With Rachel's successes, the public was urging Rachel to run in the Kentucky Derby. The co-owners Dolphus Morrison and Michael Lauffer and trainer Hal Wiggins briefly discussed this possibility and decided against it. Fillies don't usually take on colts in Grade 1 races because the boys are usually bigger, faster and stronger. The Kentucky Derby can be rough and potentially very scary for a young filly with a large crowd of 20 horses all clamoring for position around her. Rachel Alexandra is just as big as the colts, but still could be roughed up or intimidated by the colts. Additionally, fillies come in heat every 20 days during spring and summer and that could make the colts more aggressive. All that to consider, Rachel Alexandra’s owners decided against running her in the Derby.
Publicly, Morrison stated, "The Triple Crown is the showcase of the future stallions of our industry. Colts should run against colts, and fillies should run against fillies."
Prior owner Dolphus Morrison
Rachel is purchased by Jess Jackson and Harold McCormack
After her phenomenal performance at the Kentucky Oaks, 79 year old billionaire Jess Jackson (of Kendall-Jackson Winery and the owner of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin) dove into very aggressive and urgent negotiations to purchase the filly. Morrison remained firm on his price and on May 6, 2009 it was announced that Rachel Alexandra was sold. The official purchase (some speculate over $10 million dollars) was made by Stonestreet Stables & Harold T. McCormick, with Jess Jackson holding controlling interest. Rachel Alexandra was transferred to the barn of trainer Steve Assmussen.
"She is fast, strong and durable -- the trait we should be breeding into all future generations of racehorses," Jackson said, adding that he plans to breed her to Curlin after she retires from racing.
New owner Jess Jackson
It seemed that the reason why Jess Jackson was so urgent about purchasing Rachel Alexandra was that he intended to enter her in the Preakness Stakes two weeks after the Kentucky Oaks. Regardless, Jackson made it clear that he would have no qualms about running her with colts.
"If she continues to be in perfect condition, our intention will be to run her in the Preakness ... I think the fans deserve to see the best horses compete regardless of sex," co-owner Jess Jackson said, "This isn't about male or female, it's about the best athletes." However, he was not going to run her in the Preakness if it is discovered that she is not ready for it. Jackson emphasized his desire to take a long-term view of Rachel Alexandra's health. "This is not a gimmick," he said of his purchase,"If we go to race against the boys, it's because we intend to win."
Going a bit further with this: If Jackson had owned Rachel earlier, would Rachel have been the first filly to win the Triple Crown? No.
“I would have kept her out of the Derby,” Jackson said of the 20-horse race. “That’s a cowboy charge to the first turn.”
Jackson is known to be a man who is willing to think outside the box for the good of the sport. Owner of another champion horse "Curlin", Jackson allowed Curlin to race past the usual 3 year old campaign into the 4th year, helping him become one of the few 2-time winners of the Horse of the Year and the higest grossing race horse in history ($10.5 million). It is more monetarily profitable to retire a horse after 3 years old and make the bigger money in the breeders shed, but making more money is inconsequential to the billionaire. He has repeatedly said that horse racing fans ought to be able to see champions run as long they are able. Jackson shipped Curlin to Dubai to win the prestigious (and richest) race The Dubai World Cup. Jackson was brave enough to try Curlin on grass, and he even tried Curlin on synthetics.
In addition to the regular entrance fee to the Preakness, Jackson paid the $100,000 supplemental fee (because she was not nominated to any of the triple Crown races by her previous owner.) She would be trying to achieve a feat unmatched since Nellie Morse was the last of four fillies to win the Preakness in 1924. In the 134 years of the race, only 10 fillies have tried since then, the last being Excellent Meeting in 1999. She was pulled up by the jockey as a precaution and didn't finish the race.
Jackson Speaks his Mind, that's just his personality
HE ESTABLISHED WINERY ASSOCIATIONS TO PROTECT SMALLER WINEMAKERS
Concerned that bigger wineries were bullying smaller family owned operations, Jackson co-founded the Family Winemakers of California.
HE CHANGED SALES MARKET LAWS
Jackson entered horse racing six years ago and invested more than $250 million in thoroughbred breeding. After he suspected horse racing bloodstock agents had cheated him out of $3.2 million by accepting kickbacks from sellers during the first two years he was building his stable, Jackson filed a lawsuit to recover the money. Jackson settled out of court with the defendants in 2007 for $4.6 million.
Jackson then championed a 2006 law in Kentucky, the center of the U.S. breeding and sales market, to punish bloodstock agents who fail to disclose whether they represent both sides in a deal. Florida followed with similar regulations.
HIS OUTSPOKEN PERSONALITY RUBBED SOME THE WRONG WAY
“Some of the owners and breeders didn’t appreciate his direct approach,” Dan Metzger, head of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, said, “He probably did rankle some feathers along the way. Jess was very outspoken and critical of some of their practices.”
“Jess did push hard and sometimes Jess was confrontational and some pushed back,” Waldrop (chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association) said. “Jess has been out of the picture for a while. He’s been quiet. He’s made peace with the industry.”
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