Horse Racing: The U.S. Triple Crown
The U.S. Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing is considered to be the ultimate achievement for any horse around the globe. The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes formulate the three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses that constitute the U.S. Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown was a term which was used in America to describe the winner of the three races which dates back to 1923. However, the term wasn’t popularized until 1930 when The New York Times began using it, though that claim is still disputed.
The first ever winner of the Triple Crown was Sir Barton in 1919. However, when Sir Barton won the three races, they were not referred to as the Triple Crown. That changed in time though. The individual races came to be seen as parts of a three-leg race and participants who would compete in one would try to compete in all three races in search for a Triple Crown glory.
3889 contenders have tried their luck to win the coveted achievement since 1875 which was the first year when all three races took place in a series format. The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the three which was inaugurated in 1867. Six years later, the Preakness Stakes was developed and finally, another two years later, the inauguration ceremony of the Kentucky Derby was conducted.
The Kentucky Derby is dubbed as the “Run for the Roses” since 1896. This is because the winners of the Kentucky Derby are draped in a blanket of roses. It is the first race of the U.S. Triple Crown which is scheduled to take place on an annual basis. It is held in the city of Louisville, Kentucky and the event begