Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Zenyatta News

Birthday Day!

Team Z is in Kentucky for Zenyatta’s 8th birthday. We celebrated yesterday with Zenyatta, Baby Z and Lane’s End staff. Cards and gifts from the fans were highlights of the day, along with a very special birthday cake of pears and carrots. It was a rainy morning, but the sun came out just in time for the festivities. Baby Z got a kick out of all the attention and had just as much fun as his mom.

Everyone had a great time… no foolin’!

Here’s to another great year!

Z had a great time reading her birthday cards. Photo by Kyle Acebo.

Z''s cake by Cyril.

Reader Interactions

694 Comments

    • / Reply

      Did not realize what the horses name means,
      Until you told about all the busses.

      I’ll have another (drink, beer, glass of wine)

      I guess a lot of people really like this rowdy
      Ness, but it is very immature and does
      Not show respect to a talented horse.

  4. / Reply

    We are ardent fans of Lava Man. When visiting the Hollywood Park backside, we usually make it a point to visit him at the O’Neill barn. He is always a delight — loves posing for photos ala Zenyatta. I even received an email from him recently when I inquired if it were true that he was permitted to stroll the barn on his own. Here is his reply:
    Is it true you are free to move about the barn at will?

    LAVA MAN Sometimes. Mostly in the mornings after I get unsaddled. I get to ‘sneak’ over and eat some grain from the barrels. hehe
    March 5 at 11:18am · Like.

    Carole Kennedy Absolutely love it!
    March 5 at 1:25pm · Like.

    • / Reply

      Kennedys,
      I adore Lava Man, thanks for this tidbit, too cute. I am so glad he is happy where he is living……and appreciated. Hugs

    • / Reply

      Kennedys! greetings from Seattle! So much fun to see Lava Man at the SA Handicap and then on TV yesterday with I’ll Have Another. Yay, Lava Man. Wish I could have seen him race in person.

      Thanks for sharing Lava Man’s “news” : )

    • / Reply

      I agree Terry! Isn’t HE a kick!!? He was my hero long before Zenyatta came along … thank goodness she did because The Man was retired.

  5. / Reply

    A Birthday Poem for Doris McQuiddy (aka DMCQ)
    (April 8, 2012)

    Dearest Doris,
    For you we sing
    A rousing happy birthday chorus!
    We pray
    That nature has put on display
    An abundance of spring’s
    Loveliest things
    For you,
    And that you, Roy, Tucker and McDude
    Will all partake of tasty food.
    And though these days you may,
    Dearest Doris McQuiddy,
    No longer feel quite so giddy
    Or gay
    As a kiddie
    On your special day,
    We hope you’re in a most joyous mood
    On this, your Easter birthday!

    Happy birthday, Doris, and many, many more!

    Love in EAN and Dumplinghood,
    Trina and all the Z-sters

  7. / Reply

    It’s at times like this when I wish the diary was back. To hear Zen/Dottie talk about Mike’s 5,000 win would have been wonderful. Oh, I’m not complaining about this site one bit…it’s just that for Mike, win 5,000 is such a huge deal.

  11. / Reply

    What a perfect way to end Easter weekend…TVG is now replaying Zenyatta’s 2009 Breeders Cup Classic for an hour. No one can take their eyes off her. Absolutely stunning. I am so blessed to know of this fabulous mare.

  12. / Reply

    Congratulations to our Mike in reaching 5,000!!! What a fantastic accomplishment!!!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Doris!!!!!!!

  14. / Reply

    Dumplings; I had a very blessed day to be able to be with family and my grandkids! I hope all of you had a blessed day as well. Right now I am attempting to unwind because they tend to bring me up to such a high.
    I just read that Mikie made his 5000th career win!!! That is wonderful. Yippee!!!
    Except for my bloodhorse issues I only have all of you!! I am really grateful for that!!!
    I am trying to convince husband to go with a dish that does have the HRTV or TVG channel. He says he’d rather have the cable that we have.
    Dawn Conrad; I looked for your Easter wishes but my computer kept jumping erractically. Knowing you, it must be something really creatively sweet. But I did read about your plans for your next trip. You will love it!! I am sure of this. I also saw that apparently your mom was having a health problem, but now is doing better. I am really happy to hear that. When I was in my 17teens to 21 yrs living at home, my mom singled me out to be the black sheep of the family. We did not get along, she said some pretty undeserved aweful things to me, a want- to- be independent gal. Needless to say through the years I always respected my mom, she mellowed, and we both enjoyed each other. I think when she passed at age 90 1/2 I cried the hardest. It sounds like you and your mom are buddys for sure. That is a wonderful thing. I am happy for you both. hugs, Sally B.

    • / Reply

      Sally-The Dish Network has a package which includes every racing program from every track which has a signal going out for about $50.00 per month. It is literally 24/7 of all the types of racing there is. Now that you have bulked up on steroids, maybe you can wrestle him for it.

