I wrote this for a fan story collection on Victor Espinoza's webpage. I thought I'd share it here too. Victor is the jockey for American Pharoah and his webpage was asking for people to post their stories about the Triple Crown.
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Ironically, I became a racing fan with Victor upon War Emblem. I got into the game a little late in that year's Triple Crown run, but I was rooting for him to win! I was crushed when War Emblem stumbled at the start and was basically no contention in the Belmont. It was my first real experience in horse racing and got me hooked on the game.
My family doesn't know why I got into horse racing. My family are all baseball fans, but I have a love of horses and fell in love with horse racing. I love the pageantry, the history, the breeding, the owners, the jockeys, the trainers, and, most of all, watching those wonderful athletes run. I'm not a gambler and have never gambled on horse racing. For me, it's a spectator sport, but it's one where I try to attend the race track as much as possible and try to stay up with all the latest and greatest news.
Since the years of War Emblem, I have seen many almost-TC winners. I've seen the heartache the sport can bring and also the amazing moments too. Some years I'm more involved with the 2yos than others and some years I start on the TC trail earlier than others. For the past 4 years, I've jumped on late (sometime around March) because, let's face it, most years the top contenders change so much I'm exhausted by the time the Kentucky Derby rolls around and most times the favorite doesn't win it.
Not sure what spurred me on this year, or I should say last year, but I've been enthralled with American Pharoah since his start at Del Mar. Was really disappointed when he skipped the Breeders' Cup, as I was in attendance, but was glad it wasn't anything serious. I think because of AP missing the BC, I jumped on the 2yo bandwagon at the end of the year and kept it rolling right into the New Year. January rolled around and...Happy Birthday! Everyone's a year older and, therefore, let the TC-trail begin!
Was super excited and nervous when AP started in the Rebel in March. First, it's raining? Second, his first race back. Should any of us have been worried? Nope. It was an amazing performance and got me all the more excited as the months progressed and Dortmund, Frosted, Upstart, Materiality, well, the list can go on, kept progressing in their respective areas. Not to mention AP showing his ability to rate in the Arkansas Derby (he can rate! Yes!).
When the Kentucky Derby rolled around, I was excited. I was nervous. In my gut, I really wanted AP to win it, but, as with most horse racing fans/bettors, I'm superstitious when it comes to "picking horses" and I didn't want to pick him as my "favorite" because I'd jinx him and he'd lose! So, reality, I would box him with Dortmund. I watched him in the post parade and wasn't surprised he looked jittery. That's a lot of people yelling, talking, etc, etc. Was a little nervous about that, but he looked mostly okay. When the gates sprang open, though, that's when I stop breathing...
I remember his homestretch run like it happened yesterday. I'm screaming and yelling and my boyfriend is telling me to calm down. It was a gut-wrenching win. It was not pretty looking, but he only had to win in front of everyone else. I was ecstatic! Here's Victor on his back-to-back Kentucky Derby wins (I'm a Chromie, not going to lie) and he won it on the horse I wanted to win. So exciting!
The Preakness with the rain...Wasn't really worried, but it was raining ridiculously hard that day. It's one thing to run in the slop, it's another to be running with the rain pelting you. I was nervous about the 1-slot and almost getting pinched by Dortmund. He barely made it past Dortmund. I didn't breath again, but I'm sure I exhaled when he got past and had the lead. AP skipped across that track and loved it. You could tell he was comfortable from the very beginning. It was a beautiful race on his part and showed that the Kentucky Derby was a gritty race, but he can still make it look effortless.
The 3 week wait between the Preakness and Belmont was both nerve-wracking and a good opportunity to "calm down" from the high of the previous 2 races. At this point, I'm highly emotionally invested in this horse. I've always liked Baffert (can you tell I'm a Cali-girl?) and part of that is because Silver Charm is one of my favorites (knew about him before I became a horse racing fan) and I started being a fan when he trained War Emblem. Kind of like it was meant to be for Baffert-Espinoza to win the TC together considering they were my first duo to almost win and the year I became a fan. Funny how things work out like that.
By the Belmont, I still wasn't sure if he could win it, but I hoped. I read an awful lot about the theories if he could win it or not. Some of them I skipped if I knew they'd be negative (emotionally invested!), but I still read a lot. I hoped he would win, but I've been down this path before and I thought he wouldn't. He had a lot of obstacles to get by. Well, it's a good thing having my doubts didn't come to fruition!
When he grabbed that lead and everyone let him run at his pace, the race was over. I was SO excited. At the top of the stretch, I vaguely remember saying, "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no." because I've been there when horses pass the front-runners. When Victor let the reins out and he widened his lead, the first thing out of my mouth was, "he's going to win!" Then I back-tracked immediately and said, "I think he's going to win. I think he's going to win!" My boyfriend, again, was telling me to calm down. When he crossed the finish line in front...I immediately started screaming, "HE WON! HE WON!" and then sat in shock for a few minutes. I couldn't believe it.
I never had doubts I would NEVER witness a TC winner. I'm young (late-20's). Hopefully, I'll be alive a lot longer, but I started wondering if I would see a TC winner with the current set-up. Belmont for the past few years keep making comments about shifting the spacing of the races. I was always opposed to it because the TC isn't supposed to be an easy feat. If it was easy, it'd lose its luster. I am so happy beyond the fact that I'm emotionally invested in AP because now we can put to rest this need to change the TC. It's now been proven a horse in this day-and-age CAN win the TC. Beyond that, as everyone keeps saying, it's great for the sport.
I still ride the high of AP winning. I ride the high as if I had anything personally to do with the horse. I am so excited he won the Triple Crown. I rewatch the Belmont about once a day still. Victor rode him to perfection that day. Sure, AP may have won by a wider margin or faster speed, but he didn't need it. He was in front and that's all that matters. AP still has the fastest last quarter, one of the fastest Belmont times ever and, I'm pretty sure, he still had something left. Something he'll need for his summer/fall campaign.
Who cares if his Kentucky Derby performance was "slow" and not pretty to watch. Who cares if his Preakness was slow and in the slop so "unfair advantage to the other horses." AP has shown that a TC winner can win in any condition. He rated in the Kentucky Derby and ran wide. He ran in the pelting rain in the Preakness. He ran over Big Sandy without a prior start over it. Maybe AP could have been a horse who didn't like the slop. Maybe he could have been a horse not able to rate well. The point is, he IS able to do all those things and STILL win. That is what makes him so great to watch and love.
I waited 12 years for a TC winner, which is shorter than the 37 years most people have waited, and I got it with a duo that started it all for me. I couldn't be happier for all the connections and I look forward to seeing AP finish out the rest of the year. My only wish is I get to see him race once before he retires and I'll always be rooting for Victor.
