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In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
s, consisting of the Kentucky Derby,
Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...
, and
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...
. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020. The first winner of all three Triple Crown races was
Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...
in 1919. Some
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
s began using the term ''Triple Crown'' to refer to the three races as early as 1923, but it was not until Gallant Fox won the three events in 1930 that Charles Hatton of the '' Daily Racing Form'' put the term into common use. 13 horses have won the Triple Crown:
Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...
(1919), Gallant Fox (1930),
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...
(1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943),
Assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
(1946),
Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...
(1948), Secretariat (1973),
Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who became the tenth winner of the American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only two horses to have won the Triple Crown while being undefeated in ...
(1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018). , American Pharoah and Justify are the only living Triple Crown winners. James E. "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons was the first trainer to win the Triple Crown more than once; he trained both Gallant Fox and Omaha for the Belair Stud. Gallant Fox and Omaha are also the only father-son pair to each win the Triple Crown. Bob Baffert became the second trainer to win the Triple Crown more than once, training American Pharoah and Justify. Belair Stud and
Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...
are tied as owners with the most Triple Crown victories with two apiece; Calumet's winners were Whirlaway and Citation. Eddie Arcaro rode both of Calumet's Triple Crown champions and is the only
jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
to win more than one Triple Crown. Secretariat holds the stakes record time for each of the three races. His time of 2:24 for miles in the
1973 Belmont Stakes The 1973 Belmont Stakes was the 105th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, held on June 9, 1973. Facing a field of five horses, Secretariat won by 31 lengths, the largest margin of victory in Belmont history, in fro ...
also set a world record that still stands.


Development

The three Triple Crown races had existed long before the series received its name: the Belmont Stakes was first run in 1867, the Preakness in 1873, and the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The term “triple crown” was in use at least by 1923, although '' Daily Racing Form'' writer Charles Hatton is commonly credited with originating the term in 1930. The order in which the races are run has varied. From 1932 through 2019, the Kentucky Derby was run first, followed by the Preakness, and then the Belmont. Running the three races in a five-week span was instituted in 1969. The Preakness was run before the Kentucky Derby 11 times, most recently in 1931. Two times— May 12, 1917, and May 13, 1922 — the Kentucky Derby and Preakness were run on the same day. Scheduling has occasionally been affected by global events. During World War II, the
1945 Kentucky Derby The 1945 Kentucky Derby was the 71st running of the Kentucky Derby, held on June 9, 1945. It was won by Hoop Jr., ridden by jockey Eddie Arcaro. Regularly held on the first Saturday of May, the 1945 edition of the Kentucky Derby was initially s ...
was moved from May 5 to June 9, with the Preakness and Belmont following on June 16 and June 23, respectively. In 2020, the Triple Crown was altered from its usual sequence due to the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The adjusted schedule started with the
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...
on June 20, at the shortened distance of miles (9 furlongs). The Kentucky Derby ran on September 5, and finally the Preakness on October 3. 2020 also marked the first time for the Belmont Stakes to be run as the opening leg of the Triple Crown. Each Triple Crown race is open to both colts and fillies. Although fillies have won each of the individual Triple Crown races, none has won the Triple Crown itself. Despite attempts to develop a "Filly Triple Crown" or a " Triple Tiara" for fillies only, no set series of three races has consistently remained in the public eye, and at least four different types of races have been used. Two fillies won the series of the Kentucky Oaks, the Pimlico Oaks (now the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes), and the
Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...
, in 1949 and 1952, but the racing press did not designate either accomplishment as a "Triple Crown". In 1961, the New York Racing Association created a filly Triple Crown of in-state races only, but the races changed over the years. Eight fillies won the NYRA Triple Tiara between 1968 and 1993. Gelded colts may run in any of the three races today, but they were prohibited from entering the Belmont between 1919 and 1957. Geldings have won each of the individual races, but like fillies, no gelding has ever won the Triple Crown. The closest was Funny Cide, who won the Derby and the Preakness in 2003. Each of the races is held on a dirt track, rather than the turf surfaces commonly used for important races elsewhere in the world.


