He got the distance.

American Pharoah stayed leg-strong throughout and finally ended a rankling 37-year Triple Crown drought with a decisive win in the Belmont Stakes before a big, frenzied crowd early Saturday evening in Elmont, NY.

For a couple generations of horse racing fans, the thrill of witnessing a Triple Crown winner was an unmarked box on a checklist of the sport’s possibilities. The near-misses by Charm, Quiet, Charismatic and Smarty were arousals enough to keep you glued hard to the mystique of this very difficult equine challenge.

And so now it’s happened. It was quite a thing to see.

The distinguished West coast trainer Bob Baffert graciously gave all credit to the compact, muscle-bound colt who found another fast gear with a quarter mile to go. This is the fourth time Baffert guided a Crown shot into the Belmont starting gate and he’s handled the spotlight with increasing dignity. Bullet Bob has morphed from somewhat slick and not universally admired keeper of a well-stocked barn to a guy who’s won respect from peers for building a record of big-race, big-moment success with aplomb.

When American Pharoah strode strongly into the long Belmont home stretch with a lead most expected him to have, the concrete floor beneath our feet in section 3T began to bounce. The roar at that point was yet to reach its peak because Pharoah still had work to do.

The upright posture of jockey Victor Espinoza was a solid indication Pharoah had plenty of gas in the tank. He bolted away from the field in the final two furlongs with what looked like just a light tap or two of encouragement from Espinoza. The crowd went totally crazy and made a sustained sound you’ll only get to experience maybe once or twice in a lifetime. Current day sports crowds don’t really make the kind of noise heard Saturday any more. The last time I can recall such jubilation were at postseason Bulls and Blackhawks games in the old Chicago Stadium.

In section 3T after Pharoah crossed the line, and throughout the plant, people jumped up and down and hugged. My pal Perl grinned widely as did his father who was seated next to him. The rest of my friends high-fived and laughed at our good fortune being together for this special moment.

Espinoza and Pharoah came back down the length of the stretch after it was over to accept an outpouring of appreciation from the screaming crowd. Many fans were clad in snappy outfits not unlike what people wear to the Derby.

This is New York’s Derby. You could argue it was the most momentous outcome the sport’s had since Secretariat in ‘73. Bigger than the two Crowns in ‘77 and ‘78 simply because it had been so long. The crowd stayed and shook their heads and whooped it up before leaving. They didn’t rush for the exits.

Personally, I’m glad the drought is over because it will help shed the crust of cynicism that’s grown on me with all the near misses. In the run-up to this race, I grumpily dismissed all the observations of Pharoah’s exceptional abilities simply because I had heard it all before and didn’t buy it. Turns out the people who say they saw a superhorse knew what they were talking about. Guys like Mike Welsch. Yeah, Pharoah benefited from a small field size. There wasn’t extraordinary pressure on his early Belmont run. But Pharoah earned this big time. His finishing time of 2:26.65 is fast – especially when you consider Espinoza didn’t really ask him.

Will he race again? His owner says yes. But Pharoah’s value as a sire is such that the folks at Coolmore Stud may be hoping for his immediate retirement from racing. Coolmore owns Pharoah’s breeding rights but may or may not hold sway over owner Ahmed Zayet’s next move. For now, Pharoah’s only commitment is to parade the oval at Churchill Downs this Saturday to bask in congrats from Kentucky horse racing fans.

In addition to being wrong about Pharoah’s ability to win the Belmont, I also need to backtrack and give high praise to the New York Racing Association for defying my expectations on the race day experience Saturday.

NYRA’s corrective actions substantially improved the parts of the event that were so badly flawed a year ago. Food and drink were abundant and available until well after the feature. Sixteen ounce cans of Bud were $10 but at least you could get one when you wanted. And the transportation snarls that nearly caused a riot at day’s end last year were gone on Saturday. From what I observed, those who took the train, bus or personal vehicle all fared well and without major hassle. NYRA said it capped attendance at 90-thousand and actually told people to stay home if they didn’t have a ticket starting late Friday night.

We never got an official attendance figure but it turned out to be a robust number that well matched the level of amenities except for women’s bathroom capacity which has always been a problem on the big days.

I stated last year that the post-race transportation gridlock that ruined the 2014 Belmont experience for so many was correctable – and indeed there appeared to be a much better plan in place this year. LIRR increased capacity and the race track bolstered infrastructure to create a more rational flow of people into the train station. There was a constant stream of city buses running express on both the Q2 and Q110 routes to subway stations in Jamaica. The bus improvements were remarkable to watch and were not at all publicized in advance. I saw a Q2 and Q110 depart half-empty. And the one I was on had plenty of seats at about 8 PM. Uniformed police officers from both New York City and Nassau County manned key crowd control points to insure an orderly exit. Those same places lacked any sense of order a year ago.

The only knocks I heard this year were with the women’s bathroom situation and an overzealous search of one’s person and belongings on the way in. There was no crashing of seats or sections by interlopers thanks to pairs of ushers on every aisle.

I didn’t think NYRA was capable of even modest on-track fixes but they did a nice job learning from the mistakes of 2014. NYRA made the day right on Saturday and a lot of people went home happy.

As I rode the Q2 down a pothole-filled Jamaica Avenue last night, I felt almost as good about how nice it was to leave the track in one piece as it was to witness a Triple Crown.

Two concession workers seated in front of me on the bus untangled crumpled up dollar bills that had been stuffed into their tip jar. The bus terminated at 179th Street and we spilled out into the F train station. The two girls who had worked all day were the last to disembark the bus. They folded big wads of cash and stuffed them into their pockets before getting off.

Horse racing fans will trudge back to the big oval on the Queens/Nassau border Saturday afternoon hoping to finally see some history.

This is the 14th time a three-year-old thoroughbred has occupied a Belmont barn in early June with a shot at the Triple Crown since Affirmed completed the difficult deed in 1978. All 13 tries subsequent to Affirmed’s success have ended in failure. Some were oh so close. This one Saturday offers some promise of success – although we’ve heard this song and dance before.

It’s ok to be cynical. I think that’s why it’s been kind of a quiet week around here. American Pharoah’s attempt to break the long Crown drought at half past six PM Saturday doesn’t seem to be generating the level of excitement seen in the run-up to tries by California Chrome (2014), Big Brown (2008), Smarty Jones (2004) and Funny Cide (2003).

Some fans have lost faith in the feat’s viability given its extreme difficulty. Others are simply disgusted about the on-track experience with a crown on the line. The six-figure crowd that showed up last year to see California Chrome finish in a dull tie for fourth was beleaguered by day’s end given a series of security, hospitality and transportation lapses that impacted a large percentage of the patrons.

It was such a lousy mess out there last year that some people vowed never to return if a triple crown was at stake.

The New York Racing Association hasn’t been demonstrably confident in its self-assessments re: preparedness for this Saturday’s big Crown party. Rather than a promise to bolster all of the services that fell short last year, NYRA claims it will tell people to stay home when ticket sales reach 90-thousand.

When’s the last time you heard a bookmaker turn away people with money in their pocket? I don’t recall it ever happening but that’s all you need to know about NYRA’s inept action plan to remedy last year’s fiasco.

Still, all of us usual suspects will be out there Saturday in section 3T in the off chance Pharoah can get it done. I’ll sound like the same broken record I am every time a crown is on the line and say Pharoah’s legs turn to rubber well before the line. But I’ll cheer like crazy if they don’t. It’s been a long enough wait. I want to see a crown.