Horse Racing Invades ESPY Awards
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American Pharoah and Victor Espinoza are both nominated for ESPY awards. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Our sport’s icon has another piece of hardware in his sights. American Pharoah’s captivating and convincing victory in the Belmont Stakes was just nominated for ESPN’s 2015 “ESPY” for Best Championship Performance. Pharoah’s Triple Crown thriller is up against the likes of LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Madison Bumgarner of the New York Giants, and Lauren Haeger of the University of Florida’s softball squad.
The winner is decided by fan vote, so be sure to visit ESPN.com to show Pharaoh and his connections your support. Past winners include the likes of New Orleans Saints quarterback and Thoroughbred owner Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods.
American Pharoah would be the first equine athlete to take home the award, and rumor has it the bay colt has been practicing his acceptance speech in his barn.
The ESPY’s are hosted by actor and comedian Joel McHale and will air on July 15 at 8 PM Easter on ESPN. Voting will be open until the start of the show.
Also up for an ESPY are American Pharoah's jockey Victor Espinoza and jockeys Javier Castellano and Joel Rosario. They are each nominated in the “Best Jockey” category. VictorEspinoza looks to repeat after capturing the 2014 award and Javier Castellano seeks to win his first award. Joel Rosario won in 2013.
The link to vote for horse racing’s top jockey is here.