Basking in The Glow of Rachel Alexandra

I can get pretty emotional about horses, but I surprised myself when I got choked up as soon as I caught sight of Rachel Alexandra coming toward me as she walked down the path toward the Saratoga racetrack, taking the first steps toward what would be her historic victory in The Woodward Stakes.

Her unprecedented win was hard fought, and well-earned. She set the pace and ran the first quarter of the nine furlong test in a seemingly suicidal 22 and change. Uh oh, I thought. That's too fast. I feared that having spent herself so early in the race, the super-fast filly would run out of gas by deep stretch, when I knew that a gang of older horses would be coming to get her.

But she repelled one challenge, and then another, and then finally, when the gray Macho Again came barreling around a wall of horses like a relentless freight train, I held my breath. So did the other 31,000 spectators, I think.

And then, unbelievably, she accelerated again, and even Macho Again's jockey, Robby Albarado, admitted after the race, "I never thought I had her. You never think you have champions. She's a great filly. The only thing I was hoping was that at some point she would tire.”

But if Rachel Alexandra was tiring, she wasn't quitting. Her class and her heart kicked in, buttressed by her ultra-efficient cardiovascular system and superior biomechanics. And she held on by the shortest of necks to win her ninth consecutive race, her fifth Grade I contest, and her third against the best male horses in the nation. I burst into tears the minute I realized that she'd really prevailed, overcome with emotion and awed by the filly's sheer greatness. Her trainer, Steve Asmussen, later unashamedly confessed that he was, too, "I cried," he said. "I've never cried at a horse race. It moved me."

Rachel Alexandra's got nothing left to prove, and I hope that it's true that her people may now decide to give her the rest of the year off, as they have said they may do. She's already clinched Horse of the Year honors, and will forever have a cherished place in our hearts, and in history.

Rachel Alexandra Has Proved Enough

I must admit that I had a lot of trepidation about new owner Jess Jackson's decision to run his stellar filly, Rachel Alexandra, in the Preakness, with only two weeks' rest after her glorious victory in The Kentucky Oaks.

She was magnificent in victory today, becoming the first filly in 85 years to capture the second leg of the Triple Crown, but she was also exhausted. She certainly didn't look like the same horse whose feet barely touched the ground in her 20-length Kentucky Oaks tour de force. Her jockey, Calvin Borel, knew it, commenting that she "didn't handle the track" in the stretch, so much so that he actually hit her ten or twelve times (not twice, as he initially claimed) to keep her in front of the flinty Mine That Bird, who sped through traffic to nip at her heels at the wire. And so did Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen. I don't think Blasi even flashed a smile, as he whisked "Rachel" away from the winner's circle and back to the privacy of her barn. He immediately understood that though the young filly in his care ran a brave race to win the Maryland classic, she also ran a tough one.

While everyone else was celebrating, the people closest to Rachel Alexandra seem to have grasped that she was tested to her limit today. I'm sure they are cringing at the thought of Jess Jackson running her back in The Belmont in three short weeks. And so am I.

After Rags to Riches beat Curlin in The Belmont two years ago, in a gritty stretch battle, she was never the same again. It took every ounce of her strength and heart to persevere against a great Champion.

I pray that Jess Jackson will decide not to squeeze Rachel Alexandra dry by asking her to match Rags to Riches' Belmont performance. If Rachel is managed carefully and conservatively, with an eye toward what is best for her, rather than what her single-minded owner believes is best for racing, Rachel Alexandra will return to thrill us again. For her sake, I hope she gets that chance.