Moss, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S.

Jerry and Ann Moss 

Born: Jerry, New York City, May 8, 1935; Ann, Salt Lake City, Utah

Died: Jerry, Aug. 16, 2023, in Los Angeles, Calif.

Residences: Los Angeles and New York City

Outside of Thoroughbred racing, Jerry Moss was best known as the “M” in A&M Records, which he co-founded with Herb Alpert and grew into the world’s largest independent record company. However, within racing circles, Moss and his former wife, Ann, will always be best recognized as the owners of 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta.

Over the course of three racing seasons from 2008 through 2010, Zenyatta became a household name through an unprecedented run of 19 consecutive victories, including the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic in which she became the first female to defeat males in the $5 million race. Her fairy-tale story ended with her one and only career defeat in 20 starts when she finished a narrow second to Blame in the 2010 Classic, but she did win the race for Horse of the Year, a title that eluded her the year before. Among the mainstream media that jumped on her bandwagon were “60 Minutes” and O Magazine.

Zenyatta, who was retired at the end of 2010 and now resides as a broodmare at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, was named in honor of The Police’s album Zenyatta Mondatta and in fact, Moss named several of his horses after his close association with the band and its lead singer Sting. The Mosses' 2005 Kentucky Derby winner, Giacomo, was named after Sting’s son and one of their best broodmares was Set Them Free, named after a popular song by Sting.

The Mosses split their horses between trainers John Shirreffs and John Sadler. Shirreffs’ wife, Dottie Ingordo, was their racing manager for more than 20 years. Among the other graded stakes winners owned by the Mosses were Gormley, Keri Belle, Zazu, Blingo, Cozi Rosie and Spellbinder.