Horse Illustrated Magazine

It’s no April Fool’s joke: 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta welcomed her new foal into the world just before midnight on April 1. While January 1 is considered the birthday on paper for all Thoroughbreds registered with The Jockey Club, Zenyatta and her new colt share their actual birthday. Zenyatta was born on April 1, 2004.

The chestnut colt by Tapit weighed approximately 145 lbs. and sports a distinctive wide blaze. Both Zenyatta and her baby are said to be doing very well. The colt will be known as 13Z for his year of birth and mother’s initial.

Click here to view an image of Zenyatta and 13Z.

The new colt is Zenyatta’s second baby. Her first foal, a dark bay colt by Bernardini, is currently enjoying his childhood at Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, where Zenyatta is also spending her broodmare years.

Zenyatta is known for her astonishing 19 consecutive victories. In 2009, she was the first female horse to win the Breeder’s Cup Classic, and was named Horse of the Year in 2010. She had a nearly perfect career, finishing first in every race she entered except her last: the 2010 Breeder’s Cup Classic in which she finished second.

Perhaps more importantly, the exceptional mare brought new fans to the sport of racing to follow her career as she beat the boys. Zenyatta’s connections recognized the importance of fostering that fan connection, and visitors were often able to meet the mare up close at her home track near Los Angeles. Zenyatta’s owners, Ann and Jerry Moss, trainer John Shirreffs and manager Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs were given special recognition at the 2010 Eclipse Awards for bringing some much-needed positive publicity for Thoroughbred racing.

Learn more about Zenyatta at HorseChannel.com/Zenyatta

This article was updated on April 3, 2013. A previous version had misidentified Zenyatta’s home track as Santa Anita Park.