Posted on 06/06/2015 8:56:12 PM PDT by EinNYC
ELMONT, New York - American Pharoah entered the pantheon of US thoroughbred racing's all-time greats by winning the Belmont Stakes on Saturday to become the first horse to capture the coveted Triple Crown in nearly four decades.
In winning his seventh straight race, American Pharoah becomes the 12th horse to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes and the first since Affirmed in 1978.
According to JTA, a win was a triumphant stand for Ahmed Zayat, an Orthodox Jew from Egypt who has become one of the biggest forces in horse racing but has mostly tasted bitter defeat in recent years.
Before American Pharoah’s victories last month, Zayat had watched horses he owned finish second in the Kentucky Derby three out of the last four years. In 2012, horses owned by Zayat finished second in each of the three Triple Crown races – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
In his history-making attempt, American Pharoah may have some Jewish luck in his favor. Jockey Victor Espinoza, who is not Jewish, visited the Lubavitcher rebbe’s grave on Thursday in Cambria Heights, New York, in the borough of Queens, where he prayed and presumably asked for good luck.
Ahmed Zayat grew up in a wealthy suburb of Cairo, where his father was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s doctor.
As a young teenager, Zayat won the under-12 and under-14 national show jumping championships in Egypt (a once-thriving Jewish community, though fewer than 40 Jews remain in the country today).
After graduating from Yeshiva University, Zayat worked for the haredi Orthodox real estate developer Zev Wolfson, a wealthy real estate entrepreneur and major Jewish philanthropist.
Zayat returned to Egypt in 1995 and formed an investment group that bought the newly privatized Al Ahram Beverages company. Zayat helped turn the company around by introducing Fayrouz – a non-alcoholic blend of malt, fruit and sparkling water – into its line of products. In 2002, Zayat sold the company to Heineken for $280 million.
Who he????
Leni
I was not there, so I cannot say. Perhaps they had made arrangements prior to Shabbos for anything muksah to be handled by non-Jews. They definitely would have had to have lodging within walking distance to the track. They would have had to have non-Jews carry anything from their lodgings to the track, since you are not allowed to carry anything from one domain to another. I seriously doubt they would have been able to attend a Shacharis (morning) service It would have been quite challenging to figure out all the parameters and how to operate within them.
"...Churchill Downs, Kentucky is an unusual location for a Shabbos meal but the family celebrated in style. “We had a kosher caterer and lots of people at our table Friday night. Some of our guests were surprised. They said, ‘you guys really have Shabbos!’ Every hotel is very accommodating. The caterers are wonderful and do everything correctly with plastic utensils and servingware. It can be Shabbos wherever you are, ” she said..."
I can vouch for that. When I was younger, I would sometimes go to local national parks down south in the summer with a group of Orthodox friends, and spend Shabbos camping out. We made a campfire before sundown and cooked our Friday night meal, kept it warm until it was eagerly consumed by all. Saturday, we ate cold cuts and the rest of the fixings out of insulated ice chests. We brought our siddurim (prayer books) and davened (prayed) Shacharis without the customary leyning (reading) from the Torah, since we didn't have a scroll to bring with us, nor would we have risked harm to one bringing it out to the wilderness.
We also had to be careful not to walk more than a certain short distance and not to carry anything, since there was no eruv out there in the boonies. An eruv is a cordoned-off area (the strings are usually strung from telephone poles in the 'burbs and cities) area which is declared to be one single domain so that one can carry objects from one building to another and yet remain within a single domain. Without the eruv, you can't carry house keys, books, anything from one building to another. So yes, it's complicated to observe Shabbos outside of one's normal community, but it can be done completely within the bounds of halachah (Jewish law).
Smiling. Oooo, that’s cool. Did not know. Give Amer Phar a yarmulke! With ear holes! :)
He is the trainer.
Were they at the races? I never saw them. Probably watched it on some TV some one forgot to turn off...
Oh, I guess they were there. Thanks for the research. Still, all those people were technically working for them on Shabbos, but they probably used some kind of workaround for that...
I’ll just say Mazel Tov.
And I sure did not think there were any Jews left in Egypt.
Leni
Wasn’t sure about this horses endurance; but he did it. So I am glad he won. He even won on a muddy track in the Preakness, I think. I looked at his pedigree and am impressed. He has very good horses in there including Secretariat, himself, and he has a good trainer and jockey. Most of all his pedigree and trainer.
“According to JTA, a win was a triumphant stand for Ahmed Zayat, an Orthodox Jew from Egypt who has become one of the biggest forces in horse racing but has mostly tasted bitter defeat in recent years. “
The victory was really won by the fleas on its left flank, who have always driven American Pharaoh into a frenzy of running with their sharp bites. He therefore must partition ihis horse and its winnings with the poor fleas of the left flank. Besides, his victory was all a conspiracy. How could a Radnom with a losing track record ever manage to win a triple crown?
Huh?
Parody of Pali Israeli conflict. Hello?
Sorry, it went right over my lil pumpkin head!
I’d read earlier that the horse was owned by a Dr. Daniel Jackson.
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