Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, seen here with Jimmy Barnes, has returned to Churchill Downs (NYRA/Susie Raisher/Adam Coglianese Photography)

The winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1), the Preakness S. (G1) and Belmont Stakes will get a few days rest -- along with plenty of treats and good wishes from visitors -- following his 5 1/2-length victory in Saturday's "Test of the Champion." That victory placed American Pharoah in the company of 11 other three-year-old Thoroughbreds who previously captured the coveted three-race series of American classic races.

An H.E. "Tex" Sutton Forwarding Company flight carrying American Pharoah, and several other horses that had competed in weekend races in New York, arrived at Louisville International Airport early Sunday afternoon.

A large group of admirers and media members had gathered outside trainer Bob Baffert's barn to greet the Triple Crown winner, and the entire group broke into applause when a van carrying the bay colt arrived on the Churchill Downs backside. Assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes led the three-year-old off the van around 1:15 p.m. (EDT).

"I went into this whole thing fairly confident," Barnes said of the Triple Crown after giving American Pharoah a post-flight bath. "I knew he just needed to get a decent break, come out of the gate and get a fair chance to win it, and that's absolutely what happened."

American Pharoah stepped off the van at Churchill Downs to the cheers of his fans (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)

Barnes said a near-constant stream of visitors and well-wishers had visited America's newest Triple Crown winner since Saturday's triumph at Belmont Park. He joked that the horse had gotten less sleep since the race than he had, but he added that American Pharoah has handled the post-race celebration as well as any aspect of his historic Triple Crown run.

"He probably had about two bags of carrots (since the race), along with his normal feed," Barnes said. "But he came back good. He's happy."

Baffert's colt will get some rest following his busy spring and a trio of Triple Crown wins in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes that extended his ongoing win streak to seven races. But he probably will not be away from the track for long.

"For the next four days he'll be walking and then we re-evaluate the horse, see where he's at and if Bob's ready to go back to the track with him," Barnes said. "Seeing how he came out of the race, I would think he would go right back to the track."

American Pharoah will parade before racing fans at Churchill Downs Saturday evening (NYRA/Dave Alcosser/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Owner Ahmed Zayat also bred American Pharoah, so he will receive both the solid gold winner's trophy and the smaller sterling silver replica that goes to the winning breeders. Plans for Baffert have not been finalized but winning jockey Victor Espinoza plans to be at Churchill Downs to personally accept his trophy.

According to a press release issued by NBC -- which televised all three legs of the Triple Crown -- the network's race-portion ratings, from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. (PDT), registered a 12.3/27 metered market rating -- the third best overnight for a Belmont Stakes on record. (People Meter history dates to 1988).

NBC has now posted back-to-back 12+ overnight ratings for the Belmont Stakes, marking the first time in People Meter history that successive Belmont's have topped a 12 overnight.