To submit fan mail, please email letters to rachelfanmail@nyrainc.com
Rachel, et al,
Well, it's going to happen! I think you're the best horse in the world; I'm a little nervous, but I bet you're not, Super Filly.
Zenyatta is so huge, a Goliath, but then David beat him, didn't he?
That's how I think of this race - David and Goliath. You're a big girl, but beside Zenyatta you'll look smallish, I guess. But your talent will out - it won't be small - you are Alexandra the Great and you will win.
Run, Rachel, run.
Run like a girl.
BobbieB
Hi Rachel Alexandra-
Happy Valentines Day!!!!
You definitely deserved Horse of the Year honors, you rock Zenyatta's sox!!!
Our family wishes you the best of luck at the Apple Blossom Handicap in Arkansas in 2 months!!!
We all know you shall conquer.
Excellent work beating all your male opponents in all your starts of 2009.
Lots of Good Luck and Love,
The F-D Family
Happy 4th birthday sweetie! I hope they pamper you today and give you some extra mints (hint hint!). But most importantly, I hope this year will be a wonderful one for you. You deserve the absolute best. You are a very special, lovable girl. I hope you will always be healthy and happy.
Hugs and kisses,
Barbara
I am writing to express my congratulations to Rachel Alexandra, the Jacksons, Steve Asmussen and Scott Blasi on winning 2009 HORSE OF THE YEAR honors, in addition to being named 3 year old Filly Champion.
What a wonderful year of superb and historic racing thrills you gave us. I will never forget the Mother Goose Stakes, nor the Woodward, because I traveled to New York just to see Rachel Alexandra the Great run; and run she did into racing legend. I still get goosebumps!
I wish the best for Rachel Alexandra and her family. I am grateful to her family for taking such good care of her, and sharing her. I give much gratitude and praise to the Good Lord for giving us all a glimpse of equine perfection here on Earth in Rachel.
God bless.
Don in Massachusetts
Congratulations Rachel Alexandra "The Great" on winning your much deserved Horse of Year honors!!! I hope you have enjoyed your vacation, but are getting geared up for another exciting year. Looking forward to seeing you at Oaklawn.
Pam Clark, Arkansas
Dear Rachel,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Hope you got lots of yummie treats!!!
Love,
Joey
Rachel you are my Horse of the Year, Decade, and Lifetime. To make a long story short, I have had a long illness which has left me depressed for a very long time. Watching you romp in the Kentucky Oaks, and then beat the boys in the Preakness, and then, with my own eyes in person, watch you romp once again in the Mother Goose, you, Rachel, have given me the passion to want to get better. You've brought back the excitement that has been missing in my life. And every race you just got better and better. You gave me something to look forward to. If you are not awarded Horse of the Year it is robbery, but to me, no matter how corny this sounds, you will always be my hero. I love you, you are definitely my motivation to keep getting better, and I am so looking forward to your 2010 campaign, when you kick some more butt.
Love from New York,
Marilyn
You are IT, girl. Your campaign was magnificent, the most difficult, and covered the widest scope. God bless you and keep you safe.
Love from Midway, KY
Audrey, Maggie and Hannah
Hi, I'm Jayden and I’m Rachel Alexandra’s biggest fan. I say that because I made a book about her. It’s called "The Famous Filly". It’s not published yet. Soon I hope it will be. It’s weird though, because I had a dream about a bay filly, she won all the time, she made it to the Preakness. I know my dream came true. I have pictures of her all over my room and on my phone, too. If Rachel ever does lose, I would always be her number one fan.
When I race someone at my school, all I think about is Rachel and how she beats the boys and I run so fast when I think about her. I’m glad my dream came true. I'm also glad that there is a horse that made me different.
