Augdog was right!  I have changed my opinion on horse of the year...It is definitely Zenyatta.
Jerry Bailey pointed out the nuances that made her victory even more exceptional.

somario....

Thanks for those kind words!  Remember how months ago I started a thread on how you don't automatically annoint a horse as Horse of the Year when the season isn't even close to over?  Well I got hammered by many and supported by only a few who agreed with me that you don't proclaim Rachel Alexandra as HOY with still others in contention for the honor and more races to run.  At the same time, they blasted Zenyatta as well.  Well, there is this little thing called the Breeders Cup.

Well, my, my, my, where is everyone now after ripping the horse that, as they say, didn't beat anyone all year long?  Even up until today's race, the so-called horse race experts on this forum were still hammering away on how Zenyatta didn't even belong in this race and how far back she would finish.  Time to fess up critics.  When I'm wrong, I come right back on the forum and admit when I'm wrong, with my longshot plays or whatever.  Zenyatta beat down all the big boys in the biggest horse race of the year, and I don't hear many congratulatory remarks or admissions of how wrong all of your were.  As a matter of fact, the silence is quite deafening!

The bottom line again is, and I will repeat, you don't deserve JACK for HOY honors when you're sitting in the barn, on the sidelines watching.  RA connections must be thinking right now...."Did we F**k up or what!!"  Great horses take on all challenges.  Zenyatta did just that today and won Big Time in the biggest race of the year!

aug.....

Come on.  She won a race on a surface that she is a freak on.  It's a surface where last move wins and she's got that game down to perfection.  Good for her. 

Unfortunately her connections simply didn't believe she was as good as she is because they waited till the last possible chance to try her against males.  Had they had real faith in their animal, she might have far more wins in many other historically important open races.

She has now proven she simply is the best synthetic horse that has ever lived, but she is not HOY in 2009 and it has nothing to do with her.  Her connections just blew it.

 

I used to feel that way too, but no more!  Compare this field to the Woodward....and the WAY she won it.  Jerry Bailey pointed it out.

I was never in either fillies camp  of supporters, but agreed HOY is decided at the end of the year, or at least Breeders Cup.  I  thought if Zenyatta could win the Classic she should be HOY because that is so much better than anyhting RA ever faced.  However I never thought she would do it  Game set match.  It's over, not even close.