of today's Norfolk Stakes at Oak Tree. There are some talented 2-year-olds in the 1 1/16-mile race:

Lookin At Lucky -- Co-owner Mike Pegram and trainer Bob Baffert have already visited the winner's circle at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day with Real Quiet in 1998, and this son of Smart Strike appears talented enough to make it four for four in his career.

Jung Man Scott -- This Richard Dutrow, Jr.-trained son of Freud broke his maiden by 8 1/4 lengths on Aug. 6 on the turf at Saratoga and finished second in his next start at a distance. Rafael Bejarano climbs aboard.

Dave in Dixie -- Joel Rosario stays aboard this Dixie Union colt, who broke his maiden by 3 1/4 lengths in a six-furlong race at Del Mar on Aug. 29 and stretches out today. If he can transform his one-turn form into two turns, he could be tough.

John Scott -- The lone California-bred in the field, this Carla Gaines-trained son of Bertrando figures to get the distance in his first try around two turns following a pair of impressive sprint victories. Victor Espinosa keeps the mount.

John Shirreffs, trainer of the unbeaten Zenyatta, is still undecided whether to run the 5-year-old mare in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 or have her defend her title in the Ladies' Classic the day before.

Zenyatta, 12-0, worked six furlongs in 1:13 over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track on Saturday morning in preparation for a start in next Saturday's $300,000 Grade 1 Lady's Secret Stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet, a race she won last year.

Jockey Mike Smith, who has ridden Zenyatta in her past nine races, would love a shot to take on the boys in the $5 million Classic. He also said it doesn't matter what kind of track the daughter of Street Cry runs over.

"One of her best races was probably on the dirt at Oaklawn (2008 Apple Blossom Handicap)," Smith said. "But her Breeders' Cup last year (at Santa Anita) was awfully impressive. She seems to run over anything you put her on, and it doesn't seem to matter to her whether there's a pace or no pace. She gets the job done every time."

Zenyatta's stablemate, Life Is Sweet, also is expected to run in the Lady's Secret. Life Is Sweet loves Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface, and she'll be ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Veteran trainer Bruce Headley just returned from two weeks at the Keeneland September yearling sale in Lexington with six new horses.

"I bought (some) real good horses, six beautiful ones," he said.

Long known for his success with top sprinters, including 2000 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Kona Gold and Street Boss, Headley will send out an up-and-comer Saturday when he saddles M One Rifle in the $100,000 California Cup Sprint at six furlongs over Santa Anita's synthetic Pro-Ride surface.

Headley is well known for purchasing yearlings at sales for low prices and developing them into standout horses. Like everyone else, he noticed the downturn in the sales market back there the past two weeks.

"When you go to Kentucky, there are a lot of happy people, a lot of friendly people, people that really love horses," he said. "It's just such a great atmosphere in Kentucky because of the love of horses. But they were all still a little bit worried about the market and some were happy like myself that it was down where I could buy a better horse."

Another Son of a Pistol, maybe? Don't bet against it.

* Trainer Bob Baffert will send out one of his next Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Del Mar Futurity winner Lookin At Lucky, in Sunday's $300,000 Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meet.

It will be Lookin At Lucky's final prep for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Nov. 7 and his first try around two turns. The victory in the Del Mar Futurity came after a slow start on the rail in the seven-furlong event.

Baffert thinks the added distance will not be a problem for Lookin At Lucky, who is unbeaten in three races and will be ridden again by Garrett Gomez.

"I think he's going to be OK," Baffert said. "He's going two turns for the first time, so we'll find out. You never know until they go two turns."

* Richard Migliore is returning to the Southland to ride the remainder of the Oak Tree meet beginning Wednesday. Craig O'Bryan will be his agent.

* Trainer Todd Pletcher, who cut his West Coast stable way down this year from recent years, will have a string of horses stabled at Santa Anita during Oak Tree. He said he's undecided on whether Florida Derby winner Quality Road will run in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 7. He wants to wait to see how the colt runs in Saturday's $750,000 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park.

* Baffert's Misremembered, whom he bred and also owns in partnership, will run in the $500,000 Grade 2 Indiana Derby on Saturday at Hoosier Park with Victor Espinoza aboard.

* Lava Man, on the comeback trail for trainer Doug O'Neill, is scheduled to work four furlongs Friday morning over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track. O'Neill said last week it will probably take about two months before a decision is made whether to bring the 8-year-old gelding back to the races.