American Pharoah Flies from the West

Out of the West flies a giant of Thoroughbred racing to Saratoga to take a shot at making history.

I've been an active participant in the sport for the past 50 years, wearing many hats as an owner and a breeder, a regulator and an administrator, as well as a bettor and a fan, and I must say that in that time, which included the immortal Secretariat, an epic rivalry between Alydar and Affirmed and 31 Breeders' Cup Classics, no single race has captured my imagination more than the 2015 edition of the GI Travers S. this coming Saturday.

It begs the question: Are we at the dawn of a new age for Thoroughbred horse racing?

I unabashedly admit to my fascination with American Pharoah as he travels to upstate New York to take on all comers at Saratoga, the track known as the “graveyard of champions.” After waiting 37 years for a Triple Crown winner, it's hard not to be smitten.

Yes it is true, the field he will run against contains no champions, no other household names, but they don't hand out the trophies until the horses cross the finish line and he'll run with a target on his back and still have to out-game a tough bunch of mature 3-year olds, some with impressive wins over the track and determined to knock off the Pharaoh's crown.

Coming to the Travers is a bold and gutsy move and surely there were alternatives to another lengthy trek and they could have taken an easier path, yet here they come to confront a difficult challenge head-on.

Three-quarters of a century has ticked off the calendar since 1941 when Eddie Arcaro guided Whirlaway, the horse they called “Mr. Longtail,” to a Travers victory and chalked up the feat that no other 3-year-old Thoroughbred has been able to do; win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont S. and follow the accomplishment by capturing what some racing folk call their “Midsummer Derby,” ranking it right up there with the one in Kentucky.

In a game given to the liberal use of cliches, this Travers will deservedly be compared to every monumental sporting showdown from the Dempsey-Tunney “Long count” bout to the 1980 Olympic “Miracle on Ice,” although, as every racing fan knows, the outcome of this horse race is no foregone conclusion since Saratoga has a well-deserved reputation as a graveyard.

Will he be buried, or will he bury the field?

I will be there at what could be the most historic race in 75 years, along with trainer Bob Baffert and the 50,0000 fans that will rock the 150-yard stands.

Pop artist Andy Warhol usually tabbed such an event as a “Happening,” and for a sport that has taken more than its share of black eyes in recent years, Thoroughbred racing looks forward to this coming weekend as what consummate television pitchman Ed Sullivan used to refer to as “a Really Big Show.”

And I say, don't dare miss it…

In light of the fact that as many as 25 million sets of eyes will follow American Pharoah on television and who knows how many on popular social media, I think I'm not out of line in feeling that this race should deservedly be billed right at the top of the best in the past century.

Facebook and Twitter networks, Instagram and Snapchat platforms will each need to be prepared for a virtual flood of comments and photos as “Our Hero the Pharoah” makes his way from the Saratoga paddock to the gate and hopefully to the winner's circle. He may need another cover of Sports Illustrated after this race. We in the game like to refer to the “Racing Gods” and how much depends on their smiles. We all hope those Gods smile on this superstar.

Earle Mack is the former United States Ambassador to Finland, former chairman New York State Racing Commission, former senior advisor on Thoroughbred Racing to Governors Mario Cuomo and George Pataki,

former vice chairman, New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund and current member of the BOD, New York Racing Association (NYRA).