Zenyatta, under jockey Mike Smith, made history today in the Breeders Cup Classic. Facing male horses for the first time the mare improved her record to an eye popping 14 wins in 14 tries. The only question is whether she bagged horse of the year honors today. Fellow female, filly Rachel Alexendra, will also be in the running for horse of the year honors as she became the first female winner of the Preakness since the early 1920's and defeated all comers throughout the year. Rachel's connections opted not to run on Polytrack surface because they feel that it is not true surface of American horse racing.

Here is Zenyatta's impressive performance from earlier today:

Superstar Filly Has Won All 13 of Her Career Races

Thistledown played host the 75th running of the Ohio Derby today which featured 7 of the best three year old Thoroughbreds from throughout the country. Gone Astray proved to be the finest of the bunch on paper and on the track. Sent off as a 2-5 favorite, the son of Dixie Union waited till the homestretch to catch frontrunning War Fighter for a 2 length victory in the only graded race in Ohio that saw its purse drop to $150,000 this year because of financial trouble at the North Randall track.

The Claude McGaughey trained colt had been coming off an impressive 9 length score in the the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby and seems to be getting better as he matures. Jockey Eddie Castro guided the winner in the Grade II victory today and also cashed a big paycheck in another stakes race that had a healthy purse of $75,000. Castro said after the Derby win:

“’I got my position early and my horse stayed relaxed for me. I wasn’t worried in the stretch. I knew my horse was running without asking him too much.”

While enjoying an Iron City beer with a fellow Clevelander at Mountaineer Casino Resort and Racetrack this past March, my compatriot and I discussed the merits of Thistledown removing the Ohio Derby from its stakes schedule this year to funnel more money into overnight purses.

My friend agreed with the move, saying that Thistledown should do more to support its local horsemen--the people who commit themselves to the track's program long term--versus supporting the carpet bagger national horsemen who swoop in once a year for the big pot.

I disagreed, saying that every track should get gussied up at least once a year to put its best foot forward. Even schools in the poorest communities have homecoming.

In the end, the Ohio Racing Commission also thought that Thistledown should hold its signature event and mandated that the suburban Cleveland facility stage the Ohio Derby. Horsemen responded, as the connections of 13 horses dropped their names in the entry box on Emory Road this past Tuesday.

The 75th running of the Ohio Derby takes place at Thistledown this Saturday. Thirteen horses will be loaded up in the Grade II event which will has a purse of $150,000. Leading the field in the most prestigious race in the Buckeye Stateis Pennsylvania Derby winner Gone Astray who has been installed as the 8-5 favorite. Giant Oak is second choice at 5-1 with Join In The Dance, who ran in this years Kentucky Derby, right behind at 6-1. The Ohio Derby is raced at a distance of 1 1/8 miles.

Post time for the race is set at 5 o'Clock and is marked as the eighth race on a card that features nine races in total.

The Ohio Derby isn't the only big race at Thistledown this week, either. It will be the biggest racing day of the year at The Big T with the Best of Ohio being part of the racing card as well.

Here is the full morning line odds for the field of horses contesting the big race on Saturday:

1/Fonda Ronda Won/Christian Pilares/30-1

2/Gone Astray/Eddie Castro/8-5

3/Join In The Dance/Orlando Mojica/6-1

4/Perfect Start/Deshawn Parker/30-1

5/Petch/Phil Teator/30-1

6/Karama/Victor Lebron/10-1

7/Hoopoe/Ernesto Oro/10-1

8/Ice Road/Chrstopher Emigh/15-1

9/Weslinn/Luis Gonzalez/15-1

10/Fundy/Rosemary Homeister, Jr./12-1

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has purchased Thistledown, but the Las Vegas-based gaming company did so not because the North Randall facility already conducts Thoroughbred racing but because it is likely to eventually operate video lottery terminals.

In casino gaming circles, Harrah's is most known as operator of high-end Las Vegas gaming properties such as Caesar's Palace and the World Series of Poker. Clevelanders might be more familiar with its management of the former Casino Windsor, but the idea is the same: Harrah's is associated with gaming.

Put another way, horse racing is merely a means to an end--a way for Harrah's to enter a market that otherwise would be closed without a racing license.

Harrah's owns Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, a Thoroughbred track that Thistledown historians may remember was once owned by Ed DeBartolo (just as Thistledown was before Magna Entertainment Corp. bought it), so its Thistledown acquisition reunites it with Louisiana Downs in some ways. Harrah's also owns Chester Downs near Philadelphia, a Standardbred track Harrah's built when Pennsylvania allowed slot machines at racetracks.

Harrah's Casinos have announced that they have purchased Thistledown Racetrack today for $89.5 Million. Thistledown, who begin offering slot machine gaming in May, had its parent company Magna Entertainment Corp fall into bankruptcy protection and the government forced the company sell off some its assets.

Harrah's is a popular name in the gambling world. They own legendary Las Vegas casinos such as Ceasar's Palace, Bally's, Rio, amongst many others.

Legendary 3 Year Old Filly Defeats Older Colts at Saratoga to Add to Her Already Stellar Legacy

Super Filly Rachel Alexandra will be back on racetrack on Saturday afternoon to face another challenge. Alexandra has already soundly defeated 3 year old colts so she will now take aim at older males in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.

"She is very special," Trainer Steve Asmussen said an hour after she had a workout yesterday morning. "She's extremely exciting and she just has a tremendous amount of presence with her. Somebody asked me this morning, 'Does she know she is a star?' I very much believe that she does. I think she accepts the pressure that is put on her, the attention that she gets and I think she has really thrived under it."

Hopefully the super-horse won't add to the long list of champions that have fell in defeat at Saratoga. The famous racetrack is dubbed "The Graveyard of Champions" and handed Man O' War its only loss in his illustrious career and blemished the record of Secretariat late in his career.