Winners

At completion of the 2016 season, the three Triple Crown races have attracted 4,224 entrants. Of these, 292 horses have won a single leg of the Triple Crown, 52 horses have won two of the races (23 the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, 18 the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, and 11 the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes), and 13 horses have won all three races.
Pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the sto ...
won both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1922, a year when it was impossible to win the Triple Crown because the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes were run on the same day. 10 of the 13 winners have been "homebreds", owned at the time of their win by their breeders. Jim Fitzsimmons and Bob Baffert are the only two trainers to have two horses win the Triple Crown, with Fitzsimmons training the sire/son combination of 1930 winner Gallant Fox and 1935 winner
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...
and Baffert training 2015 winner American Pharoah and 2018 winner Justify. The wins by Fitzsimmons were also the first time that an owner and the first time that a breeder, Belair Stud holding both duties, had a repeat win of the Triple Crown.
Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...
is the only other owner with two Triple Crown horses, 1941 winner Whirlaway and 1948 winner
Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...
. Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to ride two horses to the Triple Crown, both for Calumet, Whirlaway and Citation. Those two horses' trainers, Ben Jones and Jimmy Jones, were father and son. All 13 horses were
foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foa ...
ed in the United States. Most owners, trainers, and jockeys were American-born, though there were number of exceptions: jockey Johnny Longden was born in England and raised in Canada;
Ron Turcotte Ronald Joseph Morel "Ronnie" Turcotte, (born July 22, 1941) is a retired Canadian thoroughbred race horse jockey best known as the rider of Secretariat, winner of the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973. Career Turcotte began his career in Toronto as a ...
was Canadian. French-born jockey Jean Cruguet; and jockey
Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972) is a Mexican jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who won the Triple Crown in 2015 on American Pharoah. He began riding in his native Mexico and went on to compete at racetracks in California. He has w ...
, from Mexico. Jockey Willie Saunders is considered a Canadian jockey because he spent part of his childhood there, but was born in
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
.
Laz Barrera Lazaro Sosa Barrera (May 8, 1924 – April 25, 1991) was a Cuban-born American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Havana, "Laz" Barrera was one of nine brothers who went on to become involved in thoroughbred horse racing in t ...
, trainer of Affirmed, was from Cuba; Secretariat's trainer, Lucien Laurin was Canadian. Owner Fannie Hertz was married to
John D. Hertz John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist. Biography Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, a ...
, who was born in Slovakia; owner
Ahmed Zayat Ahmed Zayat (; ar, أحمد الزيات), (born August 31, 1962) is an Egyptian American businessman and owner of Thoroughbred race horses. He is the CEO of Zayat Stables, LLC, a Thoroughbred horse racing business which bred and owns the 2 ...
was born in Egypt. The horse Sir Barton was
foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foa ...
ed in the United States but had a Canadian owner, J. K. L. Ross, at the time of his Triple Crown win. Justify's large ownership group included individuals from both the United States and China.


Records

Secretariat holds the stakes record for each of the Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby (1:59 2/5), the
Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...
(1:53), and the
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...
(2:24). At 18, Steve Cauthen became the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown, riding Affirmed in 1978. At 52, Mike Smith became the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown, riding Justify in 2018.


Other notable achievements

Only one horse, Alydar, placed (finished second) in all three races. He was defeated each time by Affirmed in 1978 by a combined margin of two lengths. His trainer John Veitch is the only trainer to have done this with one horse. In 1995,
D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...
became the first and only major figure (owner, jockey, or trainer) to win all three Triple Crown races with different horses, Thunder Gulch in the Derby and Belmont, Timber Country in the Preakness. Lukas also is the only trainer to have won six consecutive Triple Crown races, adding his 1995 wins, having won the 1994 Preakness and Belmont with Tabasco Cat and the 1996 Derby with Grindstone. Like Veitch, only with two different horses, Bob Baffert also had second-place finishes in all three legs of the Triple Crown, both owned by
Ahmed Zayat Ahmed Zayat (; ar, أحمد الزيات), (born August 31, 1962) is an Egyptian American businessman and owner of Thoroughbred race horses. He is the CEO of Zayat Stables, LLC, a Thoroughbred horse racing business which bred and owns the 2 ...
: in 2012,
Bodemeister Bodemeister (foaled April 28, 2009) is a Thoroughbred race horse who won the 2012 Arkansas Derby and finished second to I'll Have Another in the 2012 Kentucky Derby and 2012 Preakness Stakess. He went on to become the sire of 2017 Ken ...
finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness stakes to I'll Have Another, then Paynter was entered and finished second to Union Rags. Baffert and Zayat teamed up again for the 2015 Triple Crown victory of American Pharoah. Gallant Fox is the only Triple Crown winner to sire another U.S. Triple Crown winner,
Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...
. Affirmed sired
Peteski {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Peteski , image = , caption = , sire = Affirmed , grandsire = Exclusive Native , dam = Vive , damsire = Nureyev , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1990 , country = Canada , colour = Chestnut , breeder = ...
, winner of the 1993 Canadian Triple Crown. Jockey Julie Krone became the first (and currently only) woman to win a Triple Crown race when she won the 1993 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. Whirlaway, in addition to winning the 1941 Triple Crown, also won the
Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internati ...
that year, the first and only horse to date to accomplish that feat. American Pharoah, in addition to winning the 2015 Triple Crown, also won the
Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...
that year. As the Breeders' Cup was not established until 1984, American Pharoah was the first (and currently only) horse to sweep those four races, a feat now known as the Grand Slam.


