In 2009, a big dark mare broke badly and dropped to dead last in a 12 horse Breeders’ Cup Classic field. Even turning for home, she was still only sixth. Then Zenyatta swung wide at Santa Anita and ran them all down, so she became the first female ever to win the Classic.
She’s still the only one. So with the Breeders’ Cup back at Keeneland this week, we’re looking back at the career of Zenyatta: 20 starts, 19 wins and one defeat by a head.
A $60,000 Yearling From the Keeneland Sales Ring
Zenyatta’s story starts at Keeneland. Breeder Maverick Productions sent her to the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but a skin rash flared up a few days before she went through the ring. As a result, Jerry and Ann Moss bought her for just $60,000.
Since Jerry Moss helped found A&M Records, the name came from music. In fact, the couple named her after The Police album Zenyatta Mondatta. On the track side, she was a daughter of Street Cry, the 2002 Dubai World Cup winner, out of the Kris S. mare Vertigineux.
She also grew into a giant. Reports put her between 17 and 17.2 hands, while she raced at more than 1,200 pounds. Trainer John Shirreffs never rushed her, so she didn’t make her debut until November 2007, at age three.
How Zenyatta Built a 19 Race Winning Streak
At first, David Flores rode Zenyatta. She won a Hollywood Park maiden race at 11/2, then an allowance, then the Grade 2 El Encino at Santa Anita in January 2008. After that, Mike Smith took over for the remaining 17 races.
Next, Smith and Zenyatta went to Oaklawn Park and won the Grade 1 Apple Blossom by 4 1/2 lengths. Then came a run through the big California races for older fillies and mares, such as the Milady, the Vanity, the Clement L. Hirsch and the Lady’s Secret. Over her career she won the last three of those three times each, while she won the Milady twice.
Finally, her 2008 season ended in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita. There she won by 1 1/2 lengths, so she finished the year 7 for 7.
Zenyatta’s Race Record, 2007 and 2008
Our first table covers her nine starts from 2007 and 2008, with the race, her final odds and the result. Pay attention to the price column, because it tells its own story. In short, Zenyatta started favorite in 18 of her 20 races.
| Date | Race and Track | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 2007 | Maiden Special Weight, Hollywood Park | 11/2 | 1st by 3 lengths |
| Dec 15, 2007 | Allowance, Hollywood Park | 6/5 | 1st by 3 1/2 lengths |
| Jan 13, 2008 | El Encino Stakes (G2), Santa Anita | 6/5 | 1st by 1 3/4 lengths |
| Apr 5, 2008 | Apple Blossom Handicap (G1), Oaklawn Park | 9/5 | 1st by 4 1/2 lengths |
| May 31, 2008 | Milady Handicap (G2), Hollywood Park | 3/10 | 1st by 2 1/2 lengths |
| Jul 5, 2008 | Vanity Handicap (G1), Hollywood Park | 3/10 | 1st by 1/2 length |
| Aug 2, 2008 | Clement L. Hirsch Handicap (G2), Del Mar | 3/5 | 1st by 1 length |
| Sep 27, 2008 | Lady's Secret Stakes (G1), Santa Anita | 7/10 | 1st by 3 1/2 lengths |
| Oct 24, 2008 | Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (G1), Santa Anita | 1/2 | 1st by 1 1/2 lengths |
Odds show final post time prices in fractional format, so 6/5 means a $2 win bet returned $4.40. Even so, she started favorite in seven of these nine races.
Zenyatta’s Race Record, 2009 and 2010
Next, our second table covers her last 11 starts. Look for the 2010 Apple Blossom, since she went off at 1/20 that day.
| Date | Race and Track | Odds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2009 | Milady Handicap (G2), Hollywood Park | 1/5 | 1st by 1 3/4 lengths |
| Jun 27, 2009 | Vanity Handicap (G1), Hollywood Park | 3/10 | 1st by 2 1/2 lengths |
| Aug 9, 2009 | Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1), Del Mar | 1/5 | 1st by a head |
| Oct 10, 2009 | Lady's Secret Stakes (G1), Santa Anita | 2/5 | 1st by 1 1/4 lengths |
| Nov 7, 2009 | Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Santa Anita | 14/5 | 1st by 1 length |
| Mar 13, 2010 | Santa Margarita Invitational (G1), Santa Anita | 3/10 | 1st by 1 1/4 lengths |
| Apr 9, 2010 | Apple Blossom Invitational (G1), Oaklawn Park | 1/20 | 1st, clear |
| Jun 13, 2010 | Vanity Handicap (G1), Hollywood Park | 1/2 | 1st by 1/2 length |
| Aug 7, 2010 | Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1), Del Mar | 1/10 | 1st by a neck |
| Oct 2, 2010 | Lady's Secret Stakes (G1), Hollywood Park | 1/10 | 1st by 1/2 length |
| Nov 6, 2010 | Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Churchill Downs | Evens | 2nd, beaten a head |
Once again, odds show final post time prices in fractional format. She started favorite in all 11, but then her 2010 Classic defeat ended the streak at 19.
The Road to the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic
Zenyatta won her first four races of 2009, so her record reached 13 for 13. Still, her connections faced a choice that fall: defend the Ladies’ Classic, or take on the boys.
