Rachel Alexandra Named Horse Of The Year

Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 15:47

Rachel Alexandra defeated Zenyatta for the 2009 Horse of the Year award. The results were announced at the 39th Annual Eclipse Awards in Beverly Hills. Out of the 232 voters who returned the ballot, Alexandra received 130 first place votes, while Zenyatta bagged 99 votes. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were the only finalists for the Horse of the Year award.

Jess Jackson, owner of Rachel Alexandra, won the title for the third year in a row. He received the gold Horse of the Year trophy from Alex Waldrop, the President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA).

“As long as Rachel is able to run and compete at the top level, we look forward to running at least another year," says Jackson.

American award, the Horse of the year award, is the highest honour given for American thoroughbred horse racing. The awards were given since 1887 by the Daily Racing Form. However, in 1950 the Thoroughbred Racing Association of North America inaugurated its own Horse of the Year award.