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Another look at Zenyatta

May 1, 2011 2:33 PM

With the greatest American horse race coming up next week in Kentucky, "60 Minutes" takes another look at one of the greatest U.S. thoroughbreds ever to grace a track, the nearly undefeated Zenyatta. Bob Simon reports.

Another look at Zenyatta

60 Minutes OverTimeZenyatta: A horse with charisma?

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by lindalentz54 May 8, 2011 1:58 AM EDT
She is a legend. Every little girl wants a Zenyatta to ride. She is perfection on hoofs! You go girl!
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by mdonner May 7, 2011 12:21 AM EDT
Thanks for airing another segment on Zenyatta! She's a fantastic horse and we probably won't see another one like her for a long time!
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by Slinkyleia May 3, 2011 11:55 PM EDT
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Wonderful story! I watched the 2009 and 2010 Breeders' Cup races in person, yes, in person! I lost my voice in 2009 and cried in 2010. I will miss seeing Zenyatta on the track for the 2011 Breeders' Cup. I am looking forward to visiting Lane's End again during the 2011 Breeders' Cup races to see Zenyatta. I dream about it every day.

The helmet cam gives the rest of us a good experience of what it is like to ride Zenyatta. As a person who grew up reading Walter Farley's books I always fantasized about riding a horse like The Black. Now I know what it might be like because of Mike Smith's contribution. Loved it!
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by Lentk May 2, 2011 9:23 PM EDT
What a beautiful creature and wonderful story. Enjoyed it very much.
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by redwoodsforever May 2, 2011 1:12 PM EDT
Thank you for your follow up story on Zenyatta. She is the most inspiring athlete to come along in a very long time. The affect she has on people of all ages reminds me of Sea Bisquit who captured the imagination of the public during the last depression. Watching Zenyatta run and live her life to the fullest in each moment is a lesson we all could learn from. She gives me chills every time she runs and I know she will not be forgotten. I look forward to her progeny.
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by mararacing May 2, 2011 10:00 AM EDT
Love that 60 minutes revisited Zenyatta and did such a wonderful piece right before Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown races, bringing attention to our great sport at its best. Zenyatta is a great mare and her accomplishment many, which will indeed go down in history as one of the greatest and assure her induction into the Hall of Fame. Her story does not/did not need to be 'fluffed'. She is not the only horse to go undefeated in 19 races, not the only horse do be featured in leading magazine and certainly had to vie for popularity during her career with another great racehorse, Rachel Alexandra, who also faced males and was a winner of a Triple Crown race, the Preakness, as well as the Haskell and the Woodward. Zenyatta did not face males 'at every opportunity'. She faced them twice in the Breeders Cup Classic which was correctly reported as the Super Bowl of horse racing, winning once, and yes it was heartbreaking to see her lose the second. As a very long standing racing fan, it is wonderful that we have been blessed with this great mare who brought many to our sport and the fact that she had a team of the best connections in ownership, trainer and jockey, that allowed her to be so accessable to the world and continues today. Additionally, Team Zenyatta continues assuring her legacy in retirement by helping raise funds for the Old Friends Farm, which could have been added to this piece. What Zenyatta accomplished is rare and puts her in elite company. We want the casual fans and public to know our great athlete based on facts, which make her accomplishments so much more historically fulfilling. Thanks and long live Queen Z.
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by deltalady49 May 2, 2011 2:26 AM EDT
Thank you, CBS, for the update on Zenyatta. It was a beautiful tribute, and Bob Simon is class all the way for a class horse! It is obvious from Bob's handling of this feature, along with the producers, that they became fans of this great mare. She does, indeed, seduce you to be around her.

Priscilla Clark, President of Tranquility Farm, a thoroughbred horse retirement facility, caught the essence that is Zenyatta best: "If you love Thoroughbred horses you go through life hoping that you can see just one more in whose presence the clouds fall away to reveal the mountaintop. It can take a generation or infinitely longer for such a horse to arrive, a horse that is capable of carrying the human heart. For the last one hundred years we know them all by name, but Zenyatta brought to us a beauty that was a tonic for the soul. She allowed us to believe in the impossible, and it was the light of her being as much as the thrill of her races that got us dancing. Zenyatta was transformative."

She is greatly missed on the track...there is a huge void where she once was. Unlike most thoroughbreds, she actually raced over 3 years. It has been difficult for her fans to accept that she is retired from racing and that she has a different life now. She seems extremely happy and well-adjusted, but she hasn't been forgotten. She has broken the mold in her new role because most mares retire to relative obscurity. Not so for Zenyatta, as her Facebook fans have grown from a few thousand last fall to 80,000 currently. We will look for glimpses of Zenyatta in her half-sister, Eblouissante, scheduled to go to John Shirreffs this month to train for her racing career. And, when Zenyatta has her foals, again, we will be looking for that "glimpse of the Queen", because she will be forever remembered as the greatest filly that ever graced a track.

Thank you again for a great piece.
Ann Maree Matthews
Collierville, TN
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by kj200444 May 2, 2011 2:22 AM EDT
CHANT ..... ZEN--YA--TTA ------ ZEN-YA-TTA ------ ZEN--YA-TTA ------ I am one of Zenyattas Biggest Fans here is a Video on Zennyatta and Her Fans... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-FdqerYy_o
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by vivianluks May 1, 2011 8:38 PM EDT
The most beautiful horse since Secretriat. Zenyatta has the same characteristics as Secretariat, loves the camera, dances for the fans the race strategy is the same as Secretariat, Zenyatta is the most gorgeous horse and as strong a horse since Secretariat. Any relation per chance? Will Zenyatta race at the 2011 Kentucky Derby? I am not someone who ever , ever, ever place bets on horses, but if Zenyatta runs, I will break my streak!
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