BY RICHARD ROSENBLATT
NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of American Pharoah says the Triple Crown winner will run again before he is retired at the end of the year.
Ahmed Zayat tweeted Thursday he has “decided to continue to race American Pharoah! The champ deserves another chance!”
After American Pharoah finished second in the Traver Stakes on Saturday, Zayat said his “gut feeling” was retirement. But after a four-hour meeting with trainer Bob Baffert and others, Zayat decided to keep going. The horse is being pointed to the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
American Pharoah’s breeding rights were sold to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud for an unknown fee, likely in the tens of millions of dollars. Since the horse was still racing, a stud fee has not been announced.
American Pharoah has won eight of 10 races and earned nearly $6 million.
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