For the first time in history, a Preakness winner was bred to a Preakness winner with the mating yesterday of Curlin, Horse of the Year in 2007-08, to Rachel Alexandra, Horse of the Year in 2009, at Lane's End Farm in Lexington, Ky.
Calling the union "one of the most anticipated events in horse racing this year," Curlin and Rachel Alexandra's owners, Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, of Stonestreet Farm, trumpeted in a release: "The breeding of these two singular athletes is the culmination of two equine racing careers without precedent."
Banke said, "The privilege of owning these horses is like lightning striking twice. Rachel Alexandra and Curlin are true champions; both horses embody that intangible equine ideal that separates mere horse from legend. Jess and I are so pleased that these powerful bloodlines will pass to future generations."
Jackson said, "Imagine what possibilities those two super horses might produce."
Whether Rachel Alexandra drops a colt or a filly next year, the foal will not make it to the races until 2014 at the earliest.
Press Release