It has been over a month since American Pharaoh captured the imagination of horse racing fans in American by winning the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes) of horse racing. By any stretch of the imagination, it is impossible to measure the positive impact his success has had on a racing industry that was dying a slow death. The only thing that is certain is things feel a bit different and there is hope in the air.
Desperately Seeking a Hero
After the 1970s saw three horses win the Triple Crown (Secretariat - 1973, Seattle Slew - 1977, Affirmed - 1978), the industry was booming and every major horse racing event was filled with equine heroes like Kelso, Spectacular Bid, John Henry, Alydar as well as the aforementioned champions. In the 1980s, everything was running smooth and fans were rewarded with the first running of the Breeders Cup series of races in 1984. Champions like Alysheba, Easy Goer, Sunday Silence and Ferdinand reminded everyone what a true racing hero was like. In the 1990s, the baton was passed on to Cigar and Skip Away. Unfortunately, something else was going in the 90s that would start the horse racing industry on a slow descent. The heroes started coming around less frequently. Breeding for speed was taking its toll and horses were losing the durability that made the great ones great. By the 2000s,
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They had confirmation that the Triple Crown was no longer impossible, great horses could be kept sound, they could be bred and horse racing was fun again. You can 't get a good ticket for the upcoming Haskell or Travers. The Breeders Cup is coming a live again. Anywhere the Pharaoh goes, the press is in close pursuit. There are still industry issues that need to be addressed, but American Pharaoh stopped the industry 's bleeding and there is now something that has long been missing from the sport,