BREAKING: American Pharoah Wins Triple Crown, First Since 1978

[Hissyspit]

Source: CBS / Huffington Post

@BreakingNews: Live updates from Belmont Stakes, where American Pharoah could win 1st Triple Crown since 1978: http://t.co/DATlWbqIWE/s/FCqx

SPORTS
American Pharoah Wins Belmont Stakes And Triple Crown For First Time Since 1978

11 minutes ago | Updated 0 minutes ago
Andrew Hart Front Page Editor

American Pharoah has cemented his misspelled name among horse racing royalty, claiming the Triple Crown with his win at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, a feat not done since 1978.

Pharoah ended the Crown drought by sweeping the top three races, becoming only the 12th horse ever to do so.

American Pharoah, ridden by jockey Victor Espinoza, beat a tough field of seven thoroughbreds despite the many factors opposing the 3-year-old colt’s coronation.

American Pharoah did not come out of the gate well, but quickly took the lead in first quarter. Trailing American Pharoah for most of the race was Materiality, before Mubtaahij and Frosted made plays for second. But no one could pass American Pharoah, who made history.

VIDEO HERE:

http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/american-pharoahs-triple-crown-bid/

Read more: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7526870?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

---

@GregMitch: and a "holy shit" on live TV from winning jockey or comrade...

m.twitter.com/GregMitch

[Glimmer of Hope]

1. Wow!

[chillfactor]

2. WOW!

when was the last time a horse won the Triple Crown?

[Duppers]

5. 37 yrs ago!

[Hissyspit]

6. 37 years ago.

[underpants]

7. 1978 Affirmed

1977 Seattle Slew
1973 Secratariat

[Aristus]

48. I remember the three great races of the 1978 Triple Crown.

Affirmed and Alydar, the only two horses in history to run first and second in all three races of the Triple Crown. It was magic...

Nice that the drought is over....

[underpants]

3. Great horse. Great race.

Help off a push from Materiality (I think) in the last turn and then it was off. No one had anything close.

Glad my daughter got to see it. I was about her age when Affirmed won.

[Loryn]

4. Baffert is smiling.

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Awesome!!!!!!!!!

[malthaussen]

9. Well, good for him.

I still think the 1978 battle between Affirmed and Alydar ranks with the greatest moments in all of sports history. But it is about time some poor nag won all three again.

-- Mal

[BumRushDaShow]

10. AMAZING HORSE

A perfect finish! Congrats to Espinoza for the ride of his life..

[DinahMoeHum]

11. 4 Triple Crown winners in my lifetime. . .

1973 Secretariat
1977 Seattle Slew
1978 Affirmed
2015 American Pharoah

[a kennedy]

13. Ditto....and of course....that Secretariat is still my favorite......

So cool, secretariat's owner was there to see him win. So cool.

[SunSeeker]

16. And Secretariat's 2:24 run is still the record!

Although American Pharoah came closer than any other horse to breaking that record!

[catchnrelease]

29. He's in a class of his own

I don't believe there will ever be another horse just like him, in more ways than one. Just a phenomenal animal.

But still, kudos to American Pharoah, he did it!

(I have to say that I'm pleased that my 1000th post, after being here since Jan 2004, is to honor Secretariat and a new triple crown winner!)

[Drahthaardogs]

56. Secretariat was a genetic fluke

there will never be anything like him again. Even his offspring could not really come close. However, I love this new horse American Pharoah, he has a great back story and they say he is a sweet fellow, not wound up real tight like most thoroughbreds.

[TuxedoKat]

55. Me too

That was the first Triple Crown race I saw. I watched it with my dad who explained the historical significance of the three races and how the last Triple Crown winner had been 25 years ago. What a race -- what a great horse.

[jaysunb]

17. I'll add Citation to that lifetime list

although I was only 5 and didn't have a clue until many years later.

[Hissyspit]

12. Kick nt

[truedelphi]

14. Hmm. I wonder if it is good to use the word "Kick"

on a post about horse racing?

[BumRushDaShow]

19. !!!

[Rhiannon12866]

37. LOL!

[erpowers]

15. Wow

I am so glad I was able to see the race. It was very fun and great to watch.

