One of the greatest losing performances of all-time.

In my opinion, this is without doubt one of Trevor Denman’s best calls. Knowing the result all these years later, you still get excited listening to the call thinking that maybe just maybe Zenyatta is going to get by Blame even though we know she didn’t. He captured the emotion of the race perfectly.

RIP Garrett Gomez. One of the all-time greats.

You are spot on. It absolutely confirmed her greatness. Even Andy Beyer had to admit it, and believe me, it killed him to acknowledge how great she was. Her stretch run was one of the greatest in history, win or lose. She is the greatest female horse of the last 112 years.

Zenyatta is one of best racehorses in history. The 2010 Breeders Cup Classic was a tough race, but she stayed strong and performed magnificently. I take heart in the fact that she must have thought that she won this race, just as she won all those other races. She's a beautiful runner and she has an amazing kick.

I was fortunate enough to be at Churchill Downs for this race, sitting in a lower box seat just past the finish line. I watched Zenyatta dance by in front of me before the race as she was led from the barn to the paddock by the groom and trainer John Shirreffs. The whole experience was magical... right up to the finish. The reaction by the crowd is unforgettable. Some people began sobbing, others seemed not sure if Zenyatta had lost, yet what I recall most was the near silence. A crowd that moments earlier had been roaring was suddenly close to silent, much like a wake or funeral, saddened and stunned all at once. I looked up to the crowd on the balcony and there were many people being consoled with faces buried in suits. It was more than losing money or a horse race, a dream had been lost.

I still tear up watching this race! Zenyatta is one of the best horses ever. She ran out of track! Always a winner!!!

One of the greatest races I've ever seen.

it still brings a tear to my eye when i see this race

Keep watching, everyone: Zen's gonna get up one of these days. She won this race in several multiverses.

All these years I still come back to watch these and cry every single time. I feel honored to have experienced her in my lifetime.

Why do I do this to myself?

I was at this race; I'm just your typical 25 y/o guy. When she broke free of the pack and made that run down the stretch I completely lost control of myself; I was screaming like a lunatic, trying to will her on to victory. Zenyatta's greatness is inarguable. When it came time to perform, she answered the call in every single one of her races, with this one being her swan song. In my mind she never lost. I love Zenyatta. She may be just a horse but I'll never see anything like her again.

Zenyatta is still a champion in my heart(: She ran 18 lengths and passed the whole herd and if she had gotten 1 more stride in she coulda won it! i

Broke my big toe watching this race. Sat myself right in front of the TV and jumped up with excitement, poorly obviously, near the finish. Still gives me goosebumps ❤

What an effort to get second by Zenyatta, most of the time the horse flattens out in mid-stretch after such a big effort and finishes off the board

good god, she was SO stuck in traffic. Any other odds, she would have taken this easily and she clearly had the heart to do it. Long live Queen Z. So grateful to her for letting me witness how great she is

She was an absolute amazon. She brought it EVERY time.

I was fortunate enough to be standing on the first turn and have never seen a horse that indulged or placated to the crowd as she did. She cemented herself as my favorite horse of all time that day.

RIP Garrett! You will always be one of the best ever to ride in this Sport!🏇🏿🏇🏿🏇🏿

Zenyatta was a monster. This race, despite it being a loss, was testament to her ability. They said she couldn't do it but even coming in second, she did. She showed doubters what true greatness is and had she not run into traffic and had she had the race been a few yards longer she would have won it. One of the most impressive stretch runs I've ever seen in all my years following this sport. Magnificence.

Although I wanted her to win so bad, it still may be my favorite BC Classic, they way she fought from last to almost first.

Let me add that Zenyatta and her connections did the sport proud! I thought I would not ever see a horse that capture a audience again like the great Cigar did in the 90's. I do love this sport of kings and wish our younger crowd would understand that there is more to this sport then a wager. This one of the few sports you can feel like you are part of a team even if it is for a single race or when you follow a horse career!

Just watched Zenyatta's 2009 victory. This was the next video. Every time I see it, I get keyed up when she switches to the outside, and every time,I think she's going to get there like she had every other start.

