Belmont Stakes 2015: Winners and Losers from New York

You’ll have to forgive me for being a bit more high energy than usual. My heart drummed from the moment the eight-horse field for the 147th Belmont Stakes loaded into the gate, beating faster as every slow fraction ticked up on that television screen. 

With each passing quarter-mile, it became more and more likely American Pharoah would win. He was so fluid, so effortless. At a point it wasn't "Will he win?" but "How much will he win by?"

No one challenged him. No one could.

It’s like a boxer facing Muhammad Ali and just letting him get free punches.

And Jerry Bailey, NBC’s horse racing analyst, added during the broadcast, "Sometimes it’s the distance, sometimes the heat; pilot error sometimes comes into play, and sometimes the horses aren’t good enough. I think this year we do have that horse."

We already know who the winner is, but let’s flesh out what happened in the Triple Crown version of winners and losers, one that’s been 37 years in the making.

Loser: Steve Coburn's 2014 Rant

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Remember last year when Steve Coburn, part owner of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome, said that new shooters took the “coward’s way out”?

Then he went on to say that because he was in his 60s and his horse was defeated by a fresh horse that he will never see a Triple Crown winner in his lifetime.

Well, let’s let him say it. Thanks to the Las Vegas Review Journal for curating this quote:

"

If your horse doesn’t even have the points to run in the Kentucky Derby, he shouldn’t be able to run in the Triple Crown. They’re goddamn cheaters. It’s not fair to these horses that have been in the game since Day One. It’s all or nothing. It’s all or nothing because this is not fair to these horses that have been running their guts out for these people and for all the people who believe in him.

I’ll never see — and I’m 61 years old — another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime because of the way they do this.

"

So…

There were seven horses who took the “coward’s way out,” and they got their tails dusted by a transcendent talent. Somewhere Coburn is eating that cowboy hat.

Winner: Keen Ice

Garry Jones/Associated Press

Keen Ice, a deep closer, ran strong to finish third. Given how slow the race ran on the front end (don’t expect a Christmas card, Materiality), it made the son of Curlin’s kick down the center of the track that much more impressive.

Dale Romans, Keen Ice’s trainer, was tickled when he said in an NYRA release, “The horse was perfect. My horse ran his race. It's an amazing thing to be a part of. Bob Baffert is the greatest trainer of all time. My hat's off to him. Congratulations to the Zayats."

Keen Ice proved, like Frosted, that he’s a great talent. He'll do everything in his power—as will most other horses until the Breeders’ Cup—to avoid running against American Pharoah. Keen Ice likes to run far, so the races later in the calendar going 1 ¼ miles (Travers, Jockey Club Gold Cup) could be right up his long-striding alley.

Loser: Horses Who Have Had a Great 2015

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Tonalist could've contended for Horse of the Year in 2015. No more.

Sorry, every older horse, young horse and everybody in between who has a great year on the track. You will not win the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. Not going to happen.

American Pharoah just won Horse of the Year, and there’s no question, no debate, nothing he can do or you can do that will change the verdict.

There are many horses who have had great winters and springs. They will, no doubt, have great summers and falls. It doesn’t matter. They can only hope to win other divisional honors, but the big one is spoken for.

American Pharoah can lose every race for the rest of the year (don’t rule out retirement in the next month or so too), and he’ll still be the Horse of the Year.

Them’s the breaks. Sorry, folks.

Loser: The Real Tale of Verve

Garry Jones/Associated Press

The real Tale of Verve showed up at Belmont Park. Over a fast track, there was no way this horse was going to contend. Dallas Stewart, his trainer, was high on the horse, but he’s always going to be the horse’s greatest advocate.

Tale of Verve caught a muddy track in the Preakness, and it played to his advantage. Mud can do weird things to a horse race. It opens doors for some and slams it shut for others (see: Dortmund).

But the Belmont Park main track was fast—blazing fast—and Tale of Verve showed just how slow he really is. His jockey, Gary Stevens, could only sit back and watch the premier form of reality television taking place before him.

Stevens said in an NYRA release, "He ran a hell of a race. That's a hell of a horse. The race was over in the third jump from the gate, it was over. It's great to come back to a screaming crowd in a happy way instead of booing. It's a pretty cool moment."

And that’s a common sentiment across all the quotes: They’re all paying respect to what they were a part of. Even while losing, they knew they were a part of history, even if their role was a footnote.

Winner: Mubtaahij

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

It wasn’t exactly what the connections for Mubtaahij drew up, as he finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes. He had plenty of time to acclimate, and all things considered, he ran a decent race.

