Great Race



American Pharoah wins first Triple Crown since 1978 at Belmont Stakes

American Pharoah wins the Triple Crown
Pat Forde By Pat Forde
06.06.2015


BELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah accomplished one of the rare feats in sport Saturday, becoming the first horse in 37 years and just the 12th horse ever to win the Triple Crown.

The heavily favored colt completed the quest by running away from seven rivals in the Belmont Stakes, three weeks after a rain-soaked dash in the Preakness and five weeks after a gritty, stretch-duel victory in the Kentucky Derby

American Pharoah's name now moves into the history books alongside equine immortals like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Citation and War Admiral. And horse racing finally has the superstar it has hungered for – a fluid athlete with a massive stride who seems to float over the ground.

The last horse to win all three of North America's biggest races was Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 13 horses have come to this historic track having won the first two legs of the Crown. All had failed, raising doubts whether the quest was still attainable for the modern thoroughbred.

In front of a roaring crowd, American Pharoah eradicated those doubts in stirring fashion, going wire-to-wire at the Belmont, beating second-place finisher Frosted by six lengths.

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The Latest: It's a Triple Crown for American Pharoah
NEW YORK — Jun 6, 2015, 7:14 PM ET
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT AP Racing Writer

At long last, a Triple Crown!

American Pharoah ended a record 37-year drought without a Triple Crown winner by soaring to victory in the Belmont Stakes on a historic Saturday in front of 90,000 cheering fans.

The brilliant 3-year-old colt seized the lead from the start and fought off every one of his seven challengers, and made no doubt he was worthy of Triple Crown glory by refusing to wilt in the final quarter-mile of the 1 1/2-mile "Test of the Champion."

What a win for the record books. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert failed on three previous Triple Crown attempts, and jockey Victor Espinoza was 0 for 2 in Triple attempts, including last year with California Chrome.

A roar from the crowd went up as soon as American Pharoah came around the far turn, and it Belmont Park was rocking when the colt came barreling down the stretch.

American Pharoah, who won the Kentucky Derby on May 2 and the Preakness on May 16, won by 5 1/2 lengths over Frosted.

"He's just a great horse," Baffert said. "It takes a great horse to do it."

The winning time was 2:26.65.

"I'm thrilled," said Penny Chenery, the 93-year-old owner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, who was in a private box at Belmont. To owner Ahmed Zayat, she said, "Welcome."


http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/l...triple-31577056