Let's not kid ourselves.
The whole world is not on the edge of its seat waiting to see whether American Pharoah can become the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first in 37 years.
Since 1978, when Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, 14 times Charlie Brown has lined up to kick a football held by Lucy.
Granted, there is no reason to believe the horse responsible for Arkansas' Pharoah Party on Saturday at Oaklawn Park can't do well, although history can be difficult to beat.
American Pharoah has perhaps the best chance since Smarty Jones in 2004. That hard-running Oaklawn favorite, who was tougher than a claw hammer on a peanut, won the Kentucky Derby by 2 1/2 lengths and was a record 11 1/2-length winner of the Preakness but still came up a length short in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes.
There are a number of reasons for that, including jockey Stewart Elliott urging him to a 0:23 flat in the third quarter-mile, the fastest third quarter-mile in Belmont history, but the fact is he came up short.
And to be totally frank, jockeys will have as much to do with who wins the Belmont Stakes as any of the Triple Crown races because the turns are wide and the stretch run seems to end in Hoboken, N.J. Patience is a requirement.
American Pharoah was established Wednesday as the 3-to-5 morning line favorite and will break from post No. 5, which doesn't mean diddly in a field of eight.
Mostly the reason he is not the center of national news is he is not a feel-good story like Funny Cide, Smarty Jones or California Chrome.
American Pharoah was bred by owner Ahmed Zayat, who put him up for sale as a yearling with a price tag of $1 million. When it appeared the bids weren't going to be close, Zayat bought him back for $300,00, which basically meant he was out a commission.
He lost his first race, but since then he has won six consecutive races by a total of more than 30 lengths. He was so convincing in the Preakness that Dortmund and Firing Line aren't running Saturday, and they were supposed to be the horses with the best chances of knocking him off the Triple Crown course.
Obviously there is no sure thing in horse racing, or at least not since Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths in a record 2:24 for that distance. More than 5,000 $2 win tickets were never cashed on Secretariat, more than likely so they could be kept as souvenirs.
Frosted and Materiality look like the horses with a shot of keeping Pharoah out of the winner's circle.
They are fresh because neither has run since the Kentucky Derby, but both had really bad rides in the first leg of the Triple Crown. After three-quarters of a mile Frosted was 15th by more than 14 lengths but finished fourth by just more than six lengths.
Materiality, who possesses the best speed figure in the race, was late leaving the gate, was bumped and raced wide. At the three-quarter pole he was 14th by 13 lengths but finished sixth by a little more than eight lengths.
Madefromlucky finished behind American Pharoah in the Rebel Stakes (second) and Arkansas Derby (fourth) before winning the Peter Pan by a length and appears to be improving.
The long shot to watch out for is Keen Ice, who has the best breeding for this distance and had a rough trip in the Kentucky Derby, breaking next to last but finishing seventh. Trainer Dale Romans never enters a race just for fun.
There are three more entries, and all seven of the challengers will be focused on keeping American Pharoah out of the history books.
Sports on 06/04/2015