At long last, the Triple Crown drought is over.
American Pharoah led all the way to win the Belmont Stakes by 5 ½ lengths on Saturday, becoming the first horse in 37 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes – one of the sporting world’s rarest feats.
The bay colt with the unusually short tail defeated seven rivals in the grueling 1 1/2-mile race, covering the distance in 2:26.65 to end the longest stretch without a Triple Crown champion in history.
American Pharoah is the 12th horse and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win three races on different tracks at varying distances over a five-week span. He won the Kentucky Derby by one length on May 2 and then romped to a seven-length victory in the rainy Preakness two weeks later.
Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza ended their own frustrating histories in the Triple Crown. Baffert finally won on his record fourth Triple try, having lost in 1997, 1998 (by a nose) and in 2002. Espinoza got it done with his record third shot after failing to win in 2002 and last year on California Chrome.
Frosted finished second and Keen Ice third.
There was not a record crowd at the Belmont Stakes to watch American Pharoah’s bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1987. Christopher Kay, the president of the New York Racing Association, put in an attendance cap of 90,000.
Last year’s crowd of 102,199 was too much for the track to handle. Long lines at rest rooms, betting windows and crowds packing an aging Long Island Rail Road platform made for an unpleasant experience after California Chrome’s Triple try came up short.
