Belmont Stakes Results 2015: Triple Crown Video Highlights, Prize Money and More

Forget science, forget 37 years of futility and forget the way the word "pharaoh" is supposed to be spelled. 

On a bright, clear afternoon at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes in dominant fashion and became just the 12th thoroughbred to win the Triple Crown of horse racing. He's the first to do it since Affirmed pulled off the feat in 1978.

Since Affirmed did the trick, 14 horses have come into the Belmont Stakes with a chance at history; only American Pharoah made good on his promise. 

The brilliant thoroughbred stumbled out of the gate but proceeded to pace the field for nearly the entire race. His smooth stride widened the lead to 5 ½ lengths by the time he crossed the finish line in front of a delirious Belmont Park crowd. He completed the 1 ½-mile journey in two minutes, 26 seconds.

“The way he hit the ground, you couldn’t even feel how fast he was moving,” jockey Victor Espinoza told NBC (h/t Melissa Hoppert of the New York Times).

Frosted placed a distant second, and Keen Ice finished third with a late push.

Video Highlights

Here's a look at the video replay of this instantly famous run, which completes a journey American Pharoah began five weeks ago at the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

Prize Money, Payouts

The prize money is quite the stack of pretty pennies. Here's a rundown of the results, prize money and payouts.

Place	No.	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Prize Money
1	5	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	$800, 000
2	6	Frosted	Joel Rosario	Kiaran McLaughlin	$280,000
3	7	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	Dale Romans	$150,000
4	1	Mubtaahij	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	Mike de Kock	$100,000
5	4	Frammento	Mike Smith	Nick Zito	$60,000
6	3	Madefromlucky	Javier Castellano	Todd Pletcher	$45,000
7	2	Tale of Verve	Gary Stevens	Dallas Stewart	$35,000
8	8	Materiality	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	$30,000

Horse	Win	Place	Show
American Pharoah	$3.50	$2.80	$2.50
Frosted	---	$3.50	$2.90
Keen Ice	---	---	$4.60

Prize money info courtesy of NYRA.com.

Reaction

The reaction to American Pharoah's stunning win was, in a word, jubilant. 

SB Nation provided an excellent graphic in honor of his win:

BuzzFeed's Lindsey Adler referenced a famous baseball call after watching the win:

"

THE HORSE WINS THE PENNANT! THE HORSE WINS THE PENNANT!

— Lindsey Adler (@Lahlahlindsey) June 6, 2015"

NBC Sports noted he's on a short list of legends:

This was a notable win not only for the horse but for jockey Victor Espinoza and trainer Bob Baffert. Espinoza won the Triple Crown in his third attempt, after first attempting to steer War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014 to famous victories. 

ESPN Stats & Info pointed out he also made a historic first on the day:

Baffert's horses have won the Kentucky Derby four times, the Preakness Stakes six times and now the Belmont Stakes twice. American Pharoah, it goes without saying, is his first to win all three.

“I’m very emotional,” said the trainer Bob Baffert to NBC, via Hoppert. “I’m thinking about my parents. I wish they were alive to see this.”

Men In Blazers noted he might start a fashion trend:

The win might also start another trend featuring the Burger King guy, who was spotted lurking behind Baffert before the race and was also in Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s entourage the night he beat Manny Pacquiao.

SB Nation provided a look at the corporate avatar hanging out in the stands:

Let's not forget Zayat Stables (American Pharoah's owners), who should be beyond pleased with their horse and his staggering potential value, via ESPN's Darren Rovell:

Many though it might be nigh on impossible for a horse to win three Grade 1 races in the span of five weeks, with so many horses using sophisticated training and recovery techniques. While some might have hoped to see a change to the scheduling if AP couldn't beat out this small field, we might have to put that argument to bed. 

Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis seems to appreciate how special this race was, owing to the rarity of the feat:

The format argument might well go on, but it will now be at a simmer rather than the full boil we might have seen had American Pharoah not won. The historic horse will now be looking at a leisurely, well-deserved retirement after leaving fans with so much to appreciate after 12 amazing furlongs at Belmont Park.

It's impossible to predict when the next Triple Crown winner might come, but for now, it's OK to sit back and marvel at history.