In what will be the final race of his historic career, American Pharoah will start from the No. 4 gate in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday. The post position draw was announced on Monday with the Triple Crown winner receiving a favorable position.
The race will be the final of American Pharoah's career and just his third since he won the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. American Pharoah will be back on the track for the first time in two months. He followed up the Belmont win with a victory at the Haskell Stakes before finishing second at the Travers Stakes on Aug. 29. Owner Ahmed Zayat said he considered retiring American Pharoah after the Travers Stakes, but he, along with trainer Bob Baffert. ultimately decided to race American Pharoah one final time in the Classic.
Although American Pharoah is coming off a second-place finish in his last race, conditioning does not appear to be an issue heading into Saturday. American Pharoah has run well in training sessions, even surpassing goal times set by Baffert with ease.
"If he'd been going any slower, he'd have been galloping," Baffert said of a training session on Monday, via Daily Racing Form. "He's ridiculous. That's why he's American Pharoah."
With a win, American Pharoah would become horse racing's first ever grand slam champion -- the winner of all three Triple Crown races and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He is the betting favorite to do just that, opening with 6/5 odds in the morning line. Beholder -- who will start from the No. 10 gate -- has the second-best odds at 3/1.
American Pharoah will certainly be the center of attention in the race, but he's hardly the only quality horse running. Keen Ice and Frosted will also be in the field. Keen Ice finished third at the Belmont Stakes while Frosted finished second, nearly six lengths behind American Pharoah. Frosted will start from the No. 3 gate with Keen Ice set to race from the No. 2 gate. Tonalist -- the 2014 Belmont Stakes -- will also be in the field, starting from the No. 1 gate.
Here is the complete post position draw for the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic:
Post positon | Horse | Trainer | Odds |
1 | Tonalist | Christophe Clement | 6/1 |
2 | Keen Ice | Dale Romans | 12/1 |
3 | Frosted | Kiaran McLaughlin | 15/1 |
4 | American Pharoah | Bob Baffert | 6/5 |
5 | Gleneagles | Aidan O'Brien | 20/1 |
6 | Effinex | James Jerkens | 30/1 |
7 | Smooth Roller | Victor Garcia | 15/1 |
8 | Hard Aces | John Sadler | 50/1 |
9 | Honor Code | Claude McGaughey III | 6/1 |
10 | Beholder | Richard Mandella | 3/1 |
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