  16. / Reply

    From Old Friends:

    From Michael…

    The brief morning chill was exactly what the doctor ordered for our frisky residents. Virtually all of the geldings and mares were leaping and running with the wind in their manes and their heads held high. While Affirmed Success stopped long enough to devour his daily mint and MiketheSpike took his place at the first feed tub, Ball Four and Bonapaw, both up on their hind legs, looked as if they were auditioning for “Dancing with the Stars.” These are the refreshing mornings that re-invigorate the body and the soul. The stuff that dreams are made of.

    Arson Squad’s post-operative recovery couldn’t be going better and he must be looking forward to Samantha Siegel’s visit next week. Marquetry has completely regained his exuberance and it’s hard to believe how good Clever Allemont looks after all he’s been through.

    I wish that I could write just about the horses in each update. But the part of the work I hate the most..in fact, despise might be a better word…is the fundraising. After nearly a decade, I thought we’d be much further along the road to financial security. I guess there are a lot of people who don’t see what I see as obvious. These are amazing athletes who shouldn’t have to beg for a dignified retirement. They earned nearly $90 million on the track. And get no social security. I think people should consider it a privilege to donate to these athletes. But, in many cases, I’d be wrong.

    The other trouble with asking for donations is what I’ve come to call the burden of the generous. People with financial resources who believe racehorses deserve better are not just hounded by me but my hundreds of others. At a certain point they must want to ignore the e-mails and their phones and hang up a no solicitation sign. I can’t bring myself to call Jerry Moss or Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs one more time. I don’t have the courage. We have a great supporter named Mary Ostrowski who’s not rich. But she’s emptying her treasure trove of horse racing memorabilia so we can raise money for the farm.

    One great thing that’s come out of this is our relationship with Daily Racing Form and Mandy Minger. The DRF and Old Friends are fundraising partners in the Old Friends Winner’s Circle, a program where Thoroughbred owners can designate one of their current athletes to the OFWC by pledging 5% of the winner’s purse to Old Friends. The DRF will publish the names of the athletes before their races and follow it up with a congratulatory announcement when they win. It’s great for the sport, great for the owners and, of course, great for the retirees. Any Thoroughbred owner can call Old Friends at 502 863-1775 to nominate their horse. I’m hoping that it will be so successful I won’t have to spend the rest of my life holding a tin cup.

    I just turned 65 and I think I can do this forever but I know I can’t. When it comes time for me to hand the reins over to someone younger with new ideas and energy, I want Old Friends to be on sound financial footing. We’ve already accomplished a lot. We were granted verified status by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and we had a clean bill of health from the IRS. Most importantly, all the horses look great. In the meantime, if you plan on making a 2012 donation there’s no time like the present. We anticipate some very successful fundraisers..Ferdinand’s Ball, Homecoming and others..and an increase in visitors, But we could really use some help in the short term to pay the feed bill, the vet bill and the bank. Thank you so much for everything. Without our many fans, we wouldn’t exist. Whether you make a donation or not, be assured we are eternally grateful for your love of these magnificent athletes..

    ——————————————————————————–

    • / Reply

      Surely, with all of the ridiculous things that the federal government subsidizes and all of the stupid studies it commissions something can be done for Old Friends. Or perhaps a quarter can be added to the cost of the Daily Racing Form to be earmarked for them. Or have the military do with one less tank. Come on, people. It is time to take care of the animals who have meant so much to this country.

    • / Reply

      I am always happy to donate to Old Friends. And always happy to hear how the horses are doing. Thanks for the update Mr. Michael.

  17. / Reply

    OK, there were some calls for my Kurt Russell stories. As I previously stated, one of my good friend’s father was a writer for the old Waltons TV show. His name is John McGreevey. His daughter, my friend, has told me several stories about Kurt, none of which would do him any harm. It started, for me, at a Christmas party in Laguna Beach. Kathy, the daughter, invited me and I was beginning to wonder what I was doing there when a man started a conversation with me. The man was Kurt Russell, but I did not recognize him. After several minutes of regular “guy” talk, Kathy came over and said something to the affect that I see you’ve met Kurt Russell. I was embarrassed at not recognizing him, but he just laughed. The stories turned to his career. It seems that Kurt and Kathy’s brother were kid actors with Disney and knew each other quite well. To make a long story short, when Kurt got older nobody would give him a job. Kathy often said that she cooked for Kurt and her brother when neither one had a dollar to his name. Well, Kurt got his big break playing Elvis in a TV movie, a part for which he had to audition. Turned out to be a big hit and the offers came in. His next film was Escape from New York, and the rest is history. His biggest payday was for a movie named Soldier, during which he had less than 100 words of dialogue. He said that maybe less of him was worth more. Whenever he and Goldie come to Hollywood, they usually go to seperate functions as their political beliefs are quite a bit apart. That is why he was alone at the McGreeveys’ house. He told me a lot of stuff in confidence that I cannot repeat. When I posted this some time ago, I recall, that Karen Gogue had also had an encounter with him. I will tell you this. If you ever get the chance to meet him, he will treat you like a friend.

    • / Reply

      Terry,
      How interesting, I’ve always liked him (he’s a hunk) and he can act too. You sure do know, or knew, a lot of famous people, were you ever in any movies? I just love the stories you tell about the good old days! Hugs

  18. / Reply

    Zenyatta is so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish i could have a horse. so people who have horses YOU ARE LUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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