Zenyatta and Secretariat

Everyone and his brother are jumping onto the Secretariat bandwagon, now that the movie is opening nationwide (October 8--check your local listings). The latest is one George Mallet, who actually used to be a reporter here for the local news and has since moved to Wisconsin. Mallet caught the racing bug big time when he was covering Smarty Jones, Alfeet Alex and of course Barbaro.

His post relates the tale of how he came to buy a grandson of Secretariat and how riding this former race horse was an adventure he didn't quite bargain for--five broken ribs later.

What amazes me about the Secretariat tale is why Zenyatta's remarkable accomplishments have not caught the public's fervor like those of Secretariat. Both stories, to me, are all about greatness and winning--not overcoming tragedies in the form of physical setbacks or illness--just pure and simple power, strength and incredible physical prowess. In so many ways, Zenyatta seems like the incarnation of Secretariat and yet she has not made it off the sports pages.

Either way, you can be sure I will be catching this movie on opening day!