Gaps between wins

After the first Triple Crown winner,
Sir Barton Sir Barton (April 26, 1916 – October 30, 1937) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the first winner of the American Triple Crown. Background Sir Barton was a chestnut colt bred in 1916, in Kentucky, by John E. Madden at H ...
, in 1919, there was not another winner until Gallant Fox in 1930, a gap of 11 years. Between 1930 and 1948, seven horses won the Triple Crown, with five years being the longest gap between winners. However, following the 1948 win of
Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...
, there was a considerable gap of 25 years before Secretariat ended the drought of Triple Crown champions in 1973. Between 1973 and 1978, there were three Triple Crown winners. After Affirmed's Triple Crown in 1978, the longest drought in Triple Crown history began in 1979 with Spectacular Bid's failed Triple Crown attempt when he finished third in the Belmont. It lasted until American Pharoah won in 2015. Between 1979 and 2014, thirteen horses won both the Derby and Preakness, but not the Belmont. Of those,
Real Quiet Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
came the closest, losing the Belmont Stakes by a nose in 1998. Another dramatic near-miss was Charismatic, who led the Belmont Stakes in the final furlong in 1999, but fractured his left front leg in the final stretch and fell back to third. Five other horses lost the Kentucky Derby but won the Preakness and the Belmont, and three won the Derby and the Belmont, but not the Preakness. The 37-year gap between the Triple Crown wins of Affirmed and American Pharoah drew criticism of the system. As far back as 1986, reporters noted that horses who were fresh for the Belmont had an advantage. In 2003, Gary Stevens stated in an interview with
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co- ...
that he did not believe there would be another Triple Crown winner because of the tendency for owners to put fresh horses in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. California Chrome co-owner Steve Coburn was particularly critical of the Triple Crown system in post-Belmont remarks in 2014; he considered the system to be unfair, arguing that there would never be another Triple Crown winner in his lifetime unless only horses that competed in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness competed at the Belmont. By 2014, six of the previous eight Belmont winners had not competed in either of the first two legs of the Triple Crown. Additionally, from 2006 to 2014, the Belmont winner was a horse who had not competed in the Preakness.


