"What the future holds for Rachel's first foal is anybody's guess. Expecting him to follow in his parents' hoofprints is an unfair burden, even if the colt is blissfully unaware of it. However, should the fates align and he does break from the starting gate in the 2015 Preakness, well, I am sure it will be pandemonium all over again. And somewhere, Jess Jackson will be smiling."

Re: the first matings of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta: "Never before in modern times have the careers of two female racehorses overshadowed male contemporaries for consecutive years. And chances are, any success by their offspring will be attributed to the mares’ genetic prowess while the failures will surely fall on the backs of the sires. That in itself constitutes a seismic shift in attitude."

"Sixteen foals have been produced by previous matings of animals acclaimed as Horses of the Year, with four of those foals becoming stakes winners and one, Apalachee (Round Table–Moccasin) becoming a champion. That is not a bad strike rate, but the odds are still long against Rachel Alexandra’s first foal living up to its parents’ class."

Photos and text from Barbara Livingston.

"According to my calculations, Rachel defeated 77 horses in her 13 victories. Let's break them down ..."

"What is going on here? Why couldn’t he say that Rachel deserved to be retired? Why couldn’t he say that he thought Rachel just wasn’t the same anymore? Why couldn’t he say he couldn’t say anything because the only one in team Rachel who talks is Jackson and he never says anything. Maybe Asmussen is ticked off that Rachel is being retired. Maybe he thinks the filly can still run."

"There have been questions about her somewhat abrupt retirement Tuesday after Rachel Alexandra had been put through two swift workouts following her second-place finish in the Personal Ensign Stakes on Aug. 29 at Saratoga. But Blasi (trainer Steve Asmussen could not be reached for comment) insists nothing went amiss during the Monday workout. 'She worked beautiful,' Blasi said. 'She went off in 24 and 4, galloped out in 1:01.' Blasi said there had been talk of retirement before the Tuesday decision. 'We had discussed it, Mr. Jackson and Steve and me.' Jackson and Asmussen could not be reached for direct comment on the retirement but issued a statement Tuesday acknowledging what had been clear for months."

"We had her prepared for the Beldame ... it was just a matter of what Mr. Jackson felt was right for her."

"No, you have to go back to Busher, Horse of the Year in 1945, and Twilight Tear, Horse of the Year in 1944, to find 3-year-old fillies whose accomplishments compare. Like Rachel Alexandra, they dominated fillies and defeated colts, and then they beat older males. Busher defeated Armed in the Washington Park Handicap, and Twilight Tear defeated Devil Diver while winning the Pimlico Special. Busher and Twilight Tear set the standard, and Rachel Alexandra met it."

"JS: Her 2010 campaign was very strange to me, almost from the start. What did you make of it? HW: I was really surprised too."

"Interestingly, both horses are winners of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). When was the last time a foal was bred from two winners of the same American classic, you may ask? The year was 1921, when 1905 Belmont winner Tanya visited Peter Pan, the 1907 winner. The union created Ragtime, a claimer who made 76 starts and raced to age 10."

"This is not about the fact that Rachel was retired, it’s about the bizarre circumstances surrounding the announcement. If she showed signs in the work that she wasn’t up to the task of running in the Beldame, fine, say so. Her retirement, although sad, would be understandable."

"You have the power to make this the most exciting fall season our sport has known in decades. Simply reverse course and become the hunter instead of the hunted. Do yourself and the sport a favor and pass up a Breeders’ Cup prep at Belmont Park and go West to take on Zenyatta on her home turf. You have nothing to lose. Although Rachel Alexandra’s fans do not want to admit this, it has become a lost season. In football terms, the clock is running down and nothing but a Hail Mary can save it."

"Events like the Personal Ensign answer affirmatively the question whether racing is a sport. If gambling were its only attribute, the percentages and angles would be all you need to know. Like baseball, competition between Thoroughbreds has a soul which goes far beyond the most accurate numbers devised by man or machine."

"So, the bottom line is, Rachel’s defeat in the Personal Ensign, although extremely disappointing, should in the long run be looked upon as just that -- a defeat, and not as an indication that she no longer should be competing. If she shows any physical or mental signs coming out of the Personal Ensign that she has had enough, then by all means retire her. But if she is sound and that passion is still evident, there is no reason not to put the sword in her hand again and see if she can recapture the glory of last year -- at her distance."

"I understand the political implications of Asmussen's job, especially since he's employed by an owner like Jackson, but I also find it frustrating that a man who benefits greatly from the presence of such a star runner in his barn should play hard-to-get with certain members of the media. Of course, Turf writers develop stronger relationships with certain individuals than others, but the respect of decent, straightforward answers to decent, straightforward questions is owed to members of the media who cover this beat on a regular basis."

“Rachel was clearly not ready to run.... Yet there’s no reason she can’t return to where she was last year. She just rounded into shape too slowly for this race. I think if they meet it will be in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but if someone wants to offer $5-million before then Rachel could be ready for a top effort in June after she gets in one more race.”

The gamesmanship continues.

Hal Wiggins, original trainer of Rachel Alexandra, wraps up a long career. "To be honest, financially she made it possible to (retire) and me not have to work anywhere." See also: http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/editorial/news/article.cgi?id=17043 (Wiggins went out a winner, with his final entry scoring at Churchill Downs).

Sports Illustrated scribe picks both for 2009 honor. "For everybody who says that thoroughbred racing cannot produce a star outside of the Triple Crown, it was a year to eat their words, and a year for history. That's why both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are my choices for Sportsman of the Year."

Tale of the Tape. (What a year. Two amazing distaffers; an unprecedented debate. Emotions aside, the honor must go to Rachel Alexandra. She ran more, she won more, she set records.)

"Rachel Alexandra figured to be the favorite off her spectacular record-setting 20 1/4-length win in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), but for most of the early betting she was barely above even money. The public could not bet her enough and she certainly qualified as the kind of overbet favorite that we always tell you to avoid." I guess I'm alone in this -- I thought 9-5 on a much-the-best horse who looked like even money or a tick better was a pretty good price.