NYRA/Adam Coglianese

Within minutes of his Triple Crown victory Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park, horse racing fans began to ask the inevitable question: will American Pharoah race again?

It is one of the paradoxes of thoroughbred racing that the very achievements that the sport most trumpets and that fans most want to see – victories in Triple Crown races, and the ultimate triumph, a sweep of them – often lead to the swift retirement of the horse that accomplishes them, because his value is in the breeding shed far exceeds his value on the racetrack.

Kentucky breeders begin looking for stallion prospects early, and colts that can run a distance on dirt – and thus potentially produce a Kentucky Derby winner – are the industry’s prized competitors. A nice-looking two-year-old that wins his first race impressively might merit a call to the owner, said Dan Rosenberg, the owner of Rosenberg Thoroughbred Consulting and the former president and CEO of Three Chimneys Farm in Versailles Kentucky. Currently the executive director of Thoroughbred Charities of America, Rosenberg was at Three Chimneys for 30 years.

“Off that first race, we might not make an offer,” said Rosenberg, “but we’d express interest and start to build the relationship, staying in touch as the horse’s career unfolds.”

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