Philadelphia, PA (Betting Express) - The potential of having Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and undefeated champion mare Zenyatta face each other on the racetrack is the biggest thoroughbred soap opera this individual can remember.

On Thursday morning Oaklawn Park owner Charles J. Cella announced that the Arkansas facility will increase the purse of its Apple Blossom Handicap, now Invitational, to $5 million to draw the two horses into a showdown.

"Should this race come off as expected," noted Cella, "it will most certainly fulfill every promise made."

However, who said that $5 million will convince the people who make the decisions that the race will happen. Certainly not Jess Jackson who co-owns Rachel Alexandra.

"As you have heard me say many times before,' Jackson said Thursday, "a number of factors must be considered when deciding where to race a horse -- the number one factor being the condition of the horse. Rachel will tell us when she is ready to start her 2010 campaign and we humans must agree she is in top form.

"My family and I would love to see her run at Oaklawn Park. If she is in top form and it fits in our schedule, we will be there. Rachel, as you know, likes the track having won twice there last year."

Mr. Jackson has proved himself to be a man of conviction. Last year he said his horses will not run on synthetic tracks and they have not. He made sure that Rachel did not start in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic because Santa Anita has an artificial surface for the main track.

Zenyatta won the Classic as she races almost exclusively on California's synthetic tracks. In 2008 she won the Apple Blossom on Oaklawn's dirt surface.

Rachel has been stabled and working out at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Trainer Steve Asmussen and chief assistant Scott Blasi have been keeping a close watch on the four-year-old filly, but they do not disclose any hint of when she will race this year.

"Anytime you can wake up like I do and walk in the barn and see Rachel Alexandra is a good morning," Blasi said earlier in the week.

At Hollywood Park, Zenyatta under the care of trainer John Shirreffs is prepping for her first start this year. Shirreffs even acknowledged this week that the mare might run in the $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap on March 13.

"It's a possibility," Shirreffs said. "We'll see what the weights are. That's going to be the deal."

One would hope that Rachel and Zenyatta do eventually meet in a race at least once. I see no reason why a three race series, including the Breeders' Cup, should not be put together for these two thoroughbreds. Best two out of three would certainly draw interest and bring to a close two great careers.