From Jayden
I am looking forward to seeing you race in 2010 and I will again say most certainly hoping to see you race at Oaklawn Park again. I will admit I watched Zenyatta win the Breeders' Cup Classic and it was good. But you have nothing to fret or neigh about! I know I don't have to tell you, but in 2009 Rachel won 8 races all on different tracks compared to Z's 5 and all but 1 in California! Rachel won 5 Grade 1 races beating the ladies by 20 lengths compared to Z's length or two! Rachel beat the males 3 times compared to Z's once! Rachel ran at Churchill in the slop while Z scratched. Yes, the Classic was good and both Rachel and Zenyatta are undefeated for 2009 and deserving, but Rachel Alexandra "The Great" you have Horse of The Year unless voters award the title by emotion only.
Lots of Love,
Pam Clark
Arkansas
Rachel has brought excitement not seen everyday at the races. She has sparked the imagination of men and women alike by her grace, power and beauty. At the Mother Goose and Haskell, which I excitedly attended, she was greeted in the paddock with cheers and picture taking which did not even faze her calm demeanor. She is a superstar filly who I hope has a long racing career.
Joan Kuziemko
Racing Fan
Rachel A. you are a beautiful filly. I love to watch you run. I am sooo glad that you are getting a good long rest. After your champagne, you deserve it. Will look forward to seeing you next year. Take care you beautiful girl. Hope you get lots of carrots and special treats.
Lou in TX
Dear Rachel et al,
The highlight of my day was getting those Google alerts telling me of a new article posted on the internet about my "Horse Hero." I enjoyed horse racing before, but this year after watching you, I have learned so much more about the sport and now have heightened interest and passion for the industry. The excitement you bring to the track is so wonderful to witness and the day I watched you work the crowd with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" playing in the background put me in mind of my younger days at rock concerts. At age 51, it has been quite some time since I felt a thrill like that. Sadly, I never made it to the track this year to see you in person. I have fantasized about meeting you, getting to look into those beautiful expressive eyes and pet you, maybe even have my picture taken with you so I could keep it as a life memory. Hopefully, next year, I will have a chance to lay eyes on you in person. What a memorable moment that would be.
In the meantime, enjoy basking in the afterglow of a sensational year. May your owners and trainers continue to be successful and thoughtful about your future and keep you healthy and safe. I will keep you all in my prayers. May God continue to bless you. Rachel, I have had a blast watching your "March to greatness."
Love, Hugs and plentiful peppermints,
Lisa Jeannette
Pittsburgh, PA
Rachel,
I know you are taking a MUCH deserved vacation, but I am having withdrawals not hearing anything about how you are doing! I watch the HRTV and continually search the web for any possible updates. Rest well, have fun and enjoy yourself and I can hardly wait to see you next year. Hopefully again at Oaklawn!
Lots of Love,
Pam Clark, Arkansas
Dear Rachel Alexandra,
What we watched unfold this summer will never occur again in our lifetime. I am so thankful to have found you on YouTube before the Oaks. Even through video, your star power shined through like a beacon, like nothing I had ever seen in my life. I knew right then and there you were special. I told anyone and everyone that would listen, about you, and when you won the Preakness, people said to me, “that is the horse you were talking about”. I said, “Yes, I cannot wait to see what she does next”. What I didn’t know, is that you would electrify this household, the casual fan, this sport and this summer. You have become a household name, and because of you, I flew 3000 miles to fulfill a lifelong dream to step through the gates of Belmont Park. You did not disappoint. You have never disappointed. You have only made us all smile and cry because you are so beautiful, so perfect, so heaven sent.
Whatever your future holds, I want to say a true thank you for creating a summer that will float into history as one of the most special horse racing seasons anyone has ever witnessed. And you did it so willingly, so professionally and so proudly. You, most likely, have not finished your story, but if for some reason, you have, I can say that I was there, that I saw you in person, and that I watched you in every race. I can say with a smile on my face, that in the years to come, when your name is mentioned like Ruffian’s or Secretariat’s, I can smile to myself and know that I was there, in the midst of history. How lucky we all were, to have been there, during the summer of ’09.
