A TRIPLE CROWN AT LAST?

American Pharoah can become the first Triple Crown winner in horse racing since 1978 if he can win the endurance test known as the Belmont Stakes on Saturday evening.

No horse has won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont since Affirmed in 1978. Some have come close (I’ll Have Another in 2012, California Chrome last year) but the combination of fatigue and the grueling distance of the Belmont (1 ½ miles) usually end the dream. Of the last six to win the first two legs, only one, Smarty Jones in 2004, finished as high as second in the Belmont.

Eight horses are in Saturday’s field, with post time 6:50 p.m. ET (NBC). American Pharoah, unbeaten in six starts, is a preposterous favorite at 3-5 odds.

Each year the Derby piques casual fans with the hopes of a Triple Crown winner. But would such a feat be good for the sport?

On the one hoof, yes. It would generate continuing interest in Pharaoh (unless he is promptly retired to earn enormous stud fees). On the other hoof, maybe not. Horse racing no longer dominates the sports scene and its primary point of interest is the annual discussion of whether any horse can win these races. What do we look forward to if Pharoah joins the ranks of Affirmed, Seattle Slew (1977) and nine others dating to Sir Barton in 1919?

The Belmont is the longest of the three key races and at a distance most horses rarely, if ever, run. So it is truly the key to indicating greatness, though thoroughbreds are bred to run lesser distances.

Tune in. If history is made, you’d hate to miss it. Yet if history is made, do we get the same hoopla and hype come the next crop of 3-year-olds?
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .