Californians (well, anyone who loves horse racing, really) love Zenyatta, who was offically retired recently at Hollywood Park, between the seventh and eighth races on a program featuring the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby.

The five year old mare was clearly the most popular living thing in the crowd, and that includes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. To be fair, his speech drew more boos than cheers anyway.

Zenyatta and trainer John Shirreffs were praised for her 14-race campaign highlighted by an historic win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 7.

“I can’t say enough about her trainer,” one celebrity said. “We’re humbled by the event and our association with this great racehorse.”

A replay of the Breeders’ Cup Classic was shown.

A few moments later, Zenyatta herself, ridden by regular exercise rider Steve Willard, jogged down the stretch past most of the crowd and back toward the winner’s circle where Smith climbed aboard once more to end the ceremony.

Zenyatta will remain at Shirreffs’s barn at Hollywood Park in coming weeks.

Her final days at the barn have become especially poignant.

“She always lifted the barn into a good mood,” said  Shirreffs’s assistant Michelle Jensen. “We were part of her family and she was part of our family.”

From July 16 to July 19, horseracing enthusiasts in Omaha and neighboring areas will have the time of their lives. The 12th Annual Live Racing Festival will be held at Horseman’s Park at 6303 “Q” Street.

Year in and year out, this festival attracts a lot of people, not only because of the live horse races but also because of the plethora of activities that are offered. This year, the news is that they have a lot of additions to the already popular roster of activities. One of these is Roberts Dairy “Family Fun Day” on Sunday afternoon, July 19th. Greg Hosch, the General Manager says that Sunday’s Roberts Family Fun Day “is FREE and will include Pony Rides, Face Painting, Inflatable Rides and Roberts Frozen Treats for the Kids!” Now this should be perfect for the family man who wants to spend quality time with his family and enjoy horse racing as well.

There are also a lot of other giveaways, including raffle drawings with awesome prizes at stake. Fancy a trip to Cancun? Or maybe a weekend in Vegas? You just might win in the drawings and get a chance to go on a trip.

The doors open daily at 10 am and there are 5 races set per day. The races start at 2pm so if you get there early, you’ll have time to do other stuff. And yes, the admission is free!

For more information, visit their web site here.

Memories are retained when an event that occurred is an extreme: extremely exciting, extremely happy, extremely sorrowful (though people would rather forget events that trigger extreme sorrow), and so on. This happens because, when a person is undergoing a particularly vivid experience, the brain releases a chemical: a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which researchers believe is responsible for memory retention. This is what happens when a child is brought to the horse races. When the family goes to watch a horse race, a child experiences many things.

First, he is extremely happy to be with his whole family. Next, seeing real animals will always bring a thrill to children. Imagine a child seeing several horses at one time! That would be an extremely exciting experience for a young one. When the horses line up at the starting box and the race begins, a child, being sensitive to the changes that happens around him, may be caught up with the general furor felt by all the spectators. Imagine feeling all this at one time and imagine looking forward to experiencing all these wonderful emotions on every family outing. This is the reason why many men and women who grew up when going to the race track as a family was an accepted and frequently done activity, remember these events.

You and your family can recreate the joy you felt when you were younger. Going to the race track as a family may not be widely practiced nowadays, but what’s to stop you from starting your own tradition. Bring your family to the race track one weekend and relive the excitement you felt when you were a kid. Your children may feel a little uncomfortable at first but if you take the time to explain the concepts to them, they will gradually warm up and feel more relaxed in the place and will soon experience the one-of-a-kind excitement only a trip to the horse track can provide.