BALTIMORE — The day looked much the same. There were wastebaskets catching rainwater seeping through the ceiling, cardboard and wood chips and carpets meant to soak up days of dampness. The track resembled peanut butter, not dirt.
Despite the dreadful conditions, the fans, in rain boots and parkas, were not deterred: They wanted to witness the second act of what they hoped would soon become history.
It was not 2015, when the Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah went to the lead and stayed there, winning by seven lengths to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown in a storybook run that culminated in his becoming the first winner in 37 years.