Look at the Cuteness

by Heather Robinson

…and strength of this beautiful horse! The first triple crown winner in 37 years, American Pharoah won the third race in the Triple Crown tonight in the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York.

The fact that tonight’s win comes after 37 years of waiting for a Triple Crown winner makes it extra sweet. It’s somehow a reminder that sometimes the long shot happens, and it’s not over till it’s over.

American Pharoah’s owner, Ahmed Zayat, an Orthodox Jew from Egypt who has become one of the biggest forces in horse racing, has tasted many bitter defeats in recent years, according to The Forward, which has a nice piece on Pharoah’s victory. (Though it seems Zayat’s horses frequently came in second in Triple Crowns, which is hardly crushing defeat).

Still, apparently he is a risk-taking gambler who “has been millions of dollars in debt on numerous occasions.” He also once contributed $500,000 to the Frisch school in Paramus, New Jersey, which I used to write about when I worked for the New Jersey Jewish Standard. It’s not the type of place you’d expect Egyptian-born multi-millionaire gamblers to be hanging out. Gotta love this offbeat dude and his beautiful horse.

Because horse racing is something of a tradition in my family, I was paying attention to some of the coverage leading up to the Belmont. I recall thinking that, given the “American” in “American Pharoah,” surely the owner was at least not hostile to America. Turns out he is an Egyptian-American Jew and patriot. Still, interesting for a Jewish man to name his great horse “Pharoah,” given that the Pharoahs were our ancestors’ tormentors.

Then again, winners can afford to be magnanimous.

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