Rachel capped her extraordinary 8-for-8 campaign in 2009 by winning Horse of the Year honors at the Eclipse Awards. Rachel – who also was unanimous choice for 3-year-old filly champion – defeated Zenyatta, 130-99, in the voting announced on January 18 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Her thrilling victory over older males in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga in September was the first ever in the race by a filly. The Woodward also marked her fifth straight Grade 1 win and third victory over the boys (she also won the Haskell by six lengths). Rachel’s Woodward was chosen by more than 3,000 voters as the NYRA “Story of the Year.” Records fell at Belmont Park in June’s Mother Goose as she swept to a 19¼-length victory – the biggest winning margin ever in the race – in a stakes record 1:46 1/5. Considered the most impressive three-year-old filly since Ruffian, Rachel Alexandra made history on May 16 when, as the post-time favorite, she defeated Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird by a length in the Preakness. She is the only horse to win the Preakness from post 13 and one of only five fillies to win the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. Her sire, Medaglia d’Oro, ran second in the 2002 Belmont Stakes, beaten a half-length by Sarava, who at 70-1, returned the longest $2 win price in Belmont Stakes history ($142.50). On May 1, she defeated six others of her age and sex in a 20 ¼-length romp in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. She is named for the 13-year-old granddaughter of the original owners, Dolphus Morrison (in partnership with Michael Lauffer) who didn’t nominate her to the Triple Crown, believing that fillies should only race against their own gender. After her Kentucky Oaks win, she was sold to Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson winery, and Harold McCormick. She was transferred to trainer Steve Assmussen’s barn and supplemented to the Preakness for $100,000.