History was made as American Pharoah crossed the finish line in the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years on Saturday, June 6. Thousands walked in to Hoosier Park Racing & Casino to watch and wager on the 2015 edition of the Belmont Stakes, but it was Bill Ditto and Phil Coburn that walked out with the thousands, $1,750 to be exact.

Hoosier Park Racing & Casino provided three invited guests an opportunity to place a $1,000 Belmont Stakes win bet on the horse of their choice in this year’s edition of the Belmont Stakes and two winning bets were made.

Hoosier Park drew three names from several hundred entries prior to the running of the race. The winners had to wager the entire $1,000 sum on the horse they believed would win first place honours. The names drawn were Phil Coburn, Ricky Harlow, and Bill Ditto. All three were instructed to choose a horse for their win wager and two got behind the heavily favoured, American Pharoah, while Ricky Harlow was upset-minded and chose Frosted.

“I knew American Pharoah was my horse,” Ditto noted. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind he was the best horse in the race and, of course, I really wanted to see another Triple Crown winner.”

American Pharoah broke from post five in the gate, went right to the lead and led the entire race, pulling away in the stretch for the victory. He finished the mile and a half in 2:26.65. Frosted was second, five and a half lengths back, and Keen Ice rounded out the trifecta. The three-year-old son of Pioneer Of The Nile paid $3.50, $2.80 and $2.50 across the board as the favourite in the race. American Pharoah is now six-for-seven lifetime with earnings in excess of $3.7 million as he became only the 12th horse to achieve the prestigious Triple Crown feat.

“That was really something to see,” Ditto continued. “It was a great day for the sport of horse racing and I think everyone had a lot of fun cheering this horse to the wire, I know I did. It was a great day.”

Belmont weekend at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino included property-wide dining specials, expanded beverage options, and official Belmont merchandise sales. The first 1,000 racing fans also had the opportunity to receive a free $2 commemorative win bet on American Pharoah.

Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will continue on Tuesday, June 9 with a 14-race card. With a daily post time of 5:15 p.m., live racing will follow a Tuesday through Saturday schedule and be conducted through November 14.

(Hoosier Park)