American Pharoah went wire to wire to win the Belmont Stakes by five-and-a-half lengths before 90,000 New Yorkers on Saturday, becoming the first racehorse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown. The Bob Baffert-trained colt, which was ridden by Victor Espinoza and previously won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, ended the longest drought between Triple Crown winners in the sport’s history, with Affirmed last accomplishing the feat in 1978. Owner Ahmed Zayat says that Pharoah will at least race through the end of this year before retiring to a lucrative stud career. “We need to enjoy our stars and race them as long as we possibly can,“ Zayat told Blood-Horse. Pharoah’s win also ensures that scores of people will misspell it as “pharaoh“ for years to come.
In case you watched the race in awe and were wondering, American Pharoah ran the last quarter-mile of the Belmont Stakes at a faster pace than Secretariat (universally regarded as the best racehorse ever), and his overall time was second only to Secretariat among Triple Crown winners…
American Pharoah Claims Triple Crown Triumph | BloodHorse.com: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/92465/american-pharoah-claims-triple-crown-triumph
American Pharoah Wins Belmont Stakes and Triple Crown: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/sports/american-pharoah-wins-belmont-stakes-and-triple-crown.html