American Pharaoh Will Race Again at Breeders’ Cup After Losing Travers Stakes

Despite a stunning loss at the Travers Stakes, American Pharaoh will race again in the Breeders’ Cup Classic October 31 at Keeneland, owner Ahmed Zayat said Thursday in a statement to ESPN. The announcement ended wide-ranging speculation that the 2015 Triple Crown champion would be retired after the upset in Saratoga on August 29, where he was beaten by three-quarters of a length in the stretch by 16-1 longshot Keen Ice.

Immediately following the race, Zayat told senior Sports Illustrated writer Tim Layden and other members of the press that he felt unsure if the horse will race again, adding that his “gut feeling is to retire” American Pharaoh.

Ahmed Zayat just said, "my gut feeling is to retire (American Pharoah)"

— Tim Layden (@ByTimLayden) August 29, 2015

Since then, trainer Bob Baffert and the entire American Pharaoh team have come to the consensus that the 3-year-old superstar will race again, ESPN reported. The move is destined to make history regardless of how the race turns out, because it will make American Pharaoh the first Triple Crown Winner to race in the Breeders’ Cup.

“I have discussed all aspects of American Pharoah’s race last Saturday in the Travers – and his condition since the race – with our whole team, and have decided American Pharoah deserves another chance.”

Win or lose, the champion will retire after the race to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, where he will begin a new career, ensuring that his greatness has the chance to live again in future generations.

Zayat went on to reveal that he feels “very confident” in his decision that the Kentucky Derby winner will race again in October, after evaluating the horse’s condition and “examining all the evidence.”

“Not a moment has gone by since the race on Saturday when I have not thought about this decision. My initial concern right after the race was about American Pharaoh’s condition, because he did not run his ‘A’ race. He has come out of the race in great shape.”

Adding the champion to the Breeders’ Cup field is guaranteed to make it one of the most important races of his career and is expected to attract record crowds. A sellout crowd of 50,000 people came out to watch him run in the Travers Stakes, the Boston Globe reported, while a record number of more than 60,983 showed up for the Haskell Invitational Aug. 2.

In a rare show of public support for an individual horse, Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Craig Favel expressed his excitement following the news that American Pharoah will race again, speaking of the upcoming event as a “showcase for great champions that might otherwise retire from the spotlight,” which he says has been the intent since its inception in 1984, the Courier Journal reported.

“We want to acknowledge the Zayat family on their decision to keep American Pharaoh in training and look forward to his continued engagement with the fans… The 2015 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland is shaping up in many ways to be a historic and watershed event.”

The champion will return to Barn 33 on the famed backside at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to train for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup, the Courier Journal reported. It is the same place he was stabled before winning the Derby in early May and has called “home” in between races ever since.

[Photo by Adam Hunger / Stringer / Getty Images]