Post by Admin on Jun 7, 2015 18:06:19 GMT -4
As American Pharoah came out of the far turn and squared his shoulders to let his rider Victor Espinoza stare down the long withering stretch of Belmont Park, a sense of inevitability surged through this mammoth old grandstand. The fans in a capacity crowd strained on the tips of their toes and let out a roar from deep in their souls. It was going to end, finally — this 37-year search for a great racehorse.
No, a battered old sport was looking for an immortal thoroughbred, one worthy to stand alongside Sir Barton and Assault, War Admiral and Whirlaway, Count Fleet and Citation, a horse able to earn the title of a Triple Crown champion.
The Triple Crown trophy, which was commissioned in 1950 by the Thoroughbred Racing Association and created by Cartier jewelers.An Elusive Trophy, Gleaming Through the Smudges of Hands and LipsJUNE 6, 2015
John A. Nerud, 102, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1972.A Storied Trainer and a Witness to HistoryJUNE 6, 2015
The crowded platform at Belmont Station after last year’s race. The Long Island Rail Road made improvements to the station that were intended to help ease the crowding this year.Adjustments Ease Crowd at RacetrackJUNE 6, 2015
Victor Espinoza, center right, and California Chrome fell short of a Triple Crown last year.Divine Intervention Is a Hope, Not a Horse, in the BelmontJUNE 6, 2015
An exercise rider with a riding crop at Belmont Park.Every Lash of a Whip Adds to Urgency for Its CriticsJUNE 5, 2015
Pioneerof the Nile, American Pharoah's sire, stood in his pasture before an afternoon breeding recently at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky.Turn-Ons: Peppermints, Cool Breezes. Turnoffs: Mares Who Move Too Fast.JUNE 5, 2015
Strong Impact with his loyal stall companion, Charlie the pig, at Belmont Park. Animal pals are often used to help soothe nervous thoroughbreds.Barnyard Buddies Curl Up at BelmontJUNE 4, 2015
There had been only 11 of them in history, and America had elected five presidents, fought three wars and lived through at least three economic downturns since Affirmed had last completed the feat in 1978. In the interim, 12 other very good racehorses had pulled into the starting gate at this grand old racetrack on Long Island with a chance to become the next great horse, only to fall short at the hands of a great rival, as Sunday Silence did to Easy Goer in 1989 or as Real Quiet did in 1998 in a heartbreaking photo finish, or to find the mile-and-a-half distance of the Belmont Stakes just too much, as California Chrome did last year.
