Triple Crown format debate eases for now,
Though there was no evidence the Triple Crown’s popularity was beginning to wane as the gap between Affirmed in 1978 and the next horse that could sweep all three races grew to seemingly interminable lengths, the Thoroughbred industry’s yearning to see the achievement had taken on a life of its own.
Every spring, the conversation wasn’t merely about the horses trying to win the Triple Crown but the Triple Crown itself and whether its taxing format had made the achievement unattainable for the modern 3-year-old.
This wasn’t the first time conversations arose about whether the series needed modification. After Citation won in 1948, a quarter-century passed without another Triple Crown champion, leaving many to wonder whether it would ever be done again. That talk stopped when Secretariat turned in perhaps the greatest performance in racing history at the 1973 Belmont Stakes and kicked off a decade in which two more Triple Crown winners would join the club.
Similarly, American Pharoah’s 51⁄ 2- length victory in Saturday’s Belmont to end the 37-year drought should bring catharsis to a sport that was in many ways being overly consumed by the quest to find the next great one.
“For a while, I was starting to believe maybe it’s never going to happen, it’s getting too tough, (times have) changed,” American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert said. “We think about maybe it’s the breed (getting weaker). It’s not the breed. We just have to wait for these superior horses to come around. ... It’s like LeBron James. How many players do you have to go through before you get a guy like him?”
It was admittedly a long wait for American Pharoah, but as he kicked away from the field in the final quarter-mile and sent 90,000 fans at Belmont Park into a full roar, you could almost see him knocking down some of the narratives that had engulfed the Triple Crown in recent years.
It’s true that the spacing of the three races — two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, then three between the Preakness and Belmont — is a more demanding schedule than Thoroughbreds these days are trained to handle.
It’s true that the last few generations of speed-oriented breeding and the prevalence of race-day medications such as Lasix have resulted in more fragile horses.
It’s true that fresh horses play a bigger role in potentially spoiling Triple Crown bids, as so few trainers are interested in contesting all three legs.
But American Pharoah proved an exceptional horse can transcend that, which is the point. It was not designed to be easy.
“When it comes to tradition, I’m very conservative,” owner Ahmed Zayat said. “I think horses need to earn it. You have to have some benchmarks. You have to have some standards where you can look at this horse compared to others. ... In terms of where (American Pharoah) belongs and how he measures up against other great Triple Crown winners, we’re looking pretty here.”
It will be interesting to see whether American Pharoah’s ascension to immortality stops the handwringing within the industry about whether the Triple Crown needs to be changed.
Though comments last year from California Chrome owner Steve Coburn were largely dismissed as sour grapes — he suggested horses should not be allowed to run in the Belmont if they didn’t compete in the first two legs — the fact they had any traction at all showed the bandwagon of people wanting to do something was growing.
Baffert, who lost the Belmont three times with horses that had a chance to win the Triple Crown before breaking through Saturday, said that would be folly for a sport that struggles to draw mainstream attention outside of these five weeks.
“It has to stay the same, because if you spread it out it would lose its build-up,” he said. “Once the Derby is run, everybody starts getting on board. ... I just feel like there’s a small window for horse racing.”
Perhaps it’s a window horse racing can capitalize on, at least for a while. American Pharoah is a legitimate superstar, and there will be genuine interest in him when he resurfaces.
“I think it’s a huge honor and privilege, and we owe it to the sport to do the right thing,” Zayat said. “When the horse is ready, we’re not going to be scared. This belongs to history.”
The Aug. 2 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park would be a logical spot for American Pharoah’s return if the next major objective is to win the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Baffert also could choose to run the colt on the West Coast and point toward the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic at Del Mar against older horses.
“Looking at him today, for a horse that ran a mile and a half, he looked pretty darn good,” Baffert said. “He’s just a tough horse, and he’s handling it so well.”
Whatever course American Pharoah’s campaign takes, it likely will culminate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., a few miles from where he was born. After that, he almost certainly will head for the breeding shed.
Still, he already has left an indelible mark on the sport.
“It’s ridiculously insane what he did yesterday,” Baffert said. “I was in awe of him.”