The real winner of the Triple Crown was American Pharoah's dad and his owners

American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. But the real winner financially will be another horse in owner Ahmed Zayat's stable, the 2009 Kentucky Derby runner-up, Pioneerof the Nile.

Pioneerof the Nile is the sire of American Pharoah. More importantly, unlike his offspring, Pioneerof the Nile is a proven sire thanks to American Pharoah and other foals that have performed well on the track.

The other big difference between the two horses is that Zayat has already sold the breeding rights to American Pharoah but still owns 75% of Pioneerof the Nile, according to Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg.com.

"If you asked most breeders if they'd rather breed to a Triple Crown winner, or breed to the sire of a Triple Crown winner, the majority would take the latter," Rommy Faversham, a pedigree analyst, told Bloomberg.

Early speculation has American Pharoah's stud fee reaching as much as $200,000 per foal which could translate to more than $20 million per year depending on how many offspring he can generate. However, Faversham speculates that the fee will start at a more modest level, something "in the neighborhood of $75,000" according to Novy-Williams, with that number going up or down depending on the early success of the offspring.

Meanwhile, Pioneerof the Nile was already making $60,000 per foal prior to his son winning the Triple Crown and one breeding director told Bloomberg the 9-year-old's stud fee will likely surpass $100,000 in 2016 which could translate to more than $10 million annually.