In 2008, European-based horses finished one-two in the Classic, a result that many attributed to the synthetic surface used at Santa Anita. California had adopted synthetic surfaces starting in 2007 due to safety concerns but many horsemen and bettors felt that the synthetics performed more like turf than dirt. As a result, a few East Coast racehorses who had only raced on natural dirt surfaces did not ship to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup. Most notably, the connections of the outstanding filly Rachel Alexandra announced that she would not race on "plastic". Instead, the favorite for the race was Zenyatta, who in 2008 had won the Ladies Classic and was named the Champion Older Female Horse. Zenyatta came into the Classic undefeated in thirteen career starts and was, with Rachel Alexandra, one of the most popular horses in recent memory. However, some handicappers questioned her credentials. As a California-based horse, she had demonstrated her ability to win on synthetic but was viewed as having faced inferior competition to that on the East Coast. She also had never raced against male horses, had never run at miles, and the Beyer Speed Figures that she had recorded in previous races were unexceptional for a Grade I winner. She was part of a thirteen horse field that included eight other Grade I/Group One winners from three countries. The most highly regarded contenders were:
In post position four, Zenyatta was initially reluctant to enter the starting gate. Then Quality Road in post position twelve started acting up, delaying the start of the race by five minutes when he refused to load even after being blindfolded. When he injured himself kicking the gate, he was scratched. The rest of the field was unloaded due to the delay and then reloaded. When the race finally began, Zenyatta broke poorly and got off on the wrong lead. As was her custom, she dropped to the back of the field and trailed by as much as fifteen lengths. Down the backstretch, she had passed only one horse and was still about a dozen lengths behind. She started her move around the final turn, with jockey Mike Smith keeping her close to the rail to save ground. Turning into the stretch, she faced a wall of horses in front of her so Smith angled her away from the rail. When she finally had running room in mid-stretch, she was still in sixth place but closed ground rapidly and eventually won by a length. Gio Ponti, who had received an excellent trip on the rail, finished second while Twice Over was third. After moderate opening fractions, the time for the race was a solid 2:00.62. Nearly seven lengths behind with a quarter-mile remaining, Zenyatta ran the final quarter-mile in 23 seconds flat. It was the first time that a female horse had "beat the boys" in the Classic. After the race, Smith described the run. "I had to hit her out of the stall," he said. "Then she was on her left lead and you want to be on your right down the straight. Then she gathered herself up... At the half-mile, they were stacked up... but then it was like the parting of the sea as it opened up down there. She won it well within herself, believe it or not." "She is all heart," said trainer John Shirreffs. "The way the crowd took to her was just amazing. They cheered for her, they clapped for her. They love her. What a wonderful relationship." Even veteran horsemen were moved by Zenyatta's performance and the crowd's reaction. "I switched camps at the eighth pole," said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Richard's Kid. "When I saw my horse wasn't going to win, I started yelling for Zenyatta... I have never seen a grandstand like that; nobody wanted to leave. The crowd was captivated. It felt like a horse had just won the Triple Crown." "She's a freak, what can I say?" said Gio Ponti's trainer Christophe Clement. "My horse ran a great race but he couldn't beat her." The race was named the NTRA Moment of the Year.
