It's hard to believe it was 10 years ago. So much has happened in the real world since American Pharoah swept the 2015 Triple Crown and capped his 3-year-old season with a historic "Grand Slam" win in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.
And yet for so many racing fans, the memories remain fresh of this incredible racehorse who became the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and captured the hearts of millions.
The bay colt by Pioneerof the Nile lost his career debut on an all-weather surface at Del Mar but followed with a 4 3/4-length runaway win in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and a 3 1/4-length victory in the FrontRunner Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park under Victor Espinoza. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert pointed him to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita, but he was forced to miss the race because a bruise to his left front foot.
American Pharoah nonetheless took home the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male for owner-breeder Ahmed Zayat's Zayat Stables, and there was significant buzz building as he prepared for his 3-year-old debut with a series of eye-catching workouts in Southern California.
To say American Pharoah's return was worth the wait would be the understatement of the century. (Note: All 'QUOTABLE' comments from BloodHorse magazine.)
March 14: $750,000 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park
RECAP: Making his first start in more than 5 1/2 months, American Pharoah faced a sloppy racetrack for the first time in his career at Oaklawn Park and, to make matters worse, he bobbled at the start of the Rebel Stakes (G2) and partially pulled off his right front shoe. The adversity did not help the opposition that day, however, as American Pharoah went right to the front, set an easy pace under Espinoza, and coasted to a 6 1/4-length romp.
QUOTABLE: "This horse, he does things effortlessly. It wasn't really taxing on him," Baffert said. "His right front shoe wasn't on right and when he can run like that—all the way around like that—it shows how good he is."
April 11: $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park
RECAP: American Pharoah would show an estimated crowd of 67,500 for the Arkansas Derby (G1) that he was no one-trick pony. His three previous wins had all come when leading from start to finish, but when 38-1 longshot Bridget's Big Luvy streaked to a three-length lead through the opening half-mile, American Pharoah rated kindly in second before sweeping to the front entering the far turn when Espinoza gave him his cue. Track announcer Frank Mirahmadi described what happened next as "a mesmerizing performance" as American Pharoah streaked clear to win by eight lengths with Espinoza still as a statue on his back.
QUOTABLE: "He's the best horse I've ever owned," Ahmed Zayat said. "To breed a horse like that, it's everybody's dream in this game. It's an unbelievable sweet dream that I don't want to wake up from. It's just warmed our hearts."
May 2: $2 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
RECAP: American Pharoah won his two prep races at 2-5 odds and 1-10 odds, but racehorses get only one shot at history in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and on May 2 he was a 5-2 favorite to wear the garland of roses. American Pharoah got away to a nice start in front of a record-setting crowd of 170,513 and settled in third behind pacesetting Baffert stablemate Dortmund, the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner; and Sunland Derby (G3) winner Firing Line through three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.29. American Pharoah entered the far turn after an easy gallop along the backstretch under Espinoza, rallied from about five paths wide into the stretch alongside a determined Firing Line, and gradually edged clear to win by a length.
QUOTABLE: "I have been doing this for 35 years and he might be the best horse I've ever seen. He stays in the air longer than any horse, and you get the feeling there's not one gear left, but he may have two, three, or four gears," said Gary Young, a bloodstock agent and private clocker who witnessed many of American Pharoah's morning workouts.
May 16: $1.5 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course
RECAP: The Preakness Stakes (G1) featured a rematch of the top three finishers from the Kentucky Derby—American Pharoah, Firing Line, and Dortmund—but while the Derby winner was challenged in the stretch at Churchill Downs he would be all alone at the finish line at Pimlico Race Course. Mr. Z pressed American Pharoah early on a main track turned sloppy by steady rain leading into the race, but the surface proved no problem ... at all. American Pharoah led by 2 1/2 lengths after a swift half-mile in :46.49 and simply dominated in a seven-length tour de force in Baltimore in front of another record-setting crowd of 131,680.
QUOTABLE: "Man, look at that sonofagun. He moves like a Ferrari," Baffert, while watching American Pharoah train for the Preakness.
BONUS QUOTABLE: "You feed him carrots and he's like a pet," Baffert said after the Preakness. "Usually, they're like athletes; they want to get it on, but he's just the sweetest horse. He's spoiled to death. It was a magical moment watching him come down that stretch."
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June 6: $1.5 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park
RECAP: Between Affirmed's Triple Crown in 1978 and American Pharoah's bid in 2015, 13 3-year-olds had won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. None had completed the sweep, including a superstar such as Spectacular Bid (1979) and dazzling fan favorites such as Smarty Jones (2004) and California Chrome (2014). Heck, Baffert himself sent three runners to New York with a Triple Crown on the line and twice ran second, coming up three-quarters of a length short with Silver Charm in 1997 and a heartbreaking nose shy of a sweep with Real Quiet in 1998. Terrific 3-year-olds—future Hall of Fame racehorses—had tried and failed over the 37 years since Affirmed. But on June 6, 2015, there was no drama, no disappointment, no melancholy from another failed bid ... there was only elation.
American Pharoah made sure of that by taking command early in the 1 1/2-mile "Test of the Champion" and surging through the stretch virtually unchallenged in a dominant 5 1/2-length win that intoxicated the 90,000 fans (attendance had been capped for the race) at Belmont Park.
QUOTABLE: "It's an amazing thing. I came into this race with more confidence than the last two times. I only hoped that [American Pharoah] was as confident as me," Espinoza said after guiding home the 12th Triple Crown winner in racing history. "On the first turn [after taking the lead], that was the best feeling ever. The way he travels. The way he stretches his legs. It feels like you are going in slow motion."
BONUS QUOTABLE: "God put him in my hands, and this is just an incredible animal. Thirty-seven years we've waited for this, but you know what? This little horse, he deserves it," Baffert said after the Belmont. "Now I know what Billy Turner felt, having Seattle Slew. You just know when you lead them up there ... they're going to come through for you."
Aug. 2: $1.75 million Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park
RECAP: After American Pharoah's Triple Crown sweep, there was skepticism that fans would ever see him on the racetrack again given his immense value as a stallion. But owner Ahmed Zayat had said through the Triple Crown how much the sport of horse racing needed a star, and he followed through on his promise to keep him in training. American Pharoah's first race after completing the historic Triple Crown sweep came eight weeks later in the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), and the Pioneerof the Nile colt's dominance continued. He tracked Competitive Edge from second while under an easy hold from Espinoza, skipped past the pacesetter approaching the stretch, and coasted to the finish line 2 1/4 lengths clear of late-running Keen Ice .
QUOTABLE: "This time it was all about the fans, and I did not want to disappoint," Zayat said. "My first feeling is I was extremely nervous because I wanted everybody to be proud and to see a true star continue to thrive."
August 29: $1.6 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
RECAP: Saratoga Race Course has a well-earned (and ominous) nickname: "graveyard of champions." The track was given the name because it has hosted some of the sport's greatest upsets, including the legendary Man o' War's lone career defeat to a racehorse named Upset in the 1919 Sanford Stakes. Likewise, Gallant Fox lost to Jim Dandy in the 1930 Travers, Onion stunned Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney Stakes (G2), and in 2015 American Pharoah's lone blemish came at Saratoga in the Travers.
Grade 1 winner Frosted tracked pacesetter American Pharoah from second all the way into the final turn in the 1 1/4-mile race and briefly took the lead in the stretch. American Pharoah battled back bravely from the inside and gradually put away the game challenger but he had run out of gas when 16-1 longshot Keen Ice closed from off the pace in the final furlong to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
QUOTABLE: "Sometimes you feel like he's invincible, but they all get beat," Baffert said after the Travers. "There's no horse that's ever done it like he's done it. I've never had a horse that could bring performance after performance after performance. I've had horses throw a big performance, but they can't keep it going. He almost did it."
Oct. 31: $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland
RECAP: Ahmed Zayat said after the Travers defeat that he was considering retirement for American Pharoah, but the racehorse with his actions convinced Baffert he was not ready to retire. The trainer promised the Zayat family "he's going to be ready to roll" for a final start in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland.
American Pharoah faced seven horses in his career finale, including six grade/group 1 winners and older horses, but the gentle racehorse turned the 1 1/4-mile race into a walk in the park to complete what some called the "Grand Slam"—the Triple Crown plus the Classic. He opened a clear early lead by the first turn that he never relinquished, increased the margin to 3 1/2 lengths at the quarter-pole, and surged past the finish line 6 1/2 lengths clear of runner-up Effinex in front of a crowd of 50,155.
QUOTABLE: "I was crying when he turned for home," Baffert said. "I was thinking of my parents [in heaven]. This horse has an angel on his back. He is a gift from God. This guy had the brilliance, the speed, and the personality. He was the perfect racehorse."
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American Pharoah retired with nine wins from 11 starts and $8,650,300 in purse earnings. He stood his first season as a stallion at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky., in 2016 and was the leading freshman sire of 2019. American Pharoah was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2021 and continues his second career as a sire at Ashford with his seventh crop of runners, 2-year-olds in 2025.
