It was depressing to read the backlash to the decision by Sports Illustrated to name women's tennis star Serena Williams as their sports person of the year over, among others, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Apart from the obvious semantics that American Pharoah is a horse and not a person, the arguments put forward in support of the dominant colt missed the mark completely.
Whatever American Pharoah’s spectacular achievements at becoming the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes for 37 years, in the bigger picture he was an athlete running on drugs.
American Pharoah ran on Lasix, a diuretic that has performance-enhancing qualities that is used in American racing on race day but is banned in most major racing jurisdictions around the world including the UAE.
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In the 1970s when there were three Triple Crown winners in Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed those horses ran many more times than American Pharoah’s 11 career starts. His star has risen at a time when the American thoroughbred is at an all-time low.
When American Pharoah won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in October Irish raider Gleneagles, who ran no sort of race, was the only challenger from abroad.
American Pharoah topped Sports Illustrated's readers' poll, accumulating 47 per cent of votes cast. A look at where those votes came from, however, and most of them came from America and racing-obsessed Japan.
American Pharoah became the first horse to tack on the Breeders’ Cup Classic to the feted three-race series because he was the only one in a position to do so after America’s self-styled World Championships were inaugurated only in 1984.
In the end Williams, 34, not only rightly prevailed, but, according to Christian Stone of the magazine, was a “decisive choice”.
Consider what she has achieved. Where American Pharoah is following in the hoofprints of 11 other Triple Crown winners, Williams is now within touching distance of becoming the greatest female tennis player of all time in terms of grand slam titles won.
She won the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon this year, and is now just one shy of Steffi Graff’s grand slam record. She played 56 matches in 2015 and was only beaten three times.
Williams is only the third woman to have won the accolade outright and from that perspective her success needs to be applauded.
And then there is the politics. Stone added in his explanation of why Williams had been chosen that her brave decision to return this year after a 14-year self-imposed exile to Indian Wells, where she suffered racial abuse in 2001, was a contributing factor.
And to put forward American Pharoah on his own takes away from the fact that racing is a team sport. Victor Espinoza was on board in 10 of his 11 victories.
Although at Keeneland American Pharoah may well have won with any jockey on his back such was the authoritative nature of his procession, at Churchill Downs the Mexican rider earned his fee.
Following the victory in the Belmont Stakes in June Espinoza gave his winnings to a cancer charity and trainer Bob Baffert spread US$150,000 (Dh 550,972) among three charities.
Taken as a collective, there are arguments for team American Pharoah pushing Williams closer. Teams have won it before.
On his own the now-retired three-year-old horse was never going to meet the criterion as the athlete who, “embodies the spirit of sportsmanship”.
Especially when competing on drugs.
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