He was probably the fourth-best horse in the field, and he finished accordingly. Irad Ortiz Jr., his jockey, said in an NYRA release afterward:

"

[American Pharoah’s] a monster. He's a very nice horse. He's a freak. We haven't had a Triple Crown winner in years. He's a great horse. I tried to be close to him. I kept following him and my horse ran very, very good. We had no excuses. The best horse won the race.

"

What’s next for this foreign import? He may go back overseas, or maybe he’ll remain in the States. The longer he stays here, the better chance he’ll have at contending against the North American three-year-olds.

It’s easy to lose sight of how solid he is when we just witnessed something that hadn’t happened since bell bottoms were still in vogue.

Winner: Frosted Didn't Flake

Uncredited/Associated Press

Joel Rosario, the jockey aboard Frosted, got a perfect trip. Most of these horses got a perfect trip. The problem was the best horse with the most talent got the divine trip.

But Frosted validated his talent from winning the Grade 1 Wood Memorial and his fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

This horse is going to win a lot of races this summer and looks like the ideal Jim Dandy Stakes horse once Saratoga rolls around.

The thing is American Pharoah is so good that it’s easy to overlook just how solid the other horses are in his wake. Rosario said in an NYRA release after the race:

"

My horse ran great, but the horse everybody expected to win won the race. My horse ran really great and we got second place. It's exciting because we have not seen this for so long and the winner really looked brilliant. My horse showed that he is a really nice horse and there will be lots of races down the road for my horse.

"

That’s exactly right. He can say he was the one with the best view, just 5 ½ lengths away from history.

Loser: John Velazquez and Materiality

David Stephenson/Associated Press

Why weren’t you in the lead? When you felt in your bones that the pace was slow, why didn’t you get up on American Pharoah’s neck? How could you think that relaxing off American Pharoah’s flank would be the correct strategy? When he slowed after the half-mile, why didn’t you move up farther? Why didn’t you contend? Did it feel like a forfeit?

These are all somewhat fair questions to ask jockey John Velazquez about his ride. Trainer Todd Pletcher was open during the day on the television broadcast saying he didn't want American Pharoah getting an easy lead. Then the exact opposite thing happened: Pharoah got an easy lead as a direct result of Materiality's apathy or Velazquez's failure to force the issue.

Jerry Bailey, NBC's horse racing analyst, recapped the start of the race on the broadcast: "The stage is kind of set here. Materiality did not go after him early. He's very patient, very deliberate so American Pharoah got away in good order. The quarter-mile in 24 seconds, advantage American Pharoah."

And Velazquez, who sat in that saddle watching the Pharoah reign over the track, echoed that sentiment in an NYRA release:

"

We were going slow enough, with those fractions, but I just didn't have anything. I was in trouble as soon as we got to the backstretch. American Pharoah is a great horse, that's the only way you can describe him. My horse ran as good as he could but he was done early. The best horse won the race. He's obviously a great horse to do all the things he's done race after race, you have to take your hat off to him.

"

Materiality will be better suited at nine furlongs, so the Haskell Invitational in July and the Pennsylvania Derby in September seem like great three-year-old races for him. Against the older horses, perhaps a turn back to a mile will suit him. Time will tell.

Winner: No. 12

Maybe what’s most impressive with American Pharoah’s historic win at the 147th Belmont Stakes wasn’t that he won (yes, impressive) and not how fast he ran (two minutes, 26.65 seconds—again, very impressive), but how fast that final quarter-mile must have been after already having run a Kentucky Derby distance within the race.

His final quarter-mile zipped by in 24.32 seconds. Get this: American Pharoah’s 1 ¼-mile split from the Belmont was faster than his Kentucky Derby, back when he was far fresher. He won the Derby in 2:03.02, and the Belmont Stakes' 10-furlong split was 2:02.33.

Trainer Bob Baffert said in an NYRA release after the race, "Down the backside, he was in his groove, and I knew that if he's a great horse, he's going to do it. He's just a great horse. It takes a great horse to do it. I just feel like I have a very special horse, and he's the one that won. It wasn't me, it was the horse."

For all those who say the Triple Crown should be changed so there’s more distance between races to suit the modern-day thoroughbred, look no further than American Pharoah.

If it was ever going to happen again, it needed to be this; it needed to happen this way or never again.

Everyone said that this was one of the deepest classes of three-year-old horses in years heading into the Derby, and American Pharoah stands as tall as the Great Pyramids having beaten them all, having run 31.5 furlongs over five weeks.

He is No. 12, indeed.

All quotes, unless otherwise stated, came via releases received firsthand.