Hall of Famer American Pharoah Dazzled Baffert

Before each of trainer Bob Baffert's first three attempts to sweep the Triple Crown, he spoke with Penny Chenery, the famed owner of Secretariat. Each time, she voiced some doubt. 

She wasn't sure if Baffert's horse had all of the necessary qualities to join Secretariat and 10 other all-time greats on the revered list of Triple Crown champions.

"Back then, Penny had to give you her blessing to enter the Triple Crown Club," Baffert said.

The historic afternoon of June 6, 2015, was different. 

Baffert was at Belmont Park, preparing to send out dual classic winner American Pharoah   in the Belmont Stakes Presented by DraftKings (G1) in hopes of becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. 

When the then-93-year-old Chenery saw Baffert, they hugged.

"She told me, 'Bob you're going to do it. He deserves to win the Triple Crown,"' Baffert said.

The Hall of Fame trainer then whispered to Chenery, saying, "He's no Secretariat, but this is as close as I'll get."

Later that day, American Pharoah joined Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and all the rest, winning the Belmont Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths and becoming the long-awaited 12th Triple Crown winner. 

Now, nearly six years later, Zayat Stables' son of Pioneerof the Nile  joins "Big Red" in another highly exclusive club with the May 5 announcement that he will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in his initial year of eligibility.

"He was special," Baffert said. "One of the greatest moments in sports history in a long time was when American Pharoah won the Triple Crown. I'll never forget the roar that day, or the people, how he made so many people feel good about themselves watching him. It really boosted horse racing. People started watching him, following him."

A homebred out of the Yankee Gentleman  mare Littleprincessemma , American Pharoah carried the turquoise and yellow silks of Ahmed Zayat's Zayat Stables, which has not sent out a starter since October 2020 due to the owner's financial problems. The champion 2-year-old male of 2014 and Horse of the Year the following year, he won nine of 11 starts, including eight grade 1s. He blended scintillating speed with stamina and the heart of a champion to earn $8,650,300. The Triple Crown sweep of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), and Belmont Stakes with regular rider Victor Espinoza aboard lifted him into the company of the sport's immortals, yet there was much more to his charismatic career than those five weeks in the spring of 2015.

He still stands as the lone winner of the sport's "Grand Slam," a feat achieved by closing out his career with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Even at the end of a draining 3-year-old campaign, American Pharoah was as magnificent as ever as he faced older horses for the first time and rode off into the sunset in a glorious fashion by cruising to a decisive 6 1/2-length victory.

Talented enough to notch his maiden win in a grade 1 (the Del Mar Futurity), he attracted a record crowd of 60,983 to Monmouth Park for the William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) in his first start after sweeping the Triple Crown.

"The Haskell was incredible," Baffert said. "It's unbelievable the way people love a superstar."

His next start was a loss, a runner-up finish to Keen Ice   in the Travers Stakes (G1) before a packed house of 50,000 that still stings Baffert.

"I wish I could redo that race. We got caught up in everything and lost focus for a bit," he said. "Yet even though he got beat, the town was crazy. I just wish he could have won. If he had, the place would have been unbelievable."

Yet to some, even more memorable than the Travers itself, was what happened at Saratoga Race Course the morning before it. In an astonishing scene that may never be replicated, fans' love for American Pharoah was powerfully reflected by a crowd of 15,000 that turned out at about 8:30 a.m. just to watch him gallop around the track.

"That was overwhelming," Baffert recalled.

Now a successful Ashford Stud stallion, a sire of grade 1-winning offspring, the 9-year-old American Pharoah received a recent visit at his Kentucky home from an old friend.

"I saw him the other day and he looks better than ever," Baffert said. "He's still such a sweet horse. He was such a kind horse that people loved to see him and pet him. You could have an infant in your arms and American Pharoah would nuzzle him. He was such a gentle horse. But on the track, with his mechanics, he was just a machine. He had something that is very rare in horses."

Indeed he did, and now he has something else rare. The words Hall of Famer attached to his name.