LOUISVILLE, KY – MAY 02: Jockey Victor Espinoza celebrates as he guides American Pharoah #18 ahead of Firing Line #10, ridden by Gary Stevens, after crossing the finish line to win the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2015 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

American Pharoah may have lost out to Serena Williams for SI’s Sportsperson of the Year, but those angry horse racing fans will be much happier with The Associated Press, which named the horse’s Triple Crown win as the sports story of the year Thursday. That came from a vote of 82 editors and news directors across the U.S., who ranked their top five stories of the year (with each person’s top story receiving five points, their second story receiving four and so on). American Pharoah not only won, he blew away the field:

Eighty-two ballots were submitted from U.S. editors and news directors. Voters were asked to rank the top five sports stories of the year, with the first-place story receiving five points, the second-place story four points and so on.

American Pharoah’s Triple Crown win received 317 points and 43 first-place votes.

 The No. 2 sports story, the “Deflategate” scandal that ensnared Super Bowl-winning Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, had 191 points and 13 first-place votes.
That must be rather deflating for the NFL, placing second to horse racing. They edged out FIFA corruption (#3), the Golden State Warriors’ NBA title and subsequent streak (#4) and Jordan Speith’s two golf majors and bid for a Grand Slam (#5), though. Williams and her three tennis majors clocked in at #6, with the Women’s World Cup at #7, the Kansas City Royals’ World Series at #8, the Missouri football strike at #9 and Ohio State’s inaugural College Football Playoff title at #10.
This list was much more focused on pure sporting events, and positive ones, than it typically has been. The 2011 and 2012 editions both picked the Penn State scandal as their top story, with other prominent stories on those lists including NFL and NBA lockouts, college football realignment, Lance Armstrong, NFL bounties and concussions. 2013 was topped by the Boston Marathon bombings and by Armstrong admitting to doping, while 2014 was led by the NFL domestic violence crisis and by the Donald Sterling racism/Clippers’ ownership story. This time around, “Deflategate” is the highest-ranked off-the-field story, and it’s more annoying than crisis-producing. The only other off-the-field stories to make the list are FIFA corruption and the Missouri football strike. So, according to these editors, it was a year where the sports world was largely focused on the games and their outcomes. That’s a big change from recent years, and one American Pharoah’s fans will certainly be happy with.

 

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.