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HORSE RACING
Kentucky Derby

Derby winner American Pharoah might be the one to break Triple Crown drought

Christine Brennan
USA TODAY Sports
Can Victor Espinoza and American Pharoah finally end the Triple Crown drought?

LOUISVILLE -- American Pharoah, are you the one? Are you the horse that will finally break the 37-year-old Triple Crown drought?

Someone has to do it sometime. This can't go on forever, can it?

Why not you?

Why can't it be a horse that lived up to the greatest of expectations in a field packed with contenders Saturday in the 141st Kentucky Derby? Why not a horse of power and consistency, but also serendipity and whimsy? Why can't it be a horse whose name was misspelled in an online contest, but selected anyway, including the mistake?

Why not a horse whose owner, Egyptian-turned-Jersey-boy Ahmed Zayat, has known only runner-up finishes at the Kentucky Derby – until Saturday? Why not a horse whose trainer, Bob Baffert, hadn't won a Derby in 13 years? And why not a horse whose jockey, Victor Espinoza, knows all about Triple Crown expectations, having ridden California Chrome to Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories just last year before losing the Belmont Stakes?

American Pharoah, spell-check be damned. We're counting on you.

"Pharoah is a freak of nature," Zayat proclaimed after American Pharoah won by a length over Firing Line, followed by Dortmund, Baffert's other Derby entry. "For the first time, I'm seeing him working, working hard. Out of fear, I'm thinking, 'Will they take it again from us?' My wife was crying. My son was throwing up. That's not us. It was a euphoria of emotions."

American Pharoah certainly looks like a horse worthy of our hopes and dreams. He moved to the outside and the lead pack almost from the get-go, and spent all of the Derby right there, lurking behind Dortmund and Firing Line. How often do we see the top three horses remain the top three for almost all of the race? That was exactly the case Saturday. Talk about consistency.

"He's just an amazing horse," said Espinoza, who became only the sixth jockey to win consecutive Derbys. "Today, finally, I let him run."

Espinoza and Baffert were torn on their strategy in the 24 hours leading to the race. Baffert first told Espinoza to let American Pharoah do his thing and just run. Then he thought better of that and wondered about another strategy. Finally, Baffert told Espinoza to do whatever he wanted.

"There's a certain aura about him," Baffert said. "He's a lightly raced horse but he's caught everybody's attention. This American Pharoah, he's just something. He keeps bringing it. It's a fantasy moment for us."

Four horses – American Pharoah, Dortmund, Carpe Diem and Materiality -- came into this Derby with spectacular resumes, having run 19 races in their careers, winning 17 of them. This year, the four horses were 10-0.

For American Pharoah to beat the other three in front of 170,513, the largest crowd in Derby history, makes the possibilities seem endless as his Triple Crown quest continues.

"This is one special horse," Zayat said. "We have an unbelievable trainer, a fantastic team."

Quickly, the question of the hour, week, month, year – and, let's face it, we're talking decades here -- was asked: What about the Preakness?

"We'll see what will happen," Zayat said.

Indeed we will, while holding our breath and crossing our fingers.

PHOTOS: Saturday at the Kentucky Derby

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