INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - The nights before Zenyatta races are the toughest times for Mike Smith.

The Hall of Fame jockey usually tries to occupy himself with a glass of his favorite wine or by watching his beloved sport of football, anything to quiet his frantic mind. He doesn't want to think about Zenyatta's winning streak, now 19-0.

But eventually he caves and opens the Daily Racing Form, the industry's bible of past performances and handicapping.

``Then the floodgates open. What if this happens, what if this happens. It just never stops,'' he said recently. ``As blessed believe me as I am, and I'm not complaining by no means, to ride her also becomes a lot of responsibility.''

Smith will feel the pressure again Saturday, when Zenyatta enters the starting gate for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

``If we're blessed enough to finish this thing 20-0, how do you even describe it?'' he said. ``It would just be incredible.''

Last year, she beat the boys to become the first female to win the Classic.

Now she'll take on the best male horses in the world again. A victory would likely make Zenyatta Horse of the Year, an honor she lost out on last year when Rachel Alexandra won.

``It's the first Classic ever that everybody is going to be rooting for one horse,'' said trainer Bob Baffert, who will saddle Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky in the race.

Zenyatta has that effect on people, making her a huge star in a battered industry desperate to attract new fans, especially women.

She drew the largest crowd in nine years - 25,837 - to Hollywood Park for her most recent race last month. They held up homemade posters and paintings, snapped photos and cheered for the 6-year-old mare whose come-from-behind style creates drama almost every time.

She rewards them with a show, too, high-stepping around the paddock, bowing her head and pawing the ground. Trainer John Shirreffs told Smith after Zenyatta wins to stop her along the grandstand so fans can get a closer look.

``I'm crazy about her,'' declared Penny Chenery, who owned Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

``She's like Secretariat in that she's a great show. He'd kind of blow himself up to intimidate the competition. With her dance, it's like her opening number to prance into the walking ring.''

Unlike most high-strung thoroughbreds, Zenyatta is fan friendly. Shirreffs allows barn visitors to stroke the white blaze on her head and pose for photos with the richest female horse in history.

Owners Jerry and Ann Moss bought her for the bargain price of $60,000 (she had an unsightly skin rash) and she's rewarded them with earnings of more than $6.4 million.

``She's a great star,'' said Jerry Moss, who had big names on his old A&M Records label. ``It's just a beautiful thing to be part of.''

Heck, she's down to earth, too, lapping up an occasional Guinness in her stall.

Zenyatta has made her mark in pop culture with her own Twitter account, YouTube videos, Facebook friends in the thousands, an appearance in Oprah's magazine and a ``60 Minutes'' profile.

``People really watch her now,'' Smith said. ``The fans that adore her. I feel the pressure for them, too. I got to get it right, at least do my part.''

That includes keeping his 45-year-old body in peak condition despite constant back pain from riding accidents that sidelined him earlier.

Smith is most often asked what it's like to ride Zenyatta, who is no dainty gal. She's taller than most of the boys and weighs 1,100 pounds.

``It's like laying in a king-sized bed. It's just comfortable,'' he said. ``The great horses are easy to ride.''

As beloved as she is, Zenyatta has detractors. They point out that 17 of her 19 wins have come on the controversial synthetic surfaces at Southern California's tracks. Critics have called her out for not racing more often outside her home state. She won easily in her two races on dirt at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, and Saturday's Classic is on dirt.

``She beats them in the big one and they still want to complain,'' Smith said dismissively. ``Thirty-three months, she's still running this way, that's incredible. No one's ever done this.''

Her winning times have been criticized since she hasn't blown away the competition, which isn't as stiff as what she'll face in the Classic. Smith has an answer for that, too.

``People don't understand. She just runs as fast as she has to,'' he said. ``They go faster, she runs faster. They go slower, she'll run slower.''

So far, Zenyatta hasn't run as fast as she can and Smith says, ``I hope we never find that out.''

In the two hours after Zenyatta notched her 19th win - the longest streak in stakes-level modern racing - Smith's cell phone exploded with 88 congratulatory text messages. In a nod to his self-described obsessive-compulsiveness, he responded to them all, even those he didn't know.

``I text whoever it is and if I know them I personalize it just so they know I'm not pushing the 'all' button,'' he said, smiling.

It's his focus on the smallest details that has propelled Smith to the brink of what could be his greatest moment in the sport. Now if only he can keep his mind off the race the night before.

``It's just the wait and the unknown,'' he said. ``Once you get on, then God, finally I can breathe.''