Triple Crown offers glimpse into good journalism

Horse racing recently got a breath of fresh air when American Pharoah, the bay colt who put an end to the Triple Crown drought when he won the Belmont Stakes.

The horse was the first to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes since Affirmed achieved the feat in 1978.

He is just the 12th in the illustrious history of the sport to win the Triple Crown.

A 37-year span without a Triple Crown winner has now ended.

A lot of people, including me, enjoyed hearing it was over.

Admittedly, I am not much of a horse racing fan or follower. 

However, aside from the landmark victory, there were at least two other things I enjoyed about American Pharoah's win.

Maybe it's the journalist in me, but I enjoy a good story.

A good story is exactly what came out of American Pharoah's run into the horse racing history books.

Tim Layden's feature for "Sports Illustrated" on the horse, the race and all it entailed was a gem of a story, in my opinion.

I own a copy of the magazine's anthology of great stories written in its first 50 years of existence. 

If the powers that be at SI decide to publish a 100th-anniversary volume, I believe they should at least consider including Tim Layden's "American Pharoah's Triple Crown obliterates years of disappointment."

Yes, it's a long headline. Yes, it's a longer story. 

All of that aside, if you remotely enjoy horse racing or good stories and have a few minutes, give it a read.

After I read it I later discovered Layden had also written what I guessed was an accompanying piece called "American Pharaoh, the Belmont and the making of a story for all time."

In it, he chronicled how his long day at the race track evolved into his long, rich story of horse racing's biggest day in 37 trips around the sun.

Maybe it's the journalist in me, but I enjoy seeing how the better, more seasoned writers at national organizations craft the stories I like to read.

I also enjoy finding out their days at sporting events are at least somewhat like mine, mostly long — though rewarding — and spent looking for the best angle or the perfect lead.

In Layden's piece on writing his Triple Crown story, the reader joined him at 9:25 a.m. as he made it to Belmont, which he said was 9 1/2 hours prior to the start of the Belmont Stakes.

That part made me grin, since I usually try to arrive only two hours prior to kickoff of a home high school football game.

Away games are a different story, and arrival times usually allow for meals.

In Smiths Station, for example, I always leave in time to eat at the Cluck It Bucket.

Two years ago, I got a three-piece chicken meal with fries, slaw, bread and sauce for $6.50.

As the old saying goes, you can't beat that with a stick — which brings me back to horse racing.

Layden went on to discuss the press box at Belmont, and how he ran into a journalist who was there for Affirmed's Triple Crown.

He discussed writing on deadline, and outlining a sort of shell for his story before the race. He talked about several antidotes he'd picked up in research spending time with American Pharaoh's trainer he planned to use in the story.

He did use them, and he used them well.

Layden talked about where he watched the race, how it was a "blur," and how the opening sentence of his story came to him on the way to the post-race press conference.

All of this was vaguely familiar.

He talked about writing back in the press box, walking to his car at three minutes before midnight after he'd hit the last keystroke and trying to sleep with no avail since he had just witnessed history.

I found it strange how the marks of covering a great sporting event, whether local or vastly known, lead to some of the same emotions.

I guess that's part of what makes sports so enjoyable.