American Pharoah. A Category 5 Horse. Triple Crown Winner. 1st Since 1978. Victor Espinoza

American Pharoah and Victor Espinoza

Victory is sweet.

Victor Espinoza wins the triple crown riding American Pharoah

First Hispanic jockey to win the Triple Crown.

First horse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown.

Remember back in May on a rainy day at the Preakness I said you got to love a horse that can run in the rain like that...and I was so right. I KNEW this American Pharoah was going to win the triple crown when I watched the replay of the Preakness. American Pharoah has heart, soul and the look of a winner.

Every one's gonna have to forgive me today if I don't talk long on the tropics and I do wax poetic on American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown. For the first time in 37 years we have a Triple Crown Winner. orm

Where were you in 1978? Do you remember 1978 or you do you have to Google it for more information if I asked you "what song do you remember most?" ??

A lot of Oldie Goldie's there...

...oh what a time it was

And, back then we thought having a Triple Crown was normal.

Now... it's almost unimaginable.

It's beautiful.

American Pharoah is a Cat 5 Race Horse

5 Lengths

Misspelled name and unusually short tail

1st Hispanic jockey to win the Triple Crown

Was afraid of horses as a child.

Let's put it in motion

1978 was a very weak El Nino Year

It makes some lists, others it doesn't

Coming off of the very weak 1977 Atlantic Hurricane Season

We were moving towards the Neutral Season of 1979

Remember any of those name?

Ella

Hope

Juliet

Kendra

???

Nope, not very memorable storms.

One early January storm...rare.

You can read about it.. 

...but the big story was the Triple Crown Winner Affirmed.

But honestly we had just had Seattle Slew win the year before.

There was more compare and contrast discussion than

"OH MY GOSH WE HAVE A TRIPLE CROWN WINNER"

In 1973 I fell in love with the Triple Crown

Secretariat a beautiful horse.

https://fortune.com/2015/06/06/triple-crown-winners/

1977

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/06/watch_seattle_slew_become_uniq.html

Many say there will never be a horse like Seattle Slew

Never is a long time...

http://www.seattleslew.com/

1978

Sort of like back to back hurricane years.

Miami Cleo 1964, Besty 1965

FL Jeanne, Frances and Katrina, Rita, Wilma

It seemed sort of normal back then to expect to have a Triple Crown Winner.

Seemed sort of normal in the early 1960s to have hurricanes in Florida

And, then we went a long time before we had a real hurricane.

Real being defined as 100 mph making landfall

(not counting Floyd in 1987 for example..)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Floyd_%281987%29

Ehhh no much to write about. 

But the big ones like Donna, Betsy, Camille are never forgotten.

Seattle Slew, Affirmed, American Pharoah

A Cat 5 Race Horse. 

5 Lengths ahead over the pack

Out in front.

The winner.

One of the history books

I'm a Miami girl.

I grew up a few blocks away from Tropical Park Racetrack

(before my parents moved to Miami Beach)

I walked past the stables for Tropical Park every day

on the way

to school...

We were late often ;)

I grew up with horse racing 

When someone says to me up north skiing...

I think of water skiing...

I'm a Lubavitcher.

Orthodox Jew

Earlier in the week I saw pictures of the jockey at the Ohel.

It's a holy site in NY.

Grave of 2 Great Rabbis.

I've prayed there.

Many people do of all faiths.

It caught my attention.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/04/american-pharoah-jockey-spiritual-journey/

I already thought the horse would win mind you. But in my mind that sort of sealed the deal. Made me wonder on the jockey from Mexico who grew up afraid of horses, who meditates daily and despite not being Jewish wanted to pray at the holy site for a horse owned by Egyptian Jews. Sort of a collision of global personalities in a horse race far away in New York. I mean.. Espinoza came from a small village in Mexico and the owner's father was the doctor of Anwar Sadat. Connect the dots, it's not easy to and yet he rode like the wind and he took the prize and many of us from the moment he sloshed his way through the muddy track at the Preakness this was the horse that would take the Triple Crown. And, he did. 

He rode like the wind.

Besos Bobbi

Ps... http://www.communitynewspapers.com/kendall-gazette/look-back-tropical-park/