With love and peppermint kisses…
Courtney Cunniff
North Bend, WA
Hey Rachel:
You are the best horse of the World !
You can win the DUBAI WORLD CUP !!
YES YOU CAN !!
Filiberto Rodriguez
Hi Rachel,
I want you to know how much you have done for the horse racing industry. You and Calvin have taken it to a new level! Take care of yourself, eat your oats and we hope to see you racing in 2010.
Blessings, Carolyn Linder, a Fan.
It has been three weeks since Rachel added the Woodward to her resume and I have watched the replay of the race and her courageous stretch drive a countless number of times. Rachel Alexandra is without a doubt one of the most talented individuals I’ve ever seen on a race track and an incredible athlete. I had the pleasure of watching her break her maiden and knew then, she was something special. I just had no idea how special. Her accomplishments since last November leave one speechless. I have been watching thoroughbred horse racing for 40 years, and every so often a special horse comes along that captures the attention of the nation. Secretariat for sure, and most recently, Barbaro. Now, you can add Rachel to that list. One can only imagine what she’ll do as a four year old. Her connections have done a wonderful job of plotting her course and I applaud them for doing what is right for Rachel.
John Calongne
Rachel:
You are my Hero! I would love to see you win Horse of The Year! You deserve it. I can't wait to see your foal with Curlin, but I think you will run next year. As far as I'm concerned you have nothing else to prove. I wear my pink bracelet every day!
Love You,
Carole (Indy)
Through grit and determination, Rachel Alexandra made history with her victory in the Grade I, 2009 Woodward Stakes. She has cemented her place among the all-time great fillies of horse racing, moving into the rarified air of the immortal Ruffian. What Rachel achieved today cannot be understated. She became the first female horse to win the prestigious Woodward Stakes, a race won by legends such as Holy Bull, Spectacular Bid, Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Damascus, and Kelso. She also became the first 3 year-old filly to defeat older males on a dirt route race in New York since Lady Primrose in the 1887 Manhattan Handicap. Simply put, Rachel has entered the realm of the horse racing greats.
Rachel was ready to run. In fact, she was on her toes and feisty enough to unseat Calvin Borel multiple times in the post parade. Set through suicidal fractions of 22 4/5 seconds and 46 2/5 seconds for the half-mile, Rachel took the race to the competitors and dispatched of them one by one. Coming around the far turn, Calvin Borel still had Rachel under wraps, and he did not ask the great champion to run until the stretch. This race set up perfectly for a closer, and Macho Again made a gallant bid, but it was too little too late as Rachel held him off to win by a head. Pushed and pressed all the way, Rachel Alexandra displayed the class of a champion, digging in and giving her all when asked. With this great obstacle standing in the way of history, Rachel passed with flying colors.
With Rachel, axioms need not apply. A filly is not supposed to win the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths. A filly is not supposed to beat the best 3 year-old colts in the Preakness and Haskell Stakes. A filly is not supposed to beat older male horses. But Rachel is not your normal filly. Watching Rachel run is watching poetry in motion; it leaves you breathless. Watching Rachel toy with and dispatch her opponents is unlike anything the sport has ever seen, and the competition is not filled with horses without resumes. These are horses that are Grade I winners. These are horses that suffer defeat to Rachel only to come back in their next race to win Grade I events. What Rachel is doing is beyond words. It defies logic.
Saratoga is known as the “Graveyard of Champions,” and has witnessed defeats of the greatest horses of all-time in Man O’ War and Secretariat, but could not contain the power and speed of Rachel Alexandra. She is 8 for 8 in 2009, with 5 consecutive victories in Grade I events. That is extraordinary, and has all but wrapped up Horse of the Year, an accomplishment of the rarest form for a 3 year-old filly.
When it comes to Rachel, superlatives like great, elite, and unbelievable come to mind, but it is time to start using the word “Superhorse,” as that is what she proved to be today. Rachel Alexandra, a horse for the ages.
Jordan Satler
September 5, 2009