A
History of Horse Racing's Triple Crown Winning
Horses
Online Race Book - Triple
Crown Horse Racing
For the owners, trainers and jockeys of the
world's best three-year-old thoroughbreds, it
doesn't get any bigger than winning the Triple
Crown. In order to win the Triple Crown, however,
a thoroughbred horse would have to win three
of the biggest stakes races in the world: the
Kentucky Derby, which takes place annually on
the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs
in Louisville, Kentucky; the Preakness Stakes,
which takes place annually the third Saturday
of May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland;
and the Belmont Stakes, which takes place every
year in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont,
New York.
The first of the Triple
Crown races is the Kentucky Derby, which was
first won in 1875 by Archemdes. The Kentucky
Derby winner goes on to compete in the second
jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
Survivor was the first Preakness winner in 1873.
A Derby-Preakness winner can then claim the coveted
Triple Crown title by winning the Belmont Stakes,
which was first won by Ruthless in 1867.
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Triple Crown History
It was Daily Racing
Form (DRF) sportswriter Charles Hatton who
coined the term "Triple Crown" in
a 1930 article he wrote about Gallant Fox, the
second horse ever to win the Triple Crown. The
first horse to win the Triple Crown, Sir Barton,
in 1919, actually won it 11 years before the
term came into use.
Although it is recognized as horse racing's
greatest honor, throughout its 125-year history
there have been only 11 Triple Crown winners.
It may surprise more than a few horse racing
fans to learn that Seabiscuit, the unlikely thoroughbred
champion who rose to fame during the Great Depression
and whose life was made into a bestselling book
and movie, did not win the Triple Crown. Seabiscuit
did, however, become the biggest story to hit
the newspapers in 1938 by overcoming insurmountable
odds, earning $437,730 over the course of his
illustrious career. Seabiscuit died of a heart
attack on May 17, 1947.
List of Winning
Triple Crown Horses
| Year |
Horse |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Sire-Dam |
| 1978 |
Affirmed |
Steve Cauthen |
Laz Barrera |
Harbor View Farm |
Exclusive Native-Won't Tell You |
| 1977 |
Seattle Slew |
Jean Cruguet |
Billy Turner |
Karen Taylor |
Bold Reasoning- My Charmer |
| 1973 |
Secretariat |
Ron Turcotte |
Lucien Laurin |
Meadow Stable |
Bold Ruler-Somethingroyal |
| 1948 |
Citation |
Eddie Arcaro |
Ben A. Jones |
Calumet Farm |
Bill Lea-Hydroplane II |
| 1946 |
Assault |
Warren Mehrtens |
Max Hirsch |
King Ranch |
Bold Venture-Igual |
| 1943 |
Count Fleet |
Johnny Longden |
Don Cameron |
Mrs. J.D. Hertz |
Reigh Count-Quickly |
| 1941 |
Whirlaway |
Eddie Arcaro |
Ben A. Jones |
Calumet Farm |
Blenheim II-Dustwhirl |
| 1937 |
War Admiral |
Charley Kurtsinger |
George Conway |
Samuel Riddle |
Man o' War-Brushup |
| 1935 |
Omaha |
Willie Saunders |
J.E. Fitzsimmons |
Belair Stud |
Gallant Fox-Flambino |
| 1930 |
Gallant Fox |
Earl Sande |
J.E. Fitzsimmons |
Belair Stud |
Sir Gallahad III-Marguerite |
| 1919 |
Sir Barton |
Johnny Loftus |
H. Guy Bedwell |
J.K.L. Ross |
Star Shoot-Lady Sterling |
After Citation's win in 1948, it would take
another 25 years before another horse would go
down in the history books as a Triple Crown winner.
That winning horse would be Secretariat, a thoroughbred
that had it all: speed, good looks and a winning
personality.
Secretariat appeared on the tracks in 1973,
breaking all previously set records and finally
winning the Triple Crown - bringing back much
of the thrill and excitement that surrounded
horse racing during the early days. Horse racing
was once again on its way to becoming one of
America's biggest spectator sports.
Triple Crown history would not be made again
until Affirmed, a thoroughbred out of Harbor
View Farm in Florida with 22 first place finishes
and total earnings of $2,393,818 (the first thoroughbred
to break the $2 million mark), won it in 1978.
Close to 50 horses have come close since 1978,
including Afleet Alex, who won the Preakness
Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 2005, and Smarty
Jones, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness
Stakes in 2004.
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