Unsuccessful bids

Since all three events were inaugurated, as of 2022, 23 horses have won the Derby and Preakness but not the Belmont (ten of which placed): *1932:
Burgoo King Burgoo King (1929–1946) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series but who did not run in the final race, the Belmont Stakes. Background Owned by Colonel Edward R. Bradley and foaled at ...
did not enter the Belmont due to lameness.:78, 182 *1936:
Bold Venture ''Bold Venture'' was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Synopsis Salty seadog Slate Sha ...
did not enter the Belmont due to lameness.:78, 182 *1944:
Pensive Pensive (February 5, 1941 – May 20, 1949) was a bright chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1944 won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown. Pensive also began only the second sire line "hat trick" in the Kentucky Derby, as his son P ...
was the first horse to contest but lose the Belmont after winning the first two legs. He placed second to
Bounding Home Bounding Home (1941 – February 23, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the upset winner of the 1944 Belmont Stakes that deprived Pensive of the U.S. Triple Crown. Career Bred by foodstuffs manufacturer William Z ...
,:78 who had neither run in the Derby nor the Preakness. *1958: Tim Tam, defeated by six lengths by Cavan, who had neither contested the Derby nor Preakness. *1961: Carry Back, "sore" after the race, was seventh of nine entries, lengths behind the winner, a longshot named
Sherluck Sherluck (foaled 1958 in Virginia) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1961 Belmont Stakes and ending Carry Back's chance to win the U.S. Triple Crown. Background Bred by renowned horsewoman Liz Whitney Lunn, ...
. *1964: Northern Dancer, defeated by Quadrangle. *1966:
Kauai King Kauai King (April 3, 1963 – January 24, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse was foaled on April 3, 1963 at Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. His sire was Native Dancer and his dam was Sweep In. In 1966, Kauai King won the first two ...
, defeated by Amberoid. *1968:
Forward Pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiro ...
, defeated by
Stage Door Johnny Stage Door Johnny (May 22, 1965 – November 21, 1996) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the third leg of the 1968 U.S. Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes. Background Stage Door Johnny was a chestnut ho ...
by lengths. *1969: Majestic Prince, second by lengths to Arts and Letters. Loss attributed to fatigue and lameness. *1971: Cañonero II, fourth in the Belmont to 34–1 longshot
Pass Catcher Pass Catcher (foaled April 6, 1968 in Kentucky) was a United States Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 103rd running of the Belmont Stakes. Background Pass Catcher, a bay colt was bred and raced by Peter Kissel's October House Farm. His sire ...
, the loss attributed to a hoof problem. *1979: Spectacular Bid, third in Belmont, was alleged to have stepped on a safety pin the morning of the race, though another theory blamed rider error by an inexperienced young jockey moving him too soon. He finished lengths behind Coastal and a neck behind the second-place horse,
Golden Act Golden Act (1976–2000) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Golden Act was sired by Gummo, a grandson of Nasrullah who was a son of the extremely important sire, Nearco. he was out of the mare Golden Shore. He was trained in ...
. *1981: Pleasant Colony, third in Belmont, lengths behind
Summing Summing (April 16, 1978 – October 10, 2008) was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Summing was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by his owner Charles T. Wilson Jr. He was sired by Verbatim, a leading dirt performer whose win ...
and the second-place horse, Highland Blade. *1987: Alysheba finished fourth in Belmont behind
Bet Twice Bet Twice (April 20, 1984 – March 5, 1999) was a multi-millionaire American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Foaled in Kentucky, he was out of the marGolden Dustand was sired bSportin' Life who in turn was the son of the British Triple Crown ...
, Cryptoclearance, and Gulch. *1989: Sunday Silence, second in Belmont, eight lengths behind Easy Goer. *1997: Silver Charm, second in Belmont, length behind Touch Gold. * 1998:
Real Quiet Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
, second in Belmont after a photo finish, a nose behind
Victory Gallop Victory Gallop (foaled May 30, 1995, in Ontario, Canada) is a Canada, Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1998 Belmont Stakes to deny Real Quiet the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Triple Crown, and was the 1999 Ec ...
. *
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
: Charismatic, third in Belmont, lengths behind Lemon Drop Kid and second-place Vision and Verse. Charismatic was pulled up soon after the finish, vanned off with a bone fracture. He survived and was retired to stud. *
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
:
War Emblem War Emblem (February 20, 1999 – March 11, 2020) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Background War Emblem was bred by Charles Nuckols Jr. & Sons in Kentucky. His sire was Ou ...
stumbled at gate in Belmont, finished eighth out of 11. Winner
Sarava Sarava (foaled March 2, 1999 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2002 Belmont Stakes. Background Sired by the 1984 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Wild Again, Sarava was out of the mare Rhythm of Life, a ...
scored upset at record odds of 70–1. *
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
: Funny Cide, third in Belmont, five lengths behind Empire Maker, and lengths behind second-place horse, Ten Most Wanted. *
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
:
Smarty Jones Smarty Jones (February 28, 2001) is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes. Background Born at Fairthorne Farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the horse was ...
, second in Belmont, one length behind
Birdstone Birdstone (foaled May 16, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2004 Belmont Stakes and has become a successful sire. On August 28, 2020 Birdstone was pensioned from stud duty to Old Friends Reti ...
. *
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
:
Big Brown Big Brown may refer to: * Big Brown (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse * Big brown bat, an North American bat * Big Brown, a nickname for the delivery company United Parcel Service * Big Brown Box, an Australian online retailer *Big Brown ( ...
was pulled up in the home stretch of the Belmont, eased to a last-place finish. Winner was
Da' Tara Da' Tara (foaled April 26, 2005) is an American thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2008 Belmont Stakes in an upset over Big Brown. Da' Tara was a 38-1 underdog entering the post at Belmont. He is trained by Nick Zito, his jockey is Alan Ga ...
. A hoof problem had limited Big Brown's training, and may have been a factor in his defeat. * 2012: I'll Have Another was scratched from the Belmont the day before the race due to a tendon injury. *
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
: California Chrome finished in a dead heat for 4th in the Belmont after being stepped on by another horse leaving the gate and running the race with an injury to his heel and a scrape on his tendon. Another 30 horses have won two of the three triple crown races in other combinations.