One of the absolute greatest performance I have ever seen in sports

I met Blame recently at Claiborne Farm. He has a sweet personality and still impressive stallion. For some reason, Zenyatta's loss to him doesn't sting quite as much as it did before.

Everytime I watch this stretch run I still think she might just make it and get to the wire first.

To this day when I watch it I think she is going to get there.

Just remember, Zenyatta was 6.5 years old female horse, twice the age of the other male horses. 20 lengths behind and passes everyone and lost by a nose. That is truly incredible, she is by far, the greatest horse that has ever lived, no horse has done ran from behind and wins like Zenyatta.

I can never forgive mike smith for this

ZANYATAS two breaders cup runs against the boys was just eyecatching. The loss to blame by a nose after being 22 lenths back was incredible

I will never forget how heartbroken I was for Zenyatta. That was a performance for the ages.

One of the saddest moments in Racing History

2020 and this race still hurts, she almost had it. RIP Garret Gomez.

Zenyatta brought people from the entire sports world together that day. It transcended all of sports for about 30 minutes. For 20 years we have been going to Las Vegas to watch the Breeders Cup. Never have we seen such a pack house at Caesar Palace sports book. About an hour before the race it was like a tsunami of people crept in. The amount of people there at that particular moment that were rooting for Zenyatta surpassed the college football crowd by 10 times over

Doesn't happen often, but every great once and a blue moon, a horse comes along who's ability is so special that you'll learn as much about that horse's intelligence, heart, & determination in the slimmest of losses to another top shelf contender where everything they had was left on the racetrack moreso than you'd learn if they'd won the race. This race without question qualifies as an "every great once and a blue moon."

The most impressive Breeders Cup Classic in the last 10 years still remains Ghostzapper's anhilliation in 2004 of Roses In May, Pleasantly Perfect, Perfect Drift, Funny Cyde, Birdstone and Azeri. The way the Zapper toyed with that solid field while setting a track record was just not fair.

Win or loose look at what she did!!!!!! It's simply amazing!!!!! Another length and it would have been hers ❤️

I will never forget this race. A schmuck like me in Millionaires row. The video doesnt do it justice but the patio was literally shaking from how loud the crowd was. Grat ride by GoGi. Rip

Zenyatta gave horse racing sooooooo much color it just feels so empty knowing we wont get to see the great Zen run again it she was an inspiration and a phenominal philly one of the greatest ever im happy to witness her in my generation ive been a big horse racing fan for over eight years and im only eighteen i love you zenyatta congrats on what you have accomplished you raced twenty times and only beat by one horse congrats girl you were an honor to get to see run in person

Regardless about how great or not truly great anyone thinks about Zenyatta there is a FACT about the horse that was truly remarkable. She won 19 races in a row almost 20 by coming from far back DEAD LAST EVERY TIME!! Anyone who know anything about horse racing knows closers are up against it being at the mercy of pace ,traffic and wide trips.. Never has this been done in horse racing history by ANY horse at ANY LEVEL..Period..

RIP Garrett Gonez

One of the most gut-wrenching losses ever. No disrespect to Blame but Zenyatta is the horse that will live on in our memories. A true legend.

The look on her owners face, u can see him stomach turn. I have watched this race 20 times and it never gets old,i love the commentary. If she had won it would certainly, undoubtably have been the best race I have ever seen and believe me I watch a lot

Like the 04 Belmont this race still makes me sick.

highlight of my year

Still heartbreaking all these years later, I genuinely don't think I'll ever get over this race.

You're still the greatest Lady Z! Nothing to be ashamed of. No other horse could have come from 20 lengths back like you did. A tremendous way to go out.

Mike smith will never get over this race . This is the biggest fuck up by a jockey ever!

Gotta give Blame credit for being the only horse who ever held Zenyatta off long enough. He still had to have something special just to do that.

Ways, 3 months later and watching this race still gets my heart pumping!

