April 18, 2016 
Contrary to popular belief, Triple Crown winners do not grow on trees. While it’s true great horses can come from just about anywhere, in the thoroughbred industry there are but a handful of locales where the majority of the athletes are produced and procured. The trajectory of American Pharoah from foal to phenom passed through two such equine epicenters: Fayette County, Kentucky and Marion County, Florida.
It was the Kentucky Bluegrass upon which the colt was born, and under the Florida sun where he learned to race. And he is far from the first. Many of racing’s superstars past and present followed this same path.
Why?
Aside from the prevalence of fast food outposts, trailer parks and Bubbas, Central Florida and Central Kentucky might seem worlds apart. Indeed, it’s not a logical connection, but rather, geological. Limestone.
And slogans.
America’s Best Racing takes you underground and on the track in a new video series, “Triple Crown Training: Where American Pharoah Learned to Be a Racehorse”. Go inside the McKathan Brothers Training Center in Citra, FL, where American Pharoah (and countless others) got his start under saddle. This slice of Marion County real estate is literally shaping the industry.
It’s one thing to be bred for success, it’s an entirely different beast to train a horse to get there. Stay tuned for Part III.
