1. American Pharoah becomes first Triple Crown winner in 37 years
No sporting title is more challenging or impossible to predict as the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, but at Belmont Park in the first weekend of June the nearly four decades-long wait was finally over as American Pharoah was finally THE ONE and ended a 37-year drought of no Triple Crown winners.
Not only was the moment itself subject to one of the most sustained roars by a crowd at any sporting event in recent memory, it capped a decade-plus of futility for legendary horse trainer Bob Baffert, who had failed three previous bids for the Triple Crown all in agonizing fashion, and for jockey Victor Espinoza, who had failed two previous bids for the Triple Crown including one just the year before.
For those who don’t know, the Triple Crown entails three of the longest horse races in the world in the span of just 5 weeks – for a horse that would be the equivalent of running and WINNING the 100m dash on three consecutive days with multiple, new, well-rested opponents competing in each race.
For all we know it could be another 37 years or more before there is another Triple Crown champion, we may never know, but we were all witnesses to a once-in-a-lifetime feat in sports history this past month.
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