Sponsorship and broadcasting

The first national television broadcast of a Triple Crown race occurred with the 1948 Belmont Stakes on CBS. The Preakness Stakes was first broadcast on television in 1949, and the Kentucky Derby was first televised in 1952. Originally, the three races largely organized their own nominations procedure, marketing and television broadcast rights. In 1985, Triple Crown Productions was created when the owner of Spend a Buck chose not to run in the other two Triple Crown races because of a financial incentive offered to any Kentucky Derby winner who could win a set of competing races in New Jersey. The organizers of the three races realized that they needed to work together. Efforts to unify the sponsorship and marketing of all three Triple Crown races began in 1987 when ABC Sports negotiated a deal with
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
to pay $5 million to any horse that swept all three races, and $1 million each year there was no Triple Crown sweep to the horse with the highest combined Triple Crown finish. This sponsorship lasted until 1993. The end of the $1 million participation bonus was linked to the breakdown of
Prairie Bayou Prairie Bayou (March 4, 1990 – June 5, 1993) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse owned and bred by Loblolly Stable of Lake Hamilton, Arkansas. Named for a bayou between Little Rock and Hot Springs in Arkansas, he was sired by Littl ...
at the Belmont Stakes that year and the uncomfortable situation that arose when the Kentucky Derby winner, Sea Hero, was given the bonus following a seventh-place finish. In 1995, Visa USA took over the sponsorship with a 10-year contract, naming the series the ''Visa Triple Crown'' and offering only the $5 million bonus to a horse that could sweep the Triple Crown. Along with sponsorship by VISA,
NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its ...
paid $51.5 million for broadcast rights to all three races, with the revenue split giving 50% of the total to Churchill Downs and 25% each to Pimlico and to the New York Racing Association (NYRA). The Visa deal—and the cooperative effort—ended after 2005. The NYRA felt that they did not get a fair share of the revenue, particularly when the Belmont had the highest ratings of all three races in the years where a Triple Crown was on the line. From 2001 through 2013, average viewership for the Belmont was 7 million when the Triple Crown was not at stake, whereas viewership averaged 13 million when it was. With the contract term ending, the NYRA went to ESPN on ABC for the 2006 Belmont, while the broadcasts of the Derby and Preakness remained with NBC. Visa chose to remain as a sponsor of only Kentucky Derby for the next five years. As a result of the divided broadcast, Triple Crown Productions was unable to obtain a new sponsor. Today Triple Crown Productions LLC, based at Churchill Downs, is responsible for collecting nominations to the annual Triple Crown races. In February 2011, ABC/ESPN dropped out of the negotiations to renew broadcast rights to the Belmont Stakes. NBC obtained the contract through 2015, once again uniting all three races on the same network. In 2014, NBC extended their contract for the Kentucky Derby through 2025. NBC then obtained broadcast contracts for the Preakness and Belmont through 2022. FOX Sports announced in January 2022 that it had acquired the broadcast rights to the Belmont Stakes for eight years beginning in 2023.


Individual race winners

;Notes * y/sup> Denotes a filly. Fillies won the Kentucky Derby in 1915, 1980, and 1988, Preakness Stakes in 1903, 1906, 1915, 1924, 2009, and 2020, and Belmont Stakes in 1867, 1905, and 2007. * RNR Race not run. The Belmont was not run in 1911 and 1912 due to anti-betting legislation passed in New York State. The Preakness did not run 1891–1893.


See also

* American thoroughbred racing top attended events * British Classic Races *
French Classic Races The French Classic Races are a series of Group One Thoroughbred horse races run annually on the flat. The races were instituted in the nineteenth century, taking the British Classic Races as a model. In the original scheme, one race, the Poule d' ...
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing


References


External links


Official websiteBloodHorse.com Triple Crown ManiaTen Things You Should Know About the Triple Crown at Hello Race FansTriple Crown Winners
– slideshow by '' Life magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Triple Crown Of Thoroughbred Racing Belmont Stakes Kentucky Derby Preakness Stakes Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing