American Pharoah Whipped 32 Times in Victory

In his first two races this year, American Pharoah hadn’t felt the sting of the jockey’s whip a single time. In the Kentucky Derby, he was cracked some 32 times.

Those numbers, perhaps more than any other statistic, underscore how hard the big horse had to work to capture America’s most-prestigious race on Saturday. This was not the walkover that some racing touts -- myself included -- had seen as a real possibility. Instead, Pharoah gutted out a grueling, one-length victory that appeared to take a lot out of him.