American Pharoah to start from fifth position at Belmont
American Pharoah's quest for the Triple Crown began in earnest on Wednesday with the announcement of the post positions for the Belmont Stakes, the final jewel in horse racing's Triple Crown.
The horse will start from the fith position, per Wednesday's post draw.
American Pharoah is seeking to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. Since that time, 13 horses have failed to capture the Belmont after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, including two in the last three years.
If American Pharoah is to win, he'll have to overcome challenges from a number of horses he bested in the Derby but not in the Preakness. Frosted, Materiality, Mubtaahij, Keen Ice, Madefromlucky, Tale of Verve, and Frammento fill out the Belmont field, with Frosted and Materiality holding the best odds outside American Pharoah to win.
The Belmont Stakes offers a unique challenge among the three Triple Crown races: 1 1/2 miles (or, in racing parlance, 12 furlongs), a farther distance than any of the horses slated to race has run. (The Kentucky Derby is 10 furlongs, the Preakness nine.) One statistical measurement of a horse's likely success involves measuring the average winning distance of all the offspring of that horse's sire and dam. By that standard, Keen Ice ranks first and American Pharoah second among all Belmont entrants.
Still, there is reason to worry. In recent years, American horses have been bred for speed, not stamina. In practice, that means a horse capable of winning at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness on speed doesn't have the endurance to handle the longer Belmont track. Recent winners at the Belmont have included endurance "specialists" who come into the race without fanfare and often fail to win even a single shorter race in their careers.
All of which combines to make Secretariat's astonishing 1973 victory, in which the legendary horse won by 31 lengths, all the more impressive. Will American Pharoah engrave its name in history alongside Secretariat's? We're another step closer to finding out.
The Belmont Stakes runs at 6:50 ET on Saturday, June 6.
Previewing the Belmont with American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert & jockey Victor Espinoza
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
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