I've grown up around horses from the time I was 9 (38 now), but I've never really cared much about them. My mom told me about this race so I figured I would check it out..... Zenyatta gave me chills. In spite of missing the mark by such a short amount...what a incredible run.

It is a definitely a handicap to spot "other horses that close off the pace" that many lengths. Zenyatta typically does not fall that far back. Often she was not last on the first call. Mike had to use her on the back side at a time he typically doesn't have to. Also she ran sideways for bit in the stretch. Blame, a quality off the pace type horse had a nice ground saving trip; it was too much for Z To over come. I do believe she would have passed Blame eventually - That is the only way Zenyatta knows how to run. She also thought that she had won - got up in time and started to pull her self up. That with the combination of Blame digging in, cost her 20/20

Spotted the boys 20 lengths and still almost won

Blame is one amazing horse - NO QUESTION. However, not at all sure why people continue to bash the beautiful and amazing Zenyatta. I was there to witness this race and I am so glad I made the trip. Have fun in 'retirement' pretty girl!

This announcer call of this race gives me goosebumps

Zenyatta was clearly the better horse, Mike Smith did a Pat Day, No way can you spot these horses 20 lengths, if they run this race 10 times, Zenyatta wins 9 times, The last 30 Years this Mare ranks up their with Easy Goer, Cigar and Ghostzapper, amazing horse!!!!

TIZNOW's record stays intact. :)

I always get chills when I watch this. I always hope that they made a mistake, that Zenyatta really did win. But I'll have to accept it. Zenyatta is still the best! Still unbeaten in my heart!

I don't know why I do it to myself and keep watching this race!

The better horse won. Blame was better than Zenyatta on this day. You can't blame Mike Smith for running the same gameplan that had worked every time before. Zenyatta just found a horse she couldn't quite catch. Blame ran a great race. Give him some credit.

When Blame's jockey says he wouldn't want to rematch Zenyatta because he knows he had a perfect trip in this race and if Blame met Zenyatta again, he would lose....and when Mike Smith knows with another step or moving a little sooner, he would've caught Blame, that should pretty much cement the fact that Zenyatta would have won this. I don't know how everyone is making these calls otherwise from their armchairs at home or far off in the grandstand - these jockeys were IN THE THICK OF IT and they BOTH said Zenyatta would've had this if one tiny detail of the race had been changed. Going to trust the people on the horses before I believe someone watching from afar. Just to clarify, I'm not saying Blame isn't great. He is. He just is not better than Zenyatta and got very lucky in this race. The better horse lost this race.

Quality Road cost her the race. The exact time she lost getting around him, as he was practically backing up, was what she lost by. There is absolutely no doubt as to who the greatest horse in that race. Blame beat her, but by luck only. Without his dream trip, he would have lost, no doubt about it. She overcame a seriously bad beginning, a trip fraught with problems, and came within 4- 6 inches of winning from 20 back. She was a phenomenon.

I still can't believe how so many people take sports (including horse racing) so seriously that their disagreements with others cause them to insult the character, intelligence, and sometimes birth status of other commenters. Remember, the way we criticize others say far more about us than it does about the target of the criticism. At any rate, Zenyatta showed herself to be an outstanding horse again in this race. It wasn't a great field. Certainly not as strong as the 2009 BC Classic -- which she won. But Blame deserved this win. Because Blame was in the second pack, he was only 5 lengths ahead of Zen for the majority of the race. He made his move slightly before she made hers. He had to fight through more traffic throughout his final surge. She had to fight to hook outside,but once there had clear running. The final 25 yards he held her off. Either Z slowed slightly or B stepped it up when she pulled alongside -- hard to tell. But her rate of gain on his disappeared in the final few strides when she still had a chance to catch him. Zenyatta is a great racehorse. Not just a great race mare. She earned her stripes against males in the two BCs, but don't overstate the significance of her previous record against all-filly competition.Had those been regular races with males included she would have suffered a number of losses. But keep things in context. Her time at Churchill Downs was 2:02.28. Secretariat's was 1:59.40 (Kentucky Derby). That means her rapid close would still have placed her 14-15 lengths behind Secretariat. And 11-12 lengths behind Sham. In fact, Our Native finished 8 lengths behind Sham and Forego was right with him . . . which means the best that Zen's CD performance would have gotten her is fifth. And remember those were just three year old colts, not fully grown/filled out adults. Zenyatta was a completely mature adult.

