Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing is a prestigious series of three high-profile races in the United States: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. These races, open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds, are held annually on a set schedule, with the Kentucky Derby taking place on the first Saturday in May, followed by the Preakness Stakes two weeks later, and concluding with the Belmont Stakes three weeks after that. Winning all three races constitutes a Triple Crown victory, a feat achieved by only thirteen horses since the series was formalized, with the first winner being Sir Barton in 1919. The rarity of this achievement is compounded by the challenges of the Belmont Stakes, the longest race at 1.5 miles, which often requires horses to compete on short rest after the previous races. Notable Triple Crown winners include Secretariat, who set a record time in the Belmont Stakes in 1973, and American Pharoah, who ended a 37-year drought in 2015. The Triple Crown captures significant public interest and represents a pinnacle achievement in the sport of horse racing, with a substantial impact on the American economy, estimated at over $36 billion annually.
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Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
Horse racing, "the sport of kings," has a direct annual impact of over $36 billion on the American economy. While the American Thoroughbred racing circuit features dozens of major events, there are three particularly high-profile races that draw a great deal of international attention: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Together, these three races are known as the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing. Three-year-old Thoroughbred horses are eligible to participate, and any horse that finishes first in all three races is known as a Triple Crown winner.
A Triple Crown win is one of the rarest feats in sports. As of the end of the 2016 racing season, only twelve such triumphs have been achieved since the Triple Crown events became permanent fixtures on the Thoroughbred racing calendar in 1875. To date, it has only occurred in back-to-back years on one occasion.
Background
The Belmont Stakes was first held at Jerome Park in Westchester County, New York, in 1867. It is the longest and oldest of the three Triple Crown races and is also considered the most challenging. In 1873, the Preakness Stakes joined the American Thoroughbred racing circuit and has been held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, since its inception. Although the Kentucky Derby is the youngest of the three Triple Crown races, it is also the only race in the series to be held every year since it was established. The Belmont Stakes was suspended in 1911 and 1912, owing to temporary changes in state betting laws that effectively prevented New York from hosting competitive horse races. The Preakness Stakes was not run in 1891, 1892, or 1893. These technicalities make the Kentucky Derby the longest-running, continuously held sporting event in American history. It has been held annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville since 1875.
The Triple Crown races have undergone numerous changes over the years. During its early history, the Belmont Stakes was held at various venues before settling into a permanent home at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Belmont Park opened in 1905 and has hosted the Belmont Stakes every year since, except for a five-year run spanning 1963 through 1967, when it was held at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York City. Various race lengths were also used until the Belmont Stakes standardized at 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers).
Similarly, the length of the Preakness Stakes has been adjusted from its original 1.5 miles to 1.1875 miles (1.91 kilometers). At various points throughout its history, the Preakness Stakes has also been run with some competitors bearing weight handicaps in an effort to level the playing field.
The Kentucky Derby was originally a 1.5-mile race before adopting its current length of 1.25 miles (2.01 kilometers) in 1896. With the Kentucky Derby being the first of the three Triple Crown events on the Thoroughbred racing calendar, its initial 1.5-mile length was deemed too long for three-year-old horses to run in the early part of the racing season.
Overview
Triple Crown races are held on a set schedule each year, with the Kentucky Derby being run on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness Stakes following two weeks later, and the Belmont Stakes capping the three-leg series three weeks after the running of the Preakness Stakes. The first horse to win the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing was Sir Barton, who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 1919. At the time, the term Triple Crown had not yet entered the sporting lexicon. Sir Barton was retroactively honored when the phrase was popularized by American sportswriters after the second Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox, accomplished the feat in 1930.
Omaha, guided by jockey Willie Saunders, came from behind to win the Belmont Stakes in 1935 to complete his Triple Crown run. War Admiral, who was sired by the legendary racehorse Man o' War, captured the Triple Crown in 1937 by a narrow margin after suffering a heel injury that left a trail of blood behind him en route to the finish line.
The 1940s saw an unprecedented succession of Triple Crown winners, with four horses rising to Thoroughbred racing immortality over the course of the decade. The mercurial Whirlaway captured the Triple Crown in 1941, followed by Count Fleet in 1943. Count Fleet set a Triple Crown record by winning the Belmont Stakes by an astonishing 25 lengths, establishing a mark that would stand for decades. In 1946, Assault won the Triple Crown despite injuries and disabilities, including a disfigured hoof, which earned him the nickname Club-Footed Comet. Citation, the decade's final Triple Crown winner, ascended to the title in 1948 and went on to become the first horse in Thoroughbred racing history to break the $1 million mark in lifetime winnings.
Thoroughbred racing would not see another Triple Crown winner until 1973 when the illustrious and iconic Secretariat set a world record in the Belmont Stakes with a time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Secretariat also demolished Count Fleet's 30-year-old record by besting the second-place finisher by 31 lengths. In 1977, Seattle Slew became the first Triple Crown winner to post an undefeated season, and Affirmed bested his arch rival Alydar to secure the Triple Crown in 1978. Their back-to-back Triple Crown seasons marked the first time in Thoroughbred racing history that the rare achievement was reached in consecutive years. In 2015, American Pharoah became the first Thoroughbred since Affirmed to win the Triple Crown, entering the record books as the twelfth horse to reach the sport's ultimate pinnacle. In 2018, Justify became the thirteenth horse to win the Triple Crown, although his win suffered from controversy related to a failed drug test.
Over the years, many horses have had a chance to win the Triple Crown, only to fall short in the Belmont Stakes or not run the race at all. Given the amount of money owners invest in breeding and training Thoroughbred racehorses, some elect not to enter their horses in all three Triple Crown races due to the risk of injury. In fact, running an eligible horse in each of the Triple Crown events is a relatively uncommon practice. Other theories have been forwarded to explain why a Triple Crown win is such a rare event. The 1.5-mile Belmont Stakes is the longest competitive horse race in North America, and horses that participate in the Preakness Stakes must then enter the demanding Belmont Stakes on short rest. Thoroughbred racehorses are also generally bred and trained for optimal sprinting speed rather than endurance, and it is a very rare animal that displays elite levels of both.
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