Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner. Before today's episode, a quick announcement. On Thursday,

November 13th, I will be live on stage in New York City in conversation with the journalist

Bud Mishkin celebrating 20 years of Freakonomics and talking about what's next. We will be at the

92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side.

I hope you can make it. For tickets, go to Freakonomics.com slash live shows. And now here is today's

episode. May I give him a pat on the shoulder? Oh my gosh, I'm about to feed American Pharaoh a carrot, which is kind of highlighted my life so far.

That's Emily Plant. She is a lifelong horse lover who makes her living today as a thoroughbred researcher and statistician.

And American Pharaoh, he is one of the most famous

and most sought-after horses in the world. His fame comes from winning the 2015 Triple Crown. That's

the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. He was the first horse to win the

Triple Crown in nearly four decades. It was a huge deal for the industry because people said, oh, maybe it can't be done anymore.

Maybe it's too hard. Maybe the modern thoroughbred can't handle this. And then he won.

And he is sought after because in horse racing, bloodline is extremely important.

If you own a mayor that is deemed worthy of American Pharaoh, he will be happy to mate with her for a stud fee of $45,000.

Back when he first retired from racing at three years old, his fee was $200,000.

He is owned by a firm called Ashford Stud, which paid a reported $23 million for him in 2015.

Ashford is a 2,000-acre farm in Kentucky bluegrass country, and that's where we are today.

This is the American outpost of Coolmore Stud, the biggest thoroughbred breeder in the world with headquarters in

Ireland. This Kentucky location is sometimes called Coolmore America. Emily Plant calls it

equine paradise. If you look at the barns, there's works of art in terms of the limestone

craftsmanship, the roof, the cupola.

There are 15 champion stallions in residence in these barns.

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