2015 Belmont Stakes: Final Triple Crown Race Chart, Finishing Times and Purse

American Pharoah ran into the winner's circle at the 2015 Belmont Stakes and into the history books Saturday at Belmont Park, releasing the sport of horse racing from 37 years of Triple Crown disappointment in gripping fashion.

His finishing time of 2:26.65 wasn't just the sixth-fastest in the history of the Belmont Stakes; it also marked the second-fastest time from a Triple Crown winner, trailing only Secretariat. In other words, none of the seven horses competing against American Pharoah stood any chance as he ran yet another simply unbeatable race.

As if his innate ability to pull away from the field on more fatigued legs didn't impress enough, he doubled down on his dominance by leading from start to finish. On a 1 1/2-mile distance that has taken down so many Triple Crown hopefuls, Pharoah never trailed—becoming the second horse in the last 30 years to win it wire-to-wire.

It was a moment worth reliving over and over, which you can do below:

American Pharoah's biggest challenges came in the middle stretches of the race, where his lead dwindled to less than a length and the field remained well within striking distance. But once he got going entering the final turn, he extended his lead stride by stride, leaving no doubt of his legendary skill.

Frosted briefly pushed AP down the final stretch and managed to hold on to second place, while Keen Ice closed strong just like at the Kentucky Derby to finish third. Mubtaahij rounded out the superfecta.

Disappointment ensued for trainer Todd Pletcher, who saw third-favorite Materiality finish dead last and Madefromlucky slot a sixth-place result. But those were all mere footnotes to the history-making performance from American Pharoah, as the results show:

Place	No.	Horse	Jockey	Time/Lengths	Winnings
1	5	American Pharoah	Victor Espinoza	2:26.65	$800,000
2	6	Frosted	Joel Rosario	5 1/2	$280,000
3	7	Keen Ice	Kent Desormeaux	7 1/2	$150,000
4	1	Mubtaahij	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	7 3/4	$100,000
5	4	Frammento	Mike Smith	16 1/4	$60,000
6	3	Madefromlucky	Javier Castellano	18 3/4	$45,000
7	2	Tale of Verve	Gary Stevens	21 1/2	$35,000
8	8	Materiality	John Velazquez	23 1/4	$30,000

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

American Pharoah's run into the history books began with a less-than-ideal break out of the gates, but the danger didn't last long.

Starting out in the No. 5 post, he looked likely to concede the early lead to the rest of the field before getting into his stride and establishing himself seconds later. Just like at the Preakness, AP steamed out in front of the pack early and looked poised to stay there.

He maintained his lead around the opening turn, and even in that early stretch of the race, jockey Victor Espinoza knew he had the race won, per Matt Spiegel of 670TheScore.com:

Espinoza may have been confident at that point, but it's not like the race was over. The field stayed close by, not giving AP a lead of more than a length throughout the opening mile of the 12-furlong scamper.

Frosted and Mubtaahij were in a great position to strike as the horses came around the final turn, but it didn't matter. American Pharoah turned on the afterburners, doing just what he did at Churchill Downs and Pimlico—take a commanding lead down the stretch.

Frosted challenged him in the last furlong but couldn't get to within two lengths of AP before he burst away for good. Even his trainer Kiaran McLaughlin couldn't help but cheer for history as he saw his horse's chances evaporate into the Elmont, New York sky, per Scott Hazelton of HRTV:

It's not like American Pharoah beat a bunch of slouches on his way to the history books. In fact, Frosted's run would have proven victorious in most years, TimeFormUS.com observed:

That just goes to show more than anything else that Saturday was no fluke. Just like in previous years, a Triple Crown hopeful faced daunting challenges at the final stage. But unlike the last 13 horses that have tried and failed over the last 37 years, a horse reigned supreme.

It's been a long time coming for the sport of horse racing, which heard whispers of needing to change up the format after it had failed to produce a Triple Crown winner in nearly four decades. Well, it's safe to say that won't be much of a talking point now.

The Triple Crown has proven to be an impossible task for the last generation or two, but American Pharoah changed that in the span of five weeks. And until some other great horse mimics the feat in the coming years, we'll be hearing all about how American Pharoah—not Affirmed in 1978—last did it in 2015.