American Pharoah
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owner: Ahmed Zayat
Career record: 11: 9-1-0
American Pharoah won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first horse to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing. Also, he won the 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and the 2015 Champion three-year-old.
He was bred and owned throughout his racing career by Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, trained by Bob Baffert, and ridden in most of his races by Victor Espinoza. He now stands at stud at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
On an idyllic Saturday evening at Belmont Park, American Pharoah made it worth the 37-year wait. Under a perfectly calculated ride by Victor Espinoza, the son of Pioneer of the Nile led the field from start to finish in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, drawing away in the stretch to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and end a drought that had seen the hopes of 13 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners end in disappointment. The milestone victory in the 147th ‘Test of the Champion’ was sweet redemption for the colt’s connections, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Espinoza, as the pair had accumulated five failed Triple Crown bids between them.
American Pharoah Retirement
At the conclusion of his 2015 racing year, American Pharoah was retired to stud, per the agreement between Zayat and Ashford. American Pharoah was shipped to Ashford Stud on November 2, 2015, where he was housed in the stall once occupied by Grand Slam. He was pastured each morning next to the 23-year-old Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Thunder Gulch, who was chosen for his calming influence on the young energetic stallion.
Race Record
1929
- Flash Stakes Winner (USA, 5.5FD, Saratoga)
- Junior Champion Stakes Winner (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd United States Hotel Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Futurity Stakes (USA, about 7FD, Belmont)
1930
- Kentucky Derby Winner (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Preakness Stakes Winner (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- Belmont Stakes Winner (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- Classic Stakes Winner (USA, 10FD, Arlington Park)
- Dwyer Stakes Winner (USA, 12FD, Aqueduct)
- Jockey Club Gold Cup Winner (USA, 16FD, Belmont)
- Wood Memorial Stakes Winner (USA, 8f+70yD, Jamaica)
- Lawrence Realization Stakes Winner (USA, 13FD, Belmont)
- Saratoga Cup Winner (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Travers Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
American Pharoah Honors
- NTRA “Moment of the Year” (2015)
- Secretariat Vox Populi Award (2015)
- IFHA World’s Best Racehorse (2015)
- American Pharoah Way in Fayette and Woodford counties, Kentucky
- Statue at Oaklawn Park
- American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita Park
- United States Racing Hall of Fame (2021)
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1957)
- American Horse of the Year (1930)
- American champion 3-year-old male (1930)
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