That about sums up my feeling about American Pharoah’s (sic) win at the Belmont. It wasn’t Affirmed/ Alydar. It wasn’t Secretariat. It was a colt going wire-to-wire against an undistinguished field. Is that really worth celebrating.

That it took nearly 40 years to have another Triple Crown winner isn’t really about the greatness of A.P. It’s more that the game, the breed has degenerated into a drug-mired enterprise that has changed the nature of horse racing in America.

I wrote this last year amid the California Chrome hype around the Belmont, and it all still applies.

http://aaldef.org/blog/not-my-fathers-horse-races.html

If the Triple Crown really mattered it would be on the tip of everyone’s tongue

Astonishing how little if any buzz the victory had.

Here’s what really happened at Belmont yesterday. One horse died, one was vanned off, and American Pharoah won the big race. That’s some crownless triple.