Jet airplane carrying superstar horse Rachel Alexandra arrives in Albany

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Thoroughbred racehorse Rachel Alexandra exits a 727 First Class Equine Air Travel airplane onto a horse van at the Albany International Airport on Wednesday. A total of 24 thoroughbreds arrived for the upcoming Saratoga racing season.

A jet fitting for an empress, dubbed Air Horse One, this morning brought Rachel Alexandra to start her training season in Saratoga Springs.

The Boeing 727 H.E. Tex Sutton jet touched down at 10 a.m. at Albany International Airport, carrying the 2009 Horse of the Year and 19 other thoroughbreds.

The jet cruised over the Northway flying north from Louisville, Ky.

The other horses debarked first, many of them 2-year-olds who glanced with eyes of trepidation at the handful of media assembled on the tarmac. Four-year-old Rachel strolled out last, tossing a couple of cool glances to the spectators before being led into her waiting trailer stall.

That’s typical of the famed filly, who by now is used to the attention she gets from screaming fans. Apparently, air travel doesn’t faze her, either.

“She’s the ultimate pro as far as traveling,” said Scott Blasi, Steve Asmussen’s assistant trainer. The jet had First Class Equine Air Travel emblazoned on its side.

Most horses are nervous at takeoff and landing, but in between don’t know they’re in the air, as they each stand in separate stalls with food nearby, Blasi said.

“They just kind of stand there and eat hay. It’s very quiet once you get in the air.”

Blasi said Rachel’s handlers haven’t decided where to race her next, but she will likely train at the Oklahoma Training Track through October.

Rachel Alexandra had nine straight wins last year, including the Preakness Stakes and then the Woodward Stakes against older males at Saratoga Race Course in August.

So far this year, she finished second in two races and won her last race, the Grade II Fleur de Lis Handicap at Churchill Downs.

On Wednesday, three horse tractor trailers lined up side by side to receive the horses, which were led off the plane on a ramp with a 45 degree angle. Thirteen people traveled with the horses on the plane, Blasi said.

As they were led down one by one, the scent of horse and clean hay wafted out of the plane. A couple of the horses paused on the ramp, taking in the partly cloudy sky and clear air.