American Pharoah takes on ghosts of Triple Crowns past

ELMONT, N.Y. – Through the steady rain falling in the dark at Belmont Park, you can hear them – the ghosts of Triple Crowns past, echoing through the mammoth grandstand and around the sweeping final turn"… in a position that seems impossible to catch. He's into the stretch." “In the stretch, here he comes, and he’s opening up again!” "We'll test these two to the wire!"

Eleven times in American Thoroughbred racing, a horse has turned the long Belmont stretch into his coronation procession. The most recent to wear the Crown was Affirmed in 1978. “I realized how difficult it was and what a big deal it was,” said former jockey Steve Cauthen, who can be forgiven if he lives hearing the ghost of Alydar breathing down his neck. “I obviously had no idea it would be 37 years before another horse maybe did it. But I've always felt that, you know, it would happen again, and just, you need the right horse.”

The horse racing world is holding its breath to see if “the right horse” has at last emerged. Unassuming, the gentle American Pharoah, the 14th since 1978 to come to Belmont with a chance to sweep the Triple Crown, is simply walking the shed row in the darkness the morning of his date with destiny, keeping the same quiet routine he kept the morning of his Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes – both resounding victories. He has adapted well to his temporary home at Belmont Park, floating around the massive oval with a sharp final gallop Friday. "The next time he's on that track, it'll be in front of 90,000 people. Well, 8,200 are still not sold, whatever the math is,” trainer Bob Baffert said, joking about the attendance cap the New York Racing Association instituted to address the logistical challenges faced at the 2014 Belmont. The race did indeed sell out late Friday night. “But I recommend you might want to scoop those tickets up. Everything looks good. I think he's going to run his race."

Three times before, Baffert has brought a horse to the threshold of racing immortality at the Belmont Stakes – and three times, he’s been foiled. The Hall of Fame trainer has been loose, mellow in the weeks since American Pharoah’s Preakness romp. If he’s haunted, he doesn’t show it. And down the stretch they come! Three of them in a line. Silver Charm at the rail, Touch Gold on the outside – Touch Gold puts a head in front with 50 yards to go.” “A picture is worth a thousand words – this photo is worth five million dollars. Oh, no!” “He did not break alertly. War Emblem was off near the back of the pack.” "I think I'm responsible for the drought," Baffert joked. "I probably should have won the Triple Crown a couple more times. This fourth time will be different because I'm much older and mellower, and I know what I have to deal with, so I'm not so overwhelmed. American Pharoah has a different vibe than the others. He's shown that he's a superior horse. He just needs to bring it one more time. He's the best horse I've trained, and he's my best hope for the Triple Crown.”

Seven challengers are waiting in the wings, hoping to add their names to the list of the notorious colts who haunt Belmont Park. Frammento. Frosted. Keen Ice. Madefromlucky. Materiality. Mubtaahij. Tale of Verve. “The reason they call this the ‘Test of Champions,’ it's a mile and a half, and it's always a test, and you know, there's some nice horses that will be testing him,” Cauthen said. Owner Ahmed Zayat – who said he’s dealing with prerace nerves by trying to be as brave as his horse – said he welcomes the challenge. "I'm competitive. You have to earn it,” Zayat said. American Pharoah’s challengers were quiet on race day, with most – including well-regarded Todd Pletcher trainees Materiality and Madefromlucky – walking the shed row as planned while the rain fell. Frosted trekked to the massive oval for a light gallop, and Frammento also was out, bouncing along beside his pony, both taking the opportunity to get out and stretch their legs before the final stretch of waiting begins.

The Belmont, part of a national NBC telecast, will not go off until 6:50 p.m. Eastern. Training this morning took place on a wet main track, with cones set out to protect the inner lanes. The worst of the weather was expected to taper off by late morning, but the forecast shows a 20 percent chance of precipitation in the hours immediately leading up to tonight’s classic. American Pharoah romped on sloppy tracks in both the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park and the Preakness three weeks ago. “I hope it'll be a dry track because it is ridiculous the way American Pharoah runs on an off track. It's a little scary,” said Frammento’s trainer, Nick Zito, whose two prior Belmont wins came at the expense of Triple Crown bids. Whatever the condition of Belmont’s massive oval, one thing about it is certain – navigating it will be a massive challenge.

The marathon 12-furlong distance of the Belmont is configured as a single lap, making it a true riders’ race for American Pharoah’s pilot, Victor Espinoza, and the others. “That’s something there, the first time they’ve ever done it, probably the last time they’ll ever do it,” Dale Romans, who saddles Keen Ice, said of the distance. “The shape of the racetrack is so different from everywhere else. Horses will figure it out – it’s more about the jockey figuring it out. They’ve got to realize, when they get to the middle of the turn, they’re not at the three-eighths pole at Churchill Downs. They’ve still got a hell of a lot of running to do.” Will Espinoza – taking his third shot at the Triple Crown aboard this colt he’s never been beaten on – find his ghosts running alongside as he rounds that fateful final turn? "War Emblem is toiling as the field turns for home” “Tonalist – Commissioner – It won’t be a Triple Crown this year …”

This year, though, Baffert and Espinoza appear to have their best shot yet. "This horse is as ready as we can get him,” Baffert said. One day, American Pharoah and all the rest will be ghosts haunting Belmont Park. But for now, there is the here and now. “The last five weeks have been surreal. Great things, great moments in one's life pass so, so quick,” Zayat said, becoming emotional. “Every moment we are trying to cherish, live, enjoy.”