In the end, they chose the Classic, even though the field was a monster. In total, Zenyatta faced a field packed with Grade 1 and Group 1 winners. For example, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird ran, along with Belmont winner Summer Bird. Gio Ponti lined up too, as did Twice Over for Henry Cecil and Rip Van Winkle for Aidan O’Brien.
Meanwhile, Quality Road scratched after acting up in the gate, so 12 went to post. Bettors still made Zenyatta the 14/5 favorite, while Rip Van Winkle went off second choice.
How Zenyatta Won the 2009 Classic
As usual, she broke slowly and dropped to dead last. Up front, Regal Ransom set a modest pace, with 47.88 seconds for the half mile.
Then Smith made his move. He steered her through the pack on the far turn and swung her outside, and after that Zenyatta ran her final quarter mile in 23 seconds flat. She beat Gio Ponti by a length in 2:00.62, while Twice Over finished third and Summer Bird fourth.
For bettors, a $2 win ticket paid $7.60. On top of that, the exacta with Gio Ponti returned $43.70, and the trifecta with Twice Over paid $596.20. Shirreffs had skipped his box seat to watch from the rail. “There are tears coming to my eyes. I can’t believe it,” he said.
One Head Short at Churchill Downs in 2010
Later, Zenyatta came back at six and won five more races in 2010, starting with the Santa Margarita. After that came the Apple Blossom, the Vanity, the Hirsch and the Lady’s Secret, so her streak reached 19 straight wins. As a result, she matched Peppers Pride’s modern North American record and passed Cigar, Citation and Mister Frisky, who each stopped at 16.
Then came one more Classic, this time on the Churchill Downs dirt. Once again, Zenyatta went off favorite, this time at evens. However, she broke slowly and dropped to the back of the 12 horse field, far behind the early leader First Dude.
Later, Smith angled her out into the middle of the track in the stretch, and she flew home. But Blame, under Garrett Gomez for trainer Albert Stall Jr., held on by a head. Nineteen wins, then a head.
Blame paid $12.40 to win at 26/5, while the Blame and Zenyatta exacta returned $33.20.
“It hurts more than I can explain,” Smith said. For his part, Shirreffs believed she would probably win all nine if they ran the race nine more times. Still, she retired 11 days later.
Why Zenyatta Ran the Way She Did
Every Zenyatta race followed the same script. First she broke slowly, which Shirreffs put down to her dislike of the starting gate. Then she settled near the back, swung wide on the turn and came home over the top of tiring leaders.
That style is thrilling, but it’s also risky. After all, a deep closer needs a clear run at the right moment. In 2009 she got one, and she won. A year later, though, she got stuck behind a wall of horses, and that cost her the perfect record.
She was a showman too. Before her races she danced in the paddock and the post parade, with a high stepping strut that looked almost like a goose step. For that reason, crowds came to watch her walk as much as run.
Champion, Hall of Famer and Race Name
In all, Zenyatta won three straight Eclipse Awards as champion older female in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Rachel Alexandra beat her for Horse of the Year in 2009, but Zenyatta took the title in 2010 despite the Classic defeat.
Overall, she retired with 13 Grade 1 wins and $7,304,580 in earnings. At the time, that was the most money any North American female had won. Then in 2016 she entered the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame alongside Rachel Alexandra.
Santa Anita also renamed the Lady’s Secret Stakes in her honor, and today the Zenyatta Stakes runs as a Grade 2. On top of that, a statue of her stands in the paddock gardens at the track.
What Zenyatta Still Teaches Breeders’ Cup Bettors
Still, her two Classics give us a pair of lessons we can use this weekend at Keeneland.
First, the trip matters as much as the talent. It’s that simple. Zenyatta won in 2009 off a modest pace because Smith found a clean run wide, yet she lost in 2010 after traffic in the stretch. So when you back a horse that comes from the clouds, think about the draw and how many horses it has to pass. In a big Keeneland field, even a great closer can run out of ground.
Second, short prices don’t win by right. For example, Zenyatta was evens in 2010 and lost. Even so, she ran second, and the exacta still paid $33.20 because a value winner sat on top. For this reason, using a heavy favorite underneath in exactas and trifectas often pays better than betting it to win.
Zenyatta’s Legacy at Keeneland This Week
Zenyatta’s name is on the 2026 Breeders’ Cup too. Super Corredora, the 2025 champion juvenile filly, won this year’s Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on September 27 by 2 3/4 lengths for Joel Rosario and John Sadler. As a result, she earned a paid spot in Saturday’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland. Unlike Zenyatta, though, she won it from the front.
Then there’s the 2026 Hall of Fame class, which has a Zenyatta link as well. Sadly, John Shirreffs died in February at age 80, and the Hall inducted him in August. Christophe Clement, who trained Gio Ponti, also went in after his death in 2025. So the trainers who ran first and second in the 2009 Classic now share a Hall of Fame class.
Keeneland also hosted her farewell. In December 2010 she flew into Lexington and danced for fans in the show ring there before she headed to Lane’s End Farm.
Bet the 2026 Breeders’ Cup With MyWinners
No female has won the Classic since Zenyatta, and the $7 million race goes to post at Keeneland on Saturday, October 31. So we’ll be watching for the next closer to come wide off the turn. Until then, you can bet both days of the card with us.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
Image by Dave Cooper. Licensed under CC by 2.0.
