American Pharoah became the first horse to win the United States Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
In 2015, American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes before ending his season in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. His Triple Crown ended a 37-year wait since Affirmed’s 1978 achievement.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is not part of the Triple Crown. It is a separate championship race, usually held late in the year, so American Pharoah’s sweep combined two major accomplishments rather than adding a fourth Triple Crown leg.
Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza were central figures in the campaign. American Pharoah’s spelling deliberately omits the second “a” in “Pharaoh.”