American Pharoah Wins Haskell Invitational

American Pharoah won the Haskell Invitational the same way he won the Triple Crown: Convincingly.

The 3-year-old hung back in second place for most of the race before jockey Victor Espinoza made his move cruised to victory down the stretch.

American Pharoah’s unofficial finish time was 1 minute 47 seconds.

Teaneck resident Ahmed Zayat, American Pharoah’s owner, was cheering after his horse delivered on Zayat’s wish: To give horse racing fans something special to watch following the horse’s historic Triple Crown win two months ago at the Belmont Stakes.

The family had always wanted to race the horse in the Haskell. Not putting the horse up to run, was never considered.

“That could’ve been the easy way out,” Zayat’s son, Justin said just before the race. “We wanted to keep the horse out for the fans.”

American Pharoah is expected to retire in October after he races in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.