What distinguishes greatness in sports? Certainly performance – of that there is no question. But the most popular athletes, those remembered as legends, were not only great for what they did, but also for the manner in which they did it. They had style, likeability, and flash that made fans drop their mouths in amazement, wondering if they would ever see the likes of them again.

Horses, just like human athletes, can inspire these same feelings. And to my eyes, only two horses dazzled in that way this year: Zenyatta and Goldikova.

Michael Clevenger of the Louisville Courier-Journal won his second Media Eclipse Award for Photography for this shot of Blame and Zenyatta battling to the wire in the Breeders’ Cup Classic under the lights at Churchill Downs.

In last year’s Horse of the Year debate I argued enthusiastically for Rachel Alexandra over Zenyatta.

Many people had a difficult time making that decision, but I wasn’t particularly torn by the process. I discussed nine different significant comparisons in which Rachel Alexandra was clearly better than Zenyatta.

I had no misgivings about my vote for Rachel Alexandra, and I still don’t.

There were some grim headlines in the months leading up to this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The nation’s handle was deflating. Purses were being cut. And some tracks were eliminating dates. Racing was in need of a hero, an individual charismatic enough to unite its many factions and strong enough to bear its burdens, if just for a little while.

Reprieve came in the form of a towering mare whose "dimensions" made her impossible to ignore. Zenyatta was 19 and 0, more than 17 hands tall, and weighed some 1,200 pounds. She was dead fit and had dead aim on the biggest race in North America.

Photos by Barbara D. Livingston

In a carefully orchestrated moment, Zenyatta was turned out in her paddock Monday morning for her first bit of freedom since she arrived in Kentucky to begin her career as a broodmare.

Horse of the Year contender and Breeders’ Cup runner-up Zenyatta has come up second in another major race this year, finishing behind skier Lindsey Vonn in balloting for 2010 Female Athlete of the Year as voted on by members of The Associated Press. The 6-year-old mare received 32 votes to the Olympic star’s 77 out of a total of 175. University of Connecticut basketball player Maya Moore finished third with 29 votes, followed by tennis star Serena Williams with 14.

There are a lot of similarities between this year's Horse of the Year debate and the controversial vote of 2009. Here's what I wrote in support of Rachel Alexandra in last year's "Great Debate," also involving Zenyatta:

I've always felt that Horse of the Year should go to any horse who gets our game onto the front page of the sports section as much as possible. Let's face it, we could use more of that.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Zenyatta has stirred passions and arguments this year that evoke memories of 1989, when Easy Goer and Sunday Silence polarized the racing community. The two colts' partisans hotly debated their respective merits throughout the year until their final showdown in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

When Sunday Silence held off Easy Goer's late charge and beat his archrival by a neck, the debate ended. Despite the closeness of the finish, almost nobody questioned the fact that Sunday Silence had earned the Horse of the Year title and secured his place in history.

In the run-up to the Eclipse Awards ceremony on Jan. 17, Daily Racing Form reporters and handicappers will reveal their votes for Horse of the Year and discuss the thinking behind their decision.

Instead of splitting hairs in the Blame vs. Zenyatta debate – and pretty much everyone is conceding that it’s very close, or should be, and that either horse is quite deserving – I’d like to take a slightly different approach.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The lives of Zenyatta and her trainer, John Shirreffs, changed rapidly this week.

After being the subject of retirement ceremonies at Hollywood Park on Sunday afternoon and Keeneland on Monday evening, Zenyatta began life as a broodmare at Lane’s End Farm, near Versailles, Ky., on Monday evening.