Justin and Ahmed Zayat and Bob Baffert at Belmont Park. Photo NYRA/Adam Coglianese

On the afternoon of June 9, Bob Baffert walked into the paddock at Belmont Park for the first time since saddling American Pharoah before last year’s Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

“I got goosebumps,” he told a crowd of about 75 people at Belmont that evening, part of a Q&A held by the New York Racing Association to celebrate American Pharoah’s Triple Crown victory last year. “We made history the last time we came here.”

Baffert was joined on stage by American Pharoah’s owners, Ahmed and Justin Zayat. The conversation was hosted by NYRA race caller Larry Collmus.

For an hour, Baffert and the Zayats told stories and shared memories, reflecting on how their historic accomplishment affected them. But first they watched a replay of the 2015 Belmont Stakes, after which the audience burst into applause.

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