One word for Zenyatta... Magnificent.

I love people who come on here and find ways to knock Zenyatta They take NIT WIT to a whole new level

Everytime I watch this I always hope the outcome will somehow be different. She is still an amazing horse and the most amazing female racehorse ever to live in my opinion.

One of the best horse's, male or female, to ever step foot on a race track. Three years in a row, the BC ladies classic ( Distaff), the BC Classic, and a damn close 2'nd in the BC classic the third year. Wow. What a lady!

She should be considered one of the best ever. Just amazing horse!

Zenyatta will go down in history as one of the greatest race horses that has ever lived. Period.

I watched this race live and I think I shed a tear when I saw Zenyatta come from behind and fight his way to the top, to just lose by a few inches.

The effort that Blame and Zenyatta put forth in this race is really something to be applauded and treasured by true racing fans. The list of horses that Blame's beaten at CD reads like a who's who of dirt racing. Zenyatta found herself in a difficult position in this race. She could've easily folded, and just thrown in the towel. But that enormous champion's heart that drives her refused to let her. She ran her heart out, beaten a mere 6 inches by another great champion. No disgrace in that. JMO

Garret Gomez best ride ever! Coming out to meet Zenyatta won the race.

Etched, one of my all-time favorites!

@caz11533 I give Garrett Gomez credit for the perfect ride. Perhaps one of the best of all time. BLame never got his momentum broken and he kept his rhythm the entire race. Just the start alone where Zenyatta got squeezed by the 2 horses to the left and right cost her more than the margin of her defeat.

I’m a big sports fan, however, not so much a horse racing fan. But, Zenyatta captured my heart in 2009, and remember watching this race. I was so emotionally invested and it broke my heart when she lost at the end. Had the race been 5-10 m longer....

I still can't get over it.

That's on Mike Smith.

For all those bashing Mike Smith: Zenyatta was not hooking well on this surface and he could tell right away with how they left the gates. No horse wins them all but if you want to see what the greatest dirt miler in history does in a similar situation, Dr Fager in the 1968 United Nations Handicap. First ever race on grass, slipping and sliding the whole way, puts to bed several other turf champions by sheer force of will. Now that's greatness

AND YES. SHE GOT BY HIM IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE WIRE.. I have a picture of the teletimer photo after the wire and her eyes could steql your soul

When a loss is a win, you know you’ve witnessed something incredible. Even Blame’s jockey had mixed emotions about beating her. Now that’s a true sign of absolute respect for the impact that Zenyata had on horse racing. He was happy to make her 19-1, but would’ve been just as happy to see her at 20-0 at the expense of another horse. That was absolutely fantastic!!!

I bet on Blame. One of the greatest overlays ever.

They say Secretariat had the biggest heart of any race horse, almost twice the size of a normal heart. He could run all day at any speed he wants and beat any horse in his path. That horse will never run out of gas. But looking at how Zenyatta runs her races, I ask, who really had the bigger heart?

I think this might be the greatest race I've ever seen a horse run, certainly in defeat..

There is a lot of opinion masquerading as fact here. Whenever a horse loses by a head and a diminishing head people are going to speculate on two things in particular: did the jockey contribute or cause the defeat; who is the better horse. First, she was very far back, but note that the first three were well clear of the rest; even Blame was perhaps twelve lengths off the lead. Ideally I think we would wanted Zenyatta a bit closer to Blame though that would have either potentially hemmed her in on the rail or four or five wide on the first turn. And we don't know if Zenyatta herself just was a bit slower in the beginning, and not because Smith wanted her to be far back in order to be extra-dramatic. I think overall Zenyatta was the better horse, but on the day for a variety of reasons Blame was a few inches faster. I also think that Zenyatta was perhaps a tad slower as a six year old. It was a great race by both of them, and although I wish he hadn't beaten her, I can't (sorry) Blame him for winning. As for someone stating that it is a fact that Rachel Alexandra, a horse I also admired especially during her three year old season, would beat Zenyatta by five lengths in a nine furlong (match race I presume), that's barely worth arguing, though I cannot resist. First, I tend to doubt there was that much of a gap between them. There are too many factors (track, surface, 3 yo Rachel vs 5 yo Zenyatta or 4 yo Rachel vs 6 yo Zenyatta)to consider. Even if Rachel slowed the pace to a crawl Zenyatta has shown that her late speed is such that she can overcome slow splits and win. Admittedly, she never experienced that with Rachel who was both talented and brave (witness her exhausting performance winning the 2010 Woodward). I never have understood why people feel the need to denigrate one horse in order to appreciate another. Nineteen wins in a row followed by a narrow loss to a great horse in Blame; Rachel's amazing three year old season of some massive wins in the Ky Oaks and Mother Goose, wins over males in the Preakness from post 13, a 6 length win in the Haskell and that gutsy win in the Woodward. I thought both were great and it would have been interesting to see the ladies meet on the track. I tend to favour Zenyatta in that contest even at nine furlongs. But that's speculation and that's why it's called gambling. I'm assuming all of us like the sport, hence the passionate feelings. But, let's not forget that it's hard to be sure of much in this world, especially the sport of kings.

Happy Birthday to Blame, who WON IT, with a winning ride from the late Hall of Fame jockey Garrett "Go Go" Gomez. RIP Go Go.

No matter where you place Zenyatta on the all-time lists (top 30 for me) the one thing you can say about the horse is that she never failed to fire. Ever.

The one race where everybody was rooting for Zenyata down the backstretch... and when she came a nose short, everybody felt the same way.

Wow! Garret Gómez a tremendos rider, he rode with an injuried shoulder and a great pain.

Zenyatta deserved HOY because it was her year, and she put all eyes on racing. She made racing exciting.

And the following year's BC Classic in 2011, Mike Smith won on a somehow similar horse flying late on the outside to catch Game on Dude with Chantal Sutherland. Tough break for her who ran a winning race with her mount taking and repelling all challengers except the last one. Even Chantal said she was rooting for Zenyatta, then the tear before....

Freaking jockey of Zenyatta asked her to go far too late. He lost this race for her. I was watching this race as a teenager with my family, so excited to see the “dancing,” brilliant Zenyatta. Absolutely broke my heart to see her run out of track, but again, that was the fault of her jockey, not her. She was BRILLIANT❤

Zenyatta is still one of the greatest racehorses and one of the greatest racehorse mares ever even with this upsetting loss! 19 wins out of 20 starts! what an incredible mare and an incredible career

I actually think this was the best race of her career. Fantastic effort all considered.

The best horse on the day won the race. The best horse in the race came up inches short. Blame's a great champion in his own right. But even in defeat, this may have been Zenyatta's finest hour. Giving up the ground that she did early in the race, and to still come thundering home against a colt that has always ran lights out at Churchill Downs the way she did speaks volumes to her greatness. The only thing Zenyatta lost in defeat was a zero in her won-loss record. But her greatness, solidified

I feel like the whole world would be different today if she just got up

Wow!! Almost three years now...seems like yesterday. I still remember DRFs front line the morning after: "There is no joy in Lousville, mighty Zenyatta got beat in her last at bat."

7 years later, I still can't believe she didn't make it.

His public workout is on youtube "Frankel racecourse gallop" ,and if memory serves, it was a few weeks before his clash with Excelebration at Newbury !

This race does show the greatness of both Zenyatta and of Blame. Zenyatta was held back too far, but she wasn't 20 lengths behind Blame -- just a few for most of the race, so one could argue Blame spotted the field 12-15 lengths. Zenyatta is one of the greatest horses ever. I agree with the experts that said in 2010 that Blame deserved 2010 Horse of the Year honors based purely on the stats for that year . . . though, literally, by a nose.