"The horse is absolutely my inspiration," said Bonnie O'Neill, who drove from New York with her husband, John, to see Zenyatta one last time. "My hubsand got unemployed, and she sort of got us through the whole thing. That was a couple of years ago, and we really started following her. I bet on all her races, and she's the only one I ever bet on, and we built up a nice, cool little Zenyatta fund."

"During a brief ceremony, Zenyatta was honored with a personalized Los Angeles Dodgers jersey (#10) by Lou Johnson, the former player who now serves as both the team's community relations liaison as well as a member of the speakers bureau. In addition, Anita Mannila, representing Las Profesionales, presented Zenyatta a blanket."

"Zenyatta was her usual playful, calm self, enjoying every minute of the star treatment that she truly deserves."

"This is when the most need is, this time of the year," Montfort says. "We expect to have 80 to 90 horses for sale at the Showcase." This year's Showcase will be held on the Suffolk Downs backstretch October 24.

"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."

"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."

"Next month's Breeders' Cup is in the Californian town of Arcadia, but it might have been hell for Sea The Stars, whose six-month pageant through European racing required no further embellishment ..."

"John Madden announced his retirement from NFL broadcasting this morning in a simple fashion his old colleague Pat Summerall would appreciate: 'It’s time. I’m 73 years old.' And he’s right: It’s definitely time. That’s not meant as an insult."

"I think the over-and-under on Larry’s retirement is 90 days," says owner Rick Porter.