American Pharoah is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first horse to win the modern Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing. He won the 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and 2015 Champion three-year-old. In 2021 he was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame. He was bred and owned throughout his racing career by Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, trained by Bob Baffert, and ridden in most of his races by Victor Espinoza.
American Pharoah after winning the 2015 Preakness Stakes
American Pharoah led throughout the 2015 Preakness, which was run on a very sloppy track.
American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes to become the 12th winner of the US Triple Crown.
American Pharoah led Frosted for much of the run in the Travers Stakes.
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020.
Sir Barton, the first Triple Crown winner, at the 1919 Preakness Stakes
The Triple Crown Trophy
The sixth winner, Count Fleet, in the 1943 Kentucky Derby
The seventh winner, Assault in 1946 at Westchester Handicap