LEXINGTON, Ky. -- At some point soon, either the New York Mets or the Kansas City Royals will be popping bottles, spraying each other with champagne, and pretty much acting like they did when they were Little Leaguers.
Whenever and wherever that celebration takes place, it's unlikely it will be more emotional than the scene at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday afternoon when a New Jersey family came together in the warm glow of a national spotlight to rejoice.
For the crowd of 50,155 at Keeneland and those who watched on television or online, the focal point was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic and the very last race -- and victory -- by Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, who romped to a 6-1/2-length triumph in track-record time.
Yet for the majestic colt's owner, Ahmed Zayat, it was finally time to cherish along with his family a priceless six-month experience that turned him from a hard-luck runner-up in three editions of the Kentucky Derby into a man who for the rest of his life will be revered as "American Pharoah's owner."
That's what great horses can do for the people around them, and how they can bring about life-altering experiences that never leave the heart and soul of those touched by them.
"What can I say? What a horse! He is the most brilliant horse I have ever seen. We are so appreciative to have him and we owe American Pharoah everything. He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse," Zayat said. "This was an incredible thrill. It was so emotional. I didn't even see the final eighth [of a mile] because I had my eyes closed the whole time. It was so emotional."
What Zayat missed in that final furlong virtually mirrored what he saw during the first nine furlongs of Breeders' Cup Classic. With the scratches of Beholder and Smooth Roller from the original field of 10, there was no one among the remaining seven challengers willing or able to run with the lightning-quick American Pharoah in the mile and a quarter test. A quarter of a mile into the race, the Triple Crown champion had a clear lead and the only one with much of an interest in pursuing him was the overmatched 33-1 long shot Effinex, who wound up a distant second.
After that, Zayat's homebred champion never gave them a chance. Through quick but hardly withering fractions, American Pharoah ($3.40) cruised along and then with consummate ease pulled away in the stretch to open a five-length lead at the eighth pole and an even bigger margin at the finish line.
A Triple Crown champion and one of the sport's immortals before the starting gates opened at Keeneland, the curtain came down on American Pharoah's career and legacy as he became the first horse to sweep the newly coined "Grand Slam" of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic.
The horse now belongs to history, and for Zayat and his family, like a championship sports team, it was time to celebrate one final victory with the same gusto as if it were a win in Game 7 of the World Series or a Super Bowl title.
After hopping on the back of American Pharoah for nine wins in 11 starts, the ride of their life was at an end, and it was time to savor it for one last time.
"I think my father has become a more relaxed man through this whole experience. He's happier. The joy this horse has brought him is incredible," Justin Zayat said. "It's the same for all of us. We were always a close family, but this has brought us together even more. It's been a fabulous time."
So fabulous that who knows when it might happen again to anyone. It took 37 years for another Triple Crown champion to follow Affirmed and it could take that long, or perhaps even more, for racing's 13th Triple Crown winner to roll around.
It's that understanding of how such an extremely rare accomplishment unfolded before their very eyes, which explains why there was so much emotion wrapped into one final victory by a horse who earned $8.5 million in his career and is valued as a $20 million stud prospect.
"It was just very emotional," said trainer Bob Baffert, the 62-year-old Hall of Famer who polished off back-to-back wins in the BC Classic on Saturday. "I think this horse has brought so much to racing and it's been a privilege to train this horse. It's been a privilege to watch him train, to watch him breeze.
"But we have a responsibility now. Penny Chenery [Secretariat's owner] has been the biggest spokesperson for racing and to me Secretariat is still the greatest horse I've ever seen. Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with Penny Chenery and Secretariat is something I've never imagined would happen to me. That's why I still can't believe what we've done. This horse has really humbled me. He came around at the perfect time in my life."
And now for the Zayats and Baffert and his family, it's time to move on. The magical carpet ride that took them from Louisville to Baltimore to New York City to New Jersey and then to Saratoga finally ended in Lexington. Not with a shocking loss, which happened in the Travers in his previous start, but with one last majestic victory that re-affirmed his greatness and also left one final indelible image of him as a "Grand Slam" champion, gliding, with nary a challenger in sight, toward the finish line of a $5 million race -- and his legendary career.
"We are going to miss having American Pharoah in our life and I'm going to cherish every minute of it," Justin Zayat said, "but how can you go out any better [than] this?" How indeed?