The Triple Crown

[Skyblade]

So American Pharoh is the first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime, and probably the lifetime of most of the people on the forum. Does anyone else watch horse racing at all, or were any of you watching the Belmont Stakes today?

Fantastic race, really well done. First part run slowly, keeping the horse in check and comfortable, then an all out breakneck sprint to finish by five and a half lengths. So cool to see this competition be won so decisively.

[Colonel Angus]

Fantastic race. So glad this finally happened. I doubt there's many people here who were alive or old enough to remember the last Triple Crown winner.

[Pike]

Been a HUGE horse racing fan for nearly twenty years, so of course I was watching. I knew he had a good shot going into the race because he beat such a good field in the Derby and just romped home in the Preakness, so I felt better about him than I did about, say, Chrome last year. But there's been so many near-misses since I started watching in 1997 - Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Smarty, etc. etc. so I was pretty nervous.

At first I was wary about him going right to the lead but going into the turn he was running so beautifully that I started to think it was going to happen. Then no one could catch him and he just kept going. Easy, wire-to-wire victory. I was shaking.

It's really tough to explain to non-racing fans what just happened. Not only did he end a 37 year long drought but he proved that it's still possible to win the Triple Crown, which many naysayers have been saying was no longer possible due to modern breeding standards and racing habits. American Pharoah won three MAJOR races in just one month; the last race is without a doubt the longest race he will ever run and he led it the entire time. All of this is just unheard of in modern racing.

Absolutely unreal.

[Skyblade]

It's really tough to explain to non-racing fans what just happened. Not only did he end a 37 year long drought but he proved that it's still possible to win the Triple Crown, which many naysayers have been saying was no longer possible due to modern breeding standards and racing habits. American Pharoah won three MAJOR races in just one month; the last race is without a doubt the longest race he will ever run and he led it the entire time. All of this is just unheard of in modern racing.

Absolutely unreal.

Not only did he win it, he won it DECISIVELY. He just opened up and RAN that last quarter mile, and Frosted, the second place horse, wasn't even close.

[escobert]

So bummed I'm working and missed it. I was watching the ESPN feed on it.

[Madame Adequate]

The only horse that ever ran the Belmont faster was Secretariat, which as I said to Pike is kind of like coming in second in an intelligence test to Einstein or being declared the best artists in the world after Van Gogh or something. I'm not a big horsie nerd but damn, it's a crazy thing.

[Del Murder]

Congrats American Pharoh, I'm sure you have a life of much sex ahead of you.

[noxious.sunshine]

I've been watching the Triple Crown every year for the last 4 years or so, but I freaking forgot about it and missed it this year.

I'm so glad the drought has finally been broken.

Hehe, I painted a pic of Secretariat back when I took private art lessons! I even painted him on a plate like I saw in the magazine. :D

[Sephex]

I happened to catch this while I was waiting to go to a get together last night. I admit that I am not into horse racing, but I actually knew the historical significance behind the race, and it was cool to see something historic take place live.

[SuperMillionaire]

You beat me to making a topic about this, Skyblade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/sports/american-pharoah-wins-belmont-stakes-and-triple-crown.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Thoroughbred_Racing

The American Triple Crown of Throroughbred Horse Racing is defined as the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. A single horse must win all three races in order to win the Triple Crown. These three races have been run for well over 100 years, and in that time, only 12 horses have ever won the Triple Crown. American Pharoah became just the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown, and the first in the 21st Century. It hadn't been won in 37 years; the last winner was way back in 1978. It takes a great horse to win the Triple Crown, and that's what American Pharoah is. He galloped his way into history, joining a group of only 11 others who have won the Triple Crown. Let's hope that we don't have another 37-year drought.