Zenyatta Remains Unbeaten and fans are going wild over it. The sports betting category of horse racing had plenty of attention on Saturday and was focused on two female horses as Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra ran in separate races. Zenyatta did her part, winning the $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap by 1 1/4 length to put her record at a perfect 15-0. Rachel Alexandra was upset in her race though. Many horse racing fans with accounts in online sports betting were able to see this.
Sports betting fans saw Zenyatta coming from behind to beat seven other horses. “Everybody really loves her,” co-owner Jerry Moss said, “Everybody’s so pleased to have her back and to root for her, and when she wins, she makes everybody happy.” Jockey Mike Smith had to find room for Zenyatta but once he did the race was over. “This was a great, great race for her and it wasn’t taxing at all,” Smith said, “We got enough out of this race to move forward.”
While Zenyatta was victorious in sports betting, Rachel Alexandra was not. She was upset in New Orleans and that could mean that the big race between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra might not happen. It was supposed to be next month at Arkansas but the latest reports have the race being off. It was actually Zenyatta’s stablemate, Zardana winning over Rachel Alexandra on Saturday.
Zenyatta could still run in the April 9th race that was supposed to include Rachel Alexandra. There would be a $5 million dollar purse in that race but only if both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra are in the race. “I’m sorry she lost, but she lost to a better horse,” Zenyatta’s co-owner Jerry Moss said, “We’ll see what happens in the next race. Hopefully, she’ll come back a stronger racehorse in a month, and we’ll see the real Rachel, so to speak.”
Zenyatta was the 1-5 online sports betting favorite on Saturday and paid $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10. Zenyatta normally comes from behind to win and that was the case again on Saturday. “I just have a lot of faith in Mike,” trainer John Shirreffs said, “I know once he gets her in the clear, he has a good chance. She’s cut in between horses and everything, but when you have a big `X’ on your back, a lot of places don’t open up that normally would.”
Zenyatta was expected to win and she did not disappoint. “I cut some corners and gambled a bit, but I was confident at all times that if she needed to make room, she could,” jockey Mike Smith said, “She’s a bit of a bully.”