It’s been 37 years, but the wait is over. American Pharoah wins the Triple Crown ridden by a Mexican jockey.
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My first real memory of horse racing is rooted in a triple crown hopeful coming up short. Over the past 37 years 13 horses have had a shot at winning the illustrious trio of races and failed. When I was 11 my parents went to the Kentucky Derby and asked me what horse I’d like them to place a $2 bet on for me. I responded with Charismatic because I liked the name.
Charismatic won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, yet like so many in the history of American horse racing, left the Belmont Stakes as just another blip on the radar, soon to be forgotten.
Last year California Chrome ran the table at the first two legs of Triple Crown but left only as a second-place finisher, by less than a head. Bob Baffert entered the Belmont Stakes as the only trainer to have four attempts at the Triple Crown to his credit, but he left as a horse racing legend, and a Triple Crown winner.
American Pharoah didn’t quite annihilate the field in the same fashion as Secretariat, but winning is winning, and win he did.
There have now been 12 winners of arguably the most famous trophy in all of sport, with the latest being American Pharoah. Who knows how long it will be until we see another one, I just hope I’m able to watch it like I did this year.
Here’s a look at the 11 winners prior to this year.
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Just in case you didn’t get a chance to watch the race yesterday, here’s the video.
While American Pharoah will go down in history, I think an overlooked story in this fantastic sports narrative is Victor Espinoza.
Espinoza is from a small town outside of Mexico City, Mexico. He is one of eleven children and he was raised on a dairy farm. There are humble beginnings, and then there is being raised on a dairy farm in Mexico. When he was fifteen he followed his brother to Hidalgo, Mexico to assist him as a Quarter Horse trainer and he paid for jockey school by driving a bus in Mexico City. He won his first race at Mexico City’s track in 1992. From there he moved to California and began racing horses there.
Espinoza has won three Kentucky Derby’s, 2002 riding War Emblem, 2014 riding California Chrome, and this year atop American Pharoah. Regardless of what happens for the rest of Espinoza’s career, he will go down in history as a Triple Crown winner.
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About Adam Crawford
Adam is the author of The Old Soul Blog, which is dedicated to the memory of his daughter, Layla. His writings mostly focus on personal growth and the psychology of living. But the occasional sports story consumes him. Adam is the author of one novel and a collection of essays to date. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
