The Almost Impossible: American Pharoh

The Almost Impossible
“The thirty seven year wait is over, American Pharoah is finally the one, American Pharoah has won The Triple Crown!” The Triple Crown is one of the oldest and most historically valued sports events in America. The Triple Crown takes place as a series of three events including the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. If the same horse wins all three of the races, they are recognized as a triple crown winner. Out of the twelve winners all time, the most significant winner was Secretariat in 1973. He had the most convincing win by more than 20 lengths. Fans adored Secretariat so much that they made a movie about him. His races crown him as the best racehorse in history. The Triple Crown should clash with
events like the World Series, The British Open, and the Super Bowl. In 2015 American Pharoah became the first horse to win the Triple Crown in thirty seven years.
He also rode out in style, winning the Breeders Cup Classic. American Pharoah is arguably one of the best race horses of the decade. The first step for Pharaoh was the Kentucky Derby. The first Derby took place in 1875 when Aristides took home the win. The Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May. Pharoah barely beat out stablemate Dortmund who was the betting favorite in the race. After that, he raced at Pimlico Park in the Preakness. He was able to win on the sloppy track. Lastly, he raced in the Belmont Stakes. He won and became the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
The first challenge that horses face is the limited preparation time. An example of this comes with the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. He ran a great race in the Derby and won easily. In the Preakness, he laid a goose egg not even hitting the top three horses. The Triple Crown wears on the horses. The grit needed to be crowned is only one reason why we see so few winners. Only the superior horses are able to get into shape for the Triple Crown
races.
Equally important we need to look at the competition coming into the Triple Crown races. Horses are shipped in from all around the world for these races. The Triple Crown is the most competitive series of races in America. Horses are set up in trials before the races. In their two year old years, horses must qualify for the Kentucky Derby. The qualifying races weave out the best horses to race in the Derby. The Derby usually has around twenty competitors, making the race packed. With all the competition jockey's must get the horses into good positions to have a chance to win.
Another challenge the horses face: massive amounts of travelling. After a horse wins the Kentucky Derby they are shipped to Pimlico Park in Maryland. Horses from many states are shipped into Louisville. The horses from California have one of the biggest trips. In one case in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, Thunder Snow was shipped in from another country. When he got to the race he jumped up and down out of the gate. One possible explanation would be travelling.
In some occasions, a horse might not like the surface of a track, thus causing them to have a bad race.
The surface could also back up what happened to Thunder Snow. Another instance: Arrogate. He was racing at Del Mar Race track in the Breeders Cup Classic. Arrogates last race at Del Mar was a second place loss to stablemate Collected. The loss didn’t scare anyone from betting the horse in the Classic. Arrogate had the resume to stand up to horses in history like Man O’ War. Unfortunately Arrogate lost to Gun Runner in the Classic. Some say that after his amazing past performances, he never recovered. The majority of people say his bad race can be pointed to the fact he didn't like the surface of the Del
Mar.
The most significant challenge becomes the change in distance. Horses racing in the Preakness have a decreased distance from the Kentucky Derby from 1 mile and ¼ to 1 mile and 3/16. After the Preakness a horse must extend to 1 mile and ½ in the Belmont Stakes. Time and time again the transition proves to be almost impossible. Trainers have the major task of getting the horses in shape for these races.
Overall, the road to the Triple Crown proves one of tedious and strenuous effort. With only 12 winners all time, The Triple Crown is nearly unreachable. Winners might only come once in a lifetime. All the pieces of the puzzle have to fall in place for a horse to win the Triple Crown. When it happens it is truly a sight to see and these horses should be cherished.