American Pharoah has become the first horse in 37 years to win America’s most famous sports trilogy: the Triple Crown.
We were live from the Kentucky Derby to bring you the first bit of action, and watched on TV as the three-year-old colt became only the 12th horse in history to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes races back-to-back.
Until today, no horse since Affirmed in 1978 had been up to the challenge, although 14 horses had come close, winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness only to lose the Belmont.
But what does this mean for the winning horse, owner, trainer and jockey? Here’s how the prizes are divvied out:
In terms of the Belmont proper, the winning team gets $800,000 of the $1.5 million purse. It’s actually the lowest purse to go to a winner, even though both the Belmont and Preakness pay out $1.5 million. That’s on top of $1.24 for winning the Kentucky Derby and $900,000 from the Preakness.
There has not been an additional bonus since 2005, when Visa promised $5 million to a potential Triple Crown winner, although the winning owner, trainer and jockey do receive watches from event sponsor Longines for winning each race.
Congratulations trainer Bob Baffert, jockey Victor Espinoza and Zayat Racing Stables for the win. You’ve given us new reason to watch our favorite sport in 2016 and beyond.
If you missed it, see the race below: