Vying for a Rachel Alexandra Vs Zenyatta Showdown

Oaklawn Park

Charles Cella showing five fingers representing the $5 million

On February 4, 2010, the President of Oaklawn Park Charles Cella announced that it will increase the April 3, 2010 Apple Blossom's purse from $500,000 to $5 million should both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta run, with $2.5 million going to the winner. This would make this race the richest race ever for a distaff race. Should either of them not run, it will revert back to the original $500,000. The distance has been changed from 1-1/16 mile to 1-1/8 mile, and instead of it being a handicap, all horses will carry 123 lbs in weight. The name of the race will be changed from the "Apple Blossom Handicap" to the "Apple Blossom Invitational".

If both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta participate, the field would be limited to 10. The purse would be split in a way that would attract quality participants. The winner would receive 50 percent ($2.5 million) of the purse. The other splits would be: second, 20 percent ($1 million); third, 10 percent ($500,000); fourth, 6 percent ($300,000); fifth, 4 percent ($200,000); with all remaining starters receiving 2 percent ($100,000) each.  Cella predicted a significant field, not a small group of two or three challengers.


“We've made it very attractive,” he said. “The last-place finisher gets $100,000. That's not chicken feed.

“We've done an expansion at Oaklawn, so the track did not have money for this race,” Cella explains, but he has put up about $4.5 million personal dollars of his own money to make this race happen. He hope to get some of it back from TV and other sponsors.


Mattress Mack

On August 11, 2009, Houston, TX area furniture store owner Jim McIngvale (aka "Mattress Mack") of "Gallery Furniture" offered $2 million if Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta would run a match race in Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP). The winner would receive $1.2 and the other would get $800,000. He proposed October 3, 2009 for the race. Both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta's connections rejected this idea of a match race. Jim McIngvale was not deterred, he continually offered to sponsor a race in which Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta would compete. The Gallery Furniture sponsored race originally scheduled for December 5, 2009, then because of lack of interest from the horses' connections was moved to January 30, 2010, and then was moved to March 27, 2010 in continual hopes of luring Rachel and Zenyatta to compete there. If they were to do so, Jim McIngvale would offer $2 million purse. Because of continual hesitation on the side of the owners, they told Rachel and Zenyatta's connections that this date was also negotiable.

Breeders' Cup

In September 2009, Breeders' Cup officials, in an unprecedented move, offered to increase the $5 million purse for the Breeders Cup Classic to $6 million if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta ran in the (Grade 1)race scheduled for November 7, 2009 at the Santa Anita Race Track. However, Jess Jackson has long before insisted that Rachel Alexandra would not run on synthetics and would not be running in that year's Breeders Cup.

Because of the synthetic surface, many other horses also declined entry to the Breeders Cup that year including (the European sensation) Sea the Stars, Macho Again, Jackson Bend, Indian Blessing, Fabulous Strike, and Hot Dixie Chick.

Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas, who tops the Breeders' Cup in winners and purses won, said, "Artificial surfaces are just too unpredictable. You'll see some real reversals of form." Said Lukas, who will pass on the event for only the second time in its history, "It's not a good race track. It makes good horses average and average horses good."

TVG and BetFair

In August of 2009, TVG and parent company BetFair offered to increase the purse of the 1-1/8 mile (Grade 1) Beldame from $400,000 to $1 million if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta would run at Belmont on October 3, 2009. Zenyatta was nominated to the race, but Rachel Alexandra was already set to race at the Woodward in September. After the exhausting win in the Woodward, Rachel's connections decided she deserved a long rest.