bob baffert told us that he didn't think pharoah brought his a game. as we look at some of the possibilities of american pharoah moving forward. remember, the long-term goal is the breeders' cup classic for the first time at keeneland october 31. those are some of the options, pennsylvania derby, awesome again in california, gold cup, finally halloween, breeders' cup classic here on nbc. so yeah, how does bob baffert know that pharoah wasn't at his best this afternoon? >> it's very hard. the better the horse, the harder to note. the good horses meet you at the front of the stall every morning, eager to train. and there's no way to simulate the strain on a horse in a morning exercise. the answer is, you don't know, you can't know. >> first of all, let's hope that american pharoah is okay and his failure to bring his a-game here wasn't a result of some sort of injury that they'll find when they get him back to the barn. we would like to see him run in the breeders' cup classic. second point, this was a very strenuous race for american pharoah. and it mak

bob baffert told us that he didn't think pharoah brought his a game. as we look at some of the possibilities of american pharoah moving forward. remember, the long-term goal is the breeders' cup classic for the first time at keeneland october 31. those are some of the options, pennsylvania derby, awesome again in california, gold cup, finally halloween, breeders' cup classic here on nbc. so yeah, how does bob baffert know that pharoah wasn't at his best this afternoon? >> it's very hard. the better the horse, the harder to note. the good horses meet you at the front of the stall every morning, eager to train. and there's no way to simulate the strain on a horse in a morning exercise. the answer is, you don't know, you can't know. >> first of all, let's hope that american pharoah is okay and his failure to bring his a-game here wasn't a result of some sort of injury that they'll find when they get him back to the barn. we would like to see him run in the breeders' cup classic. second point, this was a very strenuous race for american pharoah. and it mak

. >> reporter: o'connor says he's confident that trainer bob baffert's first concern is always pharoah's health. bafert considers himself custodian of a national treasure. >> feel like i'm protecting like the president of the united states. i'm the secret service guy that makes sure nothing happens to him. >> reporter: american pharoah may be headed to kentucky sooner than expected. jim, "sports illustrated"" reports that pharoah's owners said his gut feeling is to retire the horse. >> axelrod: jericka duncan with news of a major upset in the world of horse racing. thank you. we have a tragic accident to report. one that has claimed the life of a young broadway star on the rise. >> kyle jean-baptiste, seen here in a backstage performance had just become the first african american ever to play john valled jean in a broadway production of "les miserables." he was also the the youngest. last night, jahn baptiste died after a fall fromaise fire escape of his mother's apartment. he was 21. up next, an air show tragedy before the show even begins. a series of crashes this series tells us about

trainer bob baffert says pharoah loves the attention. >> you've had plenty of attention in training horses but what is this bond like between you and american pharoah? what make this different? >> i think a lot of it is he's a very kind horse. he likes people. 's very sweet. most horses like him, they're aggressive, they'll try to bite your head off. they'll want to go after everybody. he's not that way. >> reporter: the owners of pharoah sold off the breeding rights to an irish stable who plans to recover him to kentucky. some wonder why risk such a valuable asset by continuing to race him. >> he's like a pet. he's a superstar pet. that's why the pressure to me is everything has to be 100%. everything has got to look perfect. i feel like i'm protecting the president of the united states. i'm the secret service guy to make sure nothing happens to him. >> reporter: the sport of racing has longed for such a hero horse. tom durkin is a hall of fame track announcer. >> american pharoah is a winner. we love winners. he did something a horse has not been able to do in 37 years. he truly is great