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Bob Baffert compares American Pharoah to LeBron James

By Jack Crosby

Jun 2, 2015; Elmont, NY, USA; American Pharoah walks in the barn with trainer Bob Baffert at Belmont Park. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 2, 2015; Elmont, NY, USA; American Pharoah walks in the barn with trainer Bob Baffert at Belmont Park. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert had quite the interesting comparison for this history-making horse

Bob Baffert is probably the best horse racing trainer of our generation, but there was one prize that has eluded him throughout the years–the Triple Crown. Well, on Saturday when American Pharoah crossed the finish line in dominant fashion at the Belmont Stakes, that feat was finally accomplished and we were given the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.

As good of a trainer as Baffert is, though, there is absolutely no questioning that American Pharoah is a special horse that obviously doesn’t come around very often. We see this with some athletes in all sports when someone comes along and just amazes us with their ability to perform their craft, and we know we might not see greatness like that for quite some time.

Trying to make a comparison recently, Baffert may have pulled out the best way to tap into mainstream sports to describe how special American Pharoah really is.

“For awhile, I was starting to believe maybe it’s never going to happen, it’s getting too tough, (times have) changed,” trainer Bob Baffert said via USA TODAY. “We think about maybe it’s the breed (getting weaker). It’s not the breed. We just have to wait for these superior horses to come around…It’s like LeBron James. How many players do you have to go through before you get a guy like him?”

For all intents and purposes, he’s not wrong in comparing his champion horse to the greatest basketball player walking the planet. LeBron James is a freakish athlete that possesses abilities that no human being probably should have in their DNA. With there not being a Triple Crown winner since 1978 until Saturday, the same can definitely be said about American Pharoah; not many people are really going to argue with that sentiment.

Since his arrival in the NBA over a decade ago, LeBron James has been running away from everyone else in the NBA as the unquestioned all-around best player, much like American Pharoah ran away from the competition in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes over the course of the past few weeks.

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