It has been thirty-seven years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown. On Wednesday, American Pharoah drew the No. 5 post position at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan for Saturday's Belmont Stakes where many hope he becomes the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
American Pharoah after winning the Preakness
On Wednesday, American Pharoah drew the No. 5 post position at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan for Saturday's Belmont Stakes where many hope he becomes the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
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Unlike the Preakness, when trainer Bob Baffert was worried about coming out of the No. 1 post position, there should be no complaints this time. Jockey Victor Espinoza had to hustle American Pharoah out of the gate that day to avoid getting pinned in on the rail, but from the No. 5 position he should be able to use the horse's tactical speed to place him anywhere he wants in the race.
"I'm very happy with the draw," said jockey Victor Espinoza, who came to Belmont with chances at the Triple Crown in 2002 with War Emblem and last year on California Chrome. "I'm feeling lucky this year. Third time's the charm."
According to jockey Steve Cauthen, who rode Affirmed who swept all three races in 1978 to win the Triple Crown, "He's [American Pharoah] obviously the real deal. He's the best three-year-old at this point, but the reason they call this the Test of Champions. . .it's a mile and a half and it's always a test, and you know, there's some nice horses that will be testing him."
American Pharoah, who arrived at Belmont Park on Tuesday after training in Kentucky the last two weeks, is now the 3-5 morning line favorite.
Frosted, the Wood Memorial Stakes winner, was made the second choice at 5-1 coming out of the No. 6 post. He was a fast-closing fourth in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness to point to the Belmont.
Materiality, who won the Florida Derby this spring, did the same after a sixth-pace finish at Churchill Downs and is 6-1 on the morning line. He drew the outside No. 8 post position.
The other horses in the race will face a tall order to beat American Pharoah, who dominated the Preakness by seven lengths and appears to have come through the rigorous Triple Crown without much physical wear and tear.
According to Baffert, his trainer, "His body language is really good," "He's shown me in his works he's really doing well and he's happy. His stride is ridiculously efficient and I think that's what you need for the Belmont. I think it should be set up really great for him."
The question, of course, is how he will handle the 1½-mile distance, the farthest any of these horses will race in their lives.
"It's a riders' race," American Pharoah's owner Ahmed Zayat said. "I'm confident in the ability of American Pharoah because the horse is giving me that confidence. I'm not arrogant about it. What makes him special is the way he moves. He's the best moving horse I've ever seen and does everything so easy. I think his stride and the way he's going to carry himself will allow him to get any kind of distance."