A Year Later, Triple Crown Winner American Pharoah Is Just A Fucking Champion

For the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby, John Clay at the Lexington Herald-Leader caught up with last year’s winner, American Pharoah. That colt went on from Churchill Downs to win the Preakness, the Belmont, and the Breeder’s Cup, the only horse ever to do so. Having achieved all a horse cares to achieve on the track, American Pharoah was put out to stud. And damned if he isn’t winning retirement as well.

Here’s a rundown of the horse’s day, per Clay’s piece. He chills in his 182-square-foot stall in a big stone barn; he eats a breakfast of grains; he spends an hour screwing a mare whose owners have paid $200,000 for the privilege; he plays outside on the 20,000-acre farm called Ashford Stud, often rolling in the mud; he enjoys a nice grooming session; he greets a steady parade of fans, 25 at a visit; he eats a lunch of bran mash; and sometime in the afternoon he screws another mare.

Turns out, he’s a natural at siring foals. He has successfully impregnated his mates something like 80 times on 100 tries, a success rate prodigious for a rookie stallion. Says the stallion manager at Ashford, “He’s a joy to be around. He’s absolutely push-button. No problem.” American Pharoah has put on 170 pounds at the farm in six months. Because he’s not doing much of this anymore:

Other thoroughbreds, former champs even, don’t make the transition so well into the stud life. We’re still three years from really knowing how American Pharoah’s offspring race. But it stands to reason that their quality will be high, and their quantity, absolutely copious.

(h/t Ben)