American Pharoah arrives for Travers amidst much fanfare

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - American Pharoah walked off the van shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday outside Barn 25 on the Saratoga backstretch following yet another cross-country trip. After walking for about 20 minutes, stopping intermittently for a drink of water and to pose for pictures, the Triple Crown winner seemed ready to head over to the front side of Saratoga Race Course.

“He’s probably adjusted right now,” Jimmy Barnes, the assistant to trainer Bob Baffert who accompanied American Pharoah on the flight, said about 40 minutes later. “You could lead him over there and run him.”

Instead, he got a bath and was put away in his stall.

Actually, American Pharoah’s next start isn’t until Saturday in the $1.6 million Travers Stakes, where he will play before a sold-out crowd of 50,000-plus. The New York Racing Association capped paid admissions at 50,000.

American Pharoah’s arrival in this horse-crazy region was met with the expected hysteria that accompanies a rock star. According to those who followed American Pharoah’s van, there were 40 or 50 people at a rest area on the Adirondack Northway between exits 9 and 10, waving at the van and taking pictures.

On the backstretch, a swarm of media and backstretch workers and fans, many with cell-phone cameras, documented every one of Pharoah’s steps.

“He loves it, he’s a big ham,” Barnes said. “He’ll stop and stand. We bring him outside, you can’t get him back in the barn. He hears the cameras clicking and he gets puffed up and he absolutely loves it.”

American Pharoah’s day began at 1:30 a.m. Pacific when he left the Del Mar backstretch on a van bound for Ontario Airport in Orange County, Calif. His flight left at 4:57 a.m. Pacific and he landed in Lexington, Ky. at 11:28 a.m. Eastern. A few show horses departed the plane and Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner got on. Funny Cide will make an appearance at Saratoga on Thursday and spend a few days at the Saratoga division of the Old Friends retirement facility.

The flight carrying American Pharoah, his pony Smokey, and Funny Cide left Lexington at 12:36 p.m. and landed at Albany Airport at 1:54 p.m.

With a police escort, leading the way, the van carrying American Pharoah, his pony Smokey, and Funny Cide came through the stable gate a few minutes before 3 p.m.

“I think he’s an exceptional case as far as being able to handle all the shipping and keeping his weight well,” Barnes said. “To go back and forth, East Coast-West Coast they could back off their feed and lighten up on you. He pretty much gained weight. It hasn’t been an issue at all.”

American Pharoah was expected to train early Thursday morning and then have a regular 1 ½-mile gallop on Friday at 8:45 a.m. when there will be a 15-minute period reserved for just Travers horses to be on the track.

Then Saturday comes the show. American Pharoah will hit the stage at 5:46 p.m.