Eve of Greatness?

I was overwhelmed today in a way that hasn't happened since I was young. We are upon Breeders Cup Eve. Sure, we have survived the first day of Breeders Cup races spotted with longshots (Shared Account) and strong winners (Unrivaled Belle). My TwinSpires account reads positive, so I'm officially happy, but there is an anxiousness and yearning beneath it all.

Tomorrow holds a card of wonderful races. The Mile, featuring champion Goldikova. The Sprint, featuring various speedy thoroughbreds going all out for the goal. The Turf, where Europe meets America in a clash of the titans descending from Northern Dancer. And then there's the Classic.

Any other year, I would view this race as the meeting of the handicap and three year old champs. This is where sophomores come to grow up and older horses come to prove themselves. But in the background, there comes a dark beauty. Think Angelina Jolie meets Grace Kelly. She could kick your ass and seduce you with her grace all at the same time. I can't really elaborate upon her charismatic features. 60 Minutes and every turf writer in America has taken the opportunity to try to capture her persona, but you really have to be there to understand. It's more than these silly dances moves, or even her solid race record. It's the heart-stopping finishes, the weird awareness of the wire and the extreme confidence that this mare holds.

Zenyatta is THE story in this year's Breeders Cup. If she wins tomorrow, it will be the greatest culmination of a career since Seabiscuit came out of nowhere to skim the boots of Red Pollard in the Big Cap. We're talking 20 for 20. A perfect mare beating the boys. A two time winner of the Breeders Cup Classic. A Zenyatta. She is in a class of her own now isn't she?

And the winners in all of this? Horse racing. As horse racing fans, handicappers, turf writers and basic followers, we continue to be in search of that one thing that still makes us cheer. It's easy to become hardened to the spectacular two year old performances at Saratoga, or the deep closing Kentucky Derby winners or the record breaking sprinters. In fact, I think a racing fan is the hardest to impress. We've seen it all, done it all and beat it all. That is, until Zenyatta.

Then she came and horse racing suddenly started whispering through the cynicism to wax poetically, to give in to the belief that she was larger than life and to believe that a big ol' mare who drinks beer and listens to airplanes fly can beat the best colts in America. This is the stuff history is made of. And, folks, history is upon us. Tomorrow, a mare with a perfect record will enter the 8 hole in the Churchill Downs gate. The world will take a deep breath as she breaks (most likely last). And hopefully, somewhere down that long, legendary stretch of Churchill Downs, she will find a legendary full stride and beat all comers to become the best mare of all of racing history and potentially the most charismatic horse to approach the starting gate. Yes, horse racing, this is your time. Revel in it. This is the hour to enjoy Zenyatta.