[chernabog]

18. Animal abuse is so fun to watch!

[chernabog]

34. They run for the pleasure of humans

I'm sure they love someone on their back and getting whipped. Sounds great!

[CANDO]

35. And you go to work for the profit of others.

And so do I. Horses run. They have long legs and massive muscles. Huge lungs and hearts. It's the very essence of their existence. Sorry you'd rather they be stationary objects.

[chernabog]

36. Are you serious?

Sorry you are for the exploitation of these animals.

[CANDO]

49. Absolutely

eom

[chernabog]

53. Sickening

Eom

[treestar]

59. Would you have been against them as transportation

before the invention of the automobile?

Was that exploitation?

[chernabog]

62. We don't live in the past

Try and think progressively

[treestar]

63. Not an answer

It was OK in the past? If you'd lived then, you would not have considered it exploitation?

There seems to be a horse/human connection. Sometimes different species work together well.

[chernabog]

64. 3 years ago I wouldn't have considered it exploitation

But I educated myself and my thoughts evolved on the matter of animal rights. There is no excuse for any type of "sport" involving animals that have no say in the matter. It's not necessary anymore, it's certainly not progressive.

[treestar]

58. Do we know that?

It is probable that they enjoy running. Don't they do it ini the wild?

And like the dog, they get along with humans. Symbiosis.

[chernabog]

61. Let them do it in the wild

No problem with that. Put some asshole on their back with a crop while riding it to death, I have a problem.

[Hissyspit]

42. That just excuses any behavior then, hunh?

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php

On the market

The 'yearling' sales of thoroughbred colts and fillies draw the 'horsey' crowd — the monied people. Most yearlings sell for tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the gamble starts right there; with the owners and trainers hoping to 'back a winner' and to have the next great champion, or at least recoup their outlay.

The scale of the industry is huge — around 15,000 thoroughbred foals are bred each year in Australia, and a similar number of standard bred foals are born nationally.

Pushing To Win

Racing as a two-year-old puts the horse at particular risk of injury because at this age the skeletal system of these animals is still immature and not ready for the hard training and physical stress of the racing world. Regardless, the lure of the very high stakes for the two-year-old races mean many owners push trainers to have their expensive animals compete.

Mental suffering
Whilst in training, horses may be individually stabled for most of every day, apart from when they're on the training track. Stabling is the most 'practical' way to provide the horses with their high-performance training and racing diet, and housing them right next to the training track reduces time consuming daily transport. However, without social and environmental stimulation, horses can develop stereotypic behaviours, such as crib-biting (biting on fences and other fixed objects and then pulling back, making a characteristic grunting noise, called wind-sucking) and self-mutilation may occur. These stereotypic behaviours are a strong indicator of welfare problems for horses. Around 31,000 thoroughbreds and a similar number of Standardbreds will be 'in training' or racing at any one time in Australia.

Physical suffering
The feeding of high concentrate diets (grains) fed during training rather than extended grazing, often leads to gastric ulcers. A study of racehorses at Randwick (NSW) found that 89% had stomach ulcers, and many of the horses had deep, bleeding ulcers within 8 weeks of the commencement of their training (Newby J, Welfare issues raised by racehorse ulcer study, The Veterinarian, March 2000).

During training and in competition, horses of all ages can suffer painful muscular-skeletal injuries, such as torn ligaments and tendons, dislocated joints and even fractured bones.

Internal race injuries
The exertion of the races leads a large proportion of horses to bleed into their lungs and windpipe — called Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage. This has only been fully realized in recent years when endoscopes have been used to carry out internal examinations via the throat. A study carried out by the University of Melbourne found that 50% of race horses had blood in the windpipe, and 90% had blood deeper in the lungs.

'Jumps racing'
Jumps racing is one of the many fates for 'failed' and 'retired' thoroughbred racing horses (particularly in Victoria and South Australia). Statistics over many years have shown that jumps races are even more dangerous and harmful for horses, with up to 20 times more fatalities than flat races. This is not surprising when you have a group of horses being pushed to jump a series of one metre high fences together at speed.
As well as this, the jumps races are usually much longer, and the jockeys are permitted to be heavier. Tired horses have a greater risk of falling — risking injury to themselves and often the jockeys. The injuries that occur when horses fall or career into the jumps or the barriers can be quite horrific.

[CANDO]

50. Good luck crusading against an ancient sport.

I'm not very optimistic on your chances of success.

[chimpymustgo]

54. Maybe if more people like you will develop empathy for the horses and not the human enjoyment

things can change.

Arguments about tradition are really weak. We'd have no human progress whatsoever.

I hope you read hissyspit's post.

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/horse_racing.php

It's abuse - from breeding to racing to post career. We, as humans, have no right to enslave other creatures.

[bklyncowgirl]

67. I respect your right to your opinion, but humans and horses have worked together for millenia.

Yes, horses are often abused. Yes, horse racing has its dark side with breakdowns and drugs as do other sports and activities involving animals. I've seen people do terrible things to horses for the sake of a blue ribbon and don't get me started on show dog breeding...BUT.

There's nothing inherently cruel about horse racing or in training horses to perform other work or play activities that are not designed to hurt them. Horse racing is not bull fighting. The fact is that horses, like dogs have developed over the centuries to cooperate with and work with humans and humans have developed working with horses. In exchange, the horses get security and safety from predators. It's a symbiotic relationship in which the humans, the ones with the bigger brains, dominate.

I do believe that we as humans have a responsibility to our animal partners to insure their safety, to establish strict rules for their treatment and to punish people who risk their health and safety for ego or profit but I cannot buy the animal rights argument that no animal should be enslaved. If I was to follow that argument to its logical conclusion, I would have to send my fourteen year old Border Collie Mix out into the wilds of New Jersey to fare for himself and that I am not doing.

[bklyncowgirl]

68. Look at the video of American Pharoah on the Today Show

Look at him confidently trying to get his nose in Bob Baffert's, that's his trainer's pockets and playfully butting Victor Espinosa's arm (that's the jockey, the evil guy with the whip) and trying to chew his chair. Does that look like an abused animal to you?

There is a dark side and sometimes real evil in horse racing and any competition in which animals are involved and that needs to be cleaned up or sadly the sport will not survive in todays environment, but this was an example of the beauty of the sport at its best, a cleanly run race and a great horse flying down the track well within himself.

[chernabog]

69. Good thing no horses died because of that race

am I right?

[Kevin from WI]

20. Wow, that's one old horse!

He hasn't won it since 1978, good to see the old boy still has it in him.

[truedelphi]

27. And then there is the question, "Just

Which tomb did they pull the old boy out of?"

[spooky3]

21. What is "misspelled"?

[catchnrelease]

22. Pharaoh

Pharaoh is the correct spelling, the horse's name is American Pharoah. The original paperwork submitted to the Jockey Club to register his name was incorrect, but was just left as recorded. (How sad, I have an extensive library on Ancient Egypt and I didn't even notice it, lol.)

Awesome horse!

[spooky3]

23. Thanks!

[catchnrelease]

26. You're welcome!!

[Princess Turandot]

28. Whatever its spelling, what a great name for a racehorse! nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

25. They didn't use the hieroglyphic cartouche. nt

[catchnrelease]

24. Whew!

I can exhale now! As usual I didn't watch live until I knew there were no accidents, so waited until I heard it was over and he'd won. Then watched the replay over and over. Got choked up when he crossed the wire.

There's so much I hate about Thoroughbred racing, but I can't resist the big races.

[yuiyoshida]

30. Yes!

[Coventina]

31. Well, the end result of this will be thousands of more horses' suffering and dead.

Dog dammit!

[riderinthestorm]

44. Nope. The problem lies with the breeders who continue to rely on Native Dancer

Hes an unstable line known for catastrophic front end breakdowns. The racing world never used to see these kinds of deaths before Native Dancee became so prevalent.

Here's an excellent article:

And herein, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, lies the rub. The thoroughbred breed is now so suffused with the precocious blood of Native Dancer, so filled with his great-grandsons and great-granddaughters, so shot through with distant offspring who carry the markers of his tribe -- extraordinary speed with limited durability and soundness -- that today it threatens the viability of the entire breed. Of the 20 starters in the May 3 Kentucky Derby, every single one of them carried the blood of Native Dancer. Of course, this line in and of itself is not to be condemned -- if, that is, it comes in reasonable doses and is counterbalanced by the blood of sounder strains -- but in many of the Derby pedigrees, he appeared multiple times. Native Dancer appeared four times in Eight Belles' pedigree, most conspicuously in the three crosses of Raise a Native that so troubled Parker when she saw them there.

When Eight Belles shattered both of her ankles as she pulled up past the finish line and galloped out around the clubhouse turn -- she obviously broke one ankle first, then snapped the other as she dug it in to support herself -- Parker was but one of millions who sat transfixed in horror as the television camera showed the filly lying prostrate on the track. The recriminations began at once. Columnists, bloggers, talk-show hosts and other observers, some of whom actually know which end of the horse eats, launched into a series of spontaneous public lectures detailing what the problem was and what had to be done. Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) picketed the offices of the Kentucky State Sports Authority in Lexington and flooded the organization with e-mails protesting the sport. They unjustly condemned the trainer for running the filly and the jockey for using his whip, however sparingly, the last eighth of a mile.

What Ellen Parker wanted to know, when I spoke to her following the Derby, was why no one was picketing Robert Clay's Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky., one of the pillars of the Blue Grass breeding establishment and the place where Eight Belles was bred and from where she was sold as a yearling, at Keeneland in 2006, for $375,000.

"They're the ones who created this tragedy," Parker said. "Robert Clay is smart enough to know better. He bred her. That's where it starts. You don't blame the trainer, who does not have the reputation of breaking horses down, and you don't blame the poor little jockey. ... She was inbred three times to Raise a Native! [She broke down] right where Raise a Native was the weakest, right in the ankles, and everybody acts like they don't know what caused this filly to break down. It's written right there for everyone to see! Except they refuse to see it. To admit it is to address the fact that all these stallions that are bred like that, that all the yearlings that are bred like that, are potential accidents waiting to happen. And they've got so much money wrapped up in this crap!"

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/triplecrown08/columns/story?columnist=nack_bill&id=3399004

[Dr. Xavier]

46. You're right that Dancer seems to be over represented in the bloodlines

however, its only because Slew and the Cat have not produced real winners. And any horse that has any to do with Man o' War might as well hang it up. Lot of money being spent for nothing.

[fasttense]

57. Interesting that Dancer's horrible injuries

seem to mimic the same type of injuries common when horses are drugged and then raced. It may be bad ankles in the breed but it could also be drugging.

[riderinthestorm]

60. Helwan was only on Lasix which is given for nosebleeds nt

[Cryptoad]

32. A Progressive Board praising,,,,,

the Oligarchs' horse racing games......... geez.... oh the irony of it all!

[chernabog]

39. Not to mention the animal exploitation

And abuse.

[montanacowboy]

38. He is a magnificent horse

and loves racing - he just put it in high gear and left the pack behind - wonderful animal, great jockey and trainer

[FrodosPet]

40. Secretariat Belmont Stakes 1973 & extended coverage

[Rhiannon12866]

47. Thanks for posting this! Secretariat was so amazing!

What I remember about him was that he won by so many lengths that no other houses were even in the picture, incredible for such a long race. His owner, Penny Chenery, was in the stands at the Belmont again today - she's now 93.

[Recursion]

65. Seriously. Secretariat made it look easy (nt)

[FrodosPet]

41. Seattle Slew - The 1977 Belmont Stakes

[FrodosPet]

43. Affirmed - 1978 Belmont Stakes

[Dr. Xavier]

45. Congratulations to AP and the Zayat Family.

Can't wait to hear the RW idots complaining that Sharia Law has come to horse racing. Long Live AP. Long Live the King (or Pharaoh) if you will.

[quadrature]

51. Secretariat-1973... 2:24 ...will stand FOREVER ...nt

[jmowreader]

66. NOTHING stands forever

[Vinca]

52. What an exciting race and what a beautiful horse.