Given time to think about how I felt witnessing American Pharoah’s Triple Crown sweep on June 6, my conclusion may be surprising: I felt robbed and a bit sad. Sure, I also felt joy and enormous gratitude toward my employer, NBC, which entrusts me with the responsibility of interviewing the winning jockey on horseback. But I have waited my whole life for this Triple Crown.
The last time there was a sweep of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, I was 12, and my takeaway from the Affirmed-Alydar battle was an infatuation with Affirmed’s jockey, Steve Cauthen, which did not subside until I was in my late 20s when he was married with children.