Belmont Stakes Winner: Analyzing American Pharoah's Dominant Performance

American Pharoah carried the hopes of the horse racing community when he stepped into the gate early Saturday evening at Belmont Park.

The facts, as he prepared for the final jewel of the Triple Crown, were well-known: The sport's biggest prize had gone unclaimed since 1978, and with each passing year, there was growing frustration within the sport. Surely, some horse was bound to join Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed by winning the Triple Crown again.

Would this finally be the year?

American Pharoah had been impressive in winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but so had 12 other horses who had failed at the Belmont Stakes. From a handicapping perspective, American Pharoah clearly the best in the Belmont field, with only Frosted and Materiality serving as legitimate competition.

The feeling was that Materiality might be able to run with him the moment the gates opened and push him hard, while Frosted mounted a charge from the rear or the middle of the pack. If one or both of those horses had been at their best and American Pharoah was just ordinary, the big bay colt might just be stopped.

But American Pharoah did not run a "B" or "C" race on Saturday. He ran an "A" race every step of the way, which is why he won the 1.5-mile race by 5.5 lengths.

If that wasn't enough to show the world that it was a stellar performance, American Pharoah's time of 2:26.65 was the second-best winning performance in Belmont Stakes history behind Secretariat's 2:24 in 1973 (that time still boggles the mind, 42 years after it went into the books).

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

The key for trainer Bob Baffert was the start of the race. American Pharoah had run with the leaders in the Derby and was never worse than third at any point of call in the race. He turned it up another gear in the stretch run and won convincingly. In the Preakness, Pharoah went right to the front from the No. 1 post position and simply raced away from the field as he won by seven lengths.

Baffert had asked jockey Victor Espinoza to to let Pharoah run from the start. He made the lead after just two jumps out of the starting gate. Once that happened, it was a simple race for Espinoza: All he had to do was let the big horse enjoy himself.

Each quarter-mile American Pharoah ran was consistent. The times were 24.06, 24.77, 24.58, 24.58, 24.34 and 24.32. Only a horse for the ages is capable of running in that manner.

Materiality chased him and gave a good effort but could not stay with him after the one-mile mark and ended up last. Frosted came on with a rush and pulled within 2.5 lengths at one point, but Pharoah pulled away at the most crucial moments.

He was in championship form when it mattered most. There was no turning point in this race for American Pharoah, as every step was a winning one. The cheers from the New York crowd grew louder with every stride he took in that last quarter-mile.

It was a catharsis for those who had waited so long for that Triple Crown winner. Many thought they would never see another, because the three races were simply too grueling for those in contention, especially when confronted with rested horses in the final test of the Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown exposes all but the best horses. Just one year ago, California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but fell short in the Belmont, and owner Steve Coburn had complained loudly that horses that didn't compete in the first two Triple Crown races shouldn't be allowed to run in the Belmont.

Stuart Ramson/Associated Press

Those remarks were nothing but sour grapes from a man who hadn't gotten his way. American Pharoah proved that to be the case by winning the Triple Crown a year later and sending owner Ahmed Zayat and Baffert into spasms of joy with the victory.

The horse racing fans at Belmont Park got to witness a champion for the ages and roared their approval long after the race was over. The 37-year dry spell was over, and the old storyline was dead and buried.

How soon before Hollywood comes calling?