Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its reference library.
Thoroughbred Racing on NBC is the de facto title for a series of horse races events whose broadcasts are produced by NBC Sports, the sports division of the NBC television network in the United States. NBC's relationship with the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing dates back to 1949 when the NBC Red Network carried the first radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby.
Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has won the Kentucky Derby three times, riding War Emblem in 2002, California Chrome in 2014, and American Pharoah in 2015. He also won the Preakness Stakes three times, in those same years and with the same horses. He was the first jockey in history to enter the Belmont Stakes with a third opportunity to win the Triple Crown; his 2015 victory made him the oldest jockey and first Hispanic jockey to accomplish the feat.
Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins, he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. His horses have won the Breeders' Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Breeders' Cup Distaff, Kentucky Oaks and Dubai World Cup.
Larry Collmus is a Thoroughbred horse racing announcer. A native of Baltimore, Collmus has called at numerous racetracks around the country. He is the race caller for NBC Sports' coverage of the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup. He previously called races at Gulfstream Park, Monmouth Park, Suffolk Downs and NYRA.
In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020.
Pioneerof the Nile was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who came second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby and sired the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, as well as 2016 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Classic Empire.
Ahmed Zayat, is an Egyptian American businessman and owner of Thoroughbred race horses. He is the CEO of Zayat Stables, LLC, a Thoroughbred horse racing business which bred and owns the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Joe Drape of The New York Times described Zayat as "controversial" and "one of the most successful and flamboyant owners in thoroughbred racing."
Oxbow, an American Thoroughbred racehorse, is best known for winning the second jewel in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the 2013 Preakness Stakes. A bay colt, sired by a winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic and out of a full sister to another Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Oxbow was sold as a yearling at Keeneland for $250,000 and is owned by Brad Kelley of Calumet Farm. He was trained by D. Wayne Lukas and was ridden in his Triple Crown races by Gary Stevens.
Paynter is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse notable for a promising three-year-old racing season that included a second-place finish in the Belmont Stakes and a victory in the Haskell Invitational, cut short by a near-fatal case of colitis requiring abdominal surgery, complicated by laminitis. Most experts believed that even if he survived, his racing days were over. His struggle for life, regularly updated via social media by his owners, gained him a large fan base and earned him the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year and Secretariat Vox Populi Award for 2012. His surgery was successful, and innovative treatment for laminitis prevented harm to his feet, so he was sent to the Fair Hill Training Center for recovery and rehabilitation. In his four-year-old year, he returned to the track in June 2013, almost eleven months after his 2012 Haskell victory, winning the first race of his comeback by 4+1⁄2 lengths, then running in three more graded stakes races, placing second in two of them, demonstrating his ability to compete against top horses. In November, 2013, he ran in the Breeders' Cup Classic and following the race was retired to WinStar Farm to stand at stud beginning with the 2014 breeding season.
American Pharoah is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first horse to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing. He won the 2015 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year and 2015 Champion three-year-old. In 2021 he was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame. He was bred and owned throughout his racing career by Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables, trained by Bob Baffert, and ridden in most of his races by Victor Espinoza. He now stands at stud at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
The 2015 Belmont Stakes was the 147th in the Belmont Stakes series. The 1+1⁄2-mile (2,400 m) race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in thoroughbred horse racing's traditional Triple Crown series, was held on June 6, 2015, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby. The Belmont Stakes was the 11th race of a 13 race card which included 10 stakes races. Post time for race 11 was 6:52 pm EDT.
Littleprincessemma is a Thoroughbred mare who raced twice but is notable as the dam of the American Triple Crown-winning racehorse American Pharoah. Bred by Brereton C. Jones, she sold in 2006 as a weanling filly for $135,000 and then the following year, as a yearling, she was purchased by Zayat Stables for $250,000. She was named after Ahmed Zayat's daughter, Emma. She is a chestnut with a blaze on her face, a stocking on her left hind leg and a sock on her right hind leg.
Keen Ice is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the 2015 Travers Stakes in an upset win over Triple Crown Champion American Pharoah. He previously faced off against American Pharoah and other notable horses in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, finishing seventh, was third in the 2015 Belmont Stakes, and was second in the 2015 Haskell Invitational Stakes. Prior to the Travers, his only other win had been a maiden race at Churchill Downs as a two-year-old.
The 2015 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 32nd edition of the thoroughbred horse racing season-ending premier event held on October 30 and 31 at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky. The race series, held for the first time at Keeneland, required a significant amount of preparation to transform the small, historic track into a venue capable of handling large crowds, comprising 13 championship races held over a two-day period.
Frosted is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2016, he set a stakes record while winning the Metropolitan Handicap in a "dazzling performance" and followed up with a win in the Whitney Handicap. Prior to that, despite winning several stakes races, he was best known for finishing behind American Pharoah four times, including a runner-up performance in the 2015 Belmont Stakes.
Cupid is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who won multiple graded stakes races despite several interruptions to his training. At age three, he was a leading contender for the 2016 Kentucky Derby until he developed a breathing problem and missed the race. Returning later in the year, he won the Indiana and West Virginia Derbies before finishing eighth in the Pennsylvania Derby. After an eight-month layoff, he returned in May 2017 to win the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita. He finished his career with six wins from thirteen starts and earnings of $1.7 million.
The Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing is an informal name for winning four major Thoroughbred horse races in one season in the United States. The term has been applied to two configurations of races, both of which include the races of the Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes—and either the Travers Stakes or the Breeders' Cup Classic as the final race.
Swiss Skydiver is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2020 Preakness Stakes, only the sixth filly to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. She also won the 2020 Santa Anita Oaks, 2020 Alabama Stakes, and 2021 Beholder Mile.
Rombauer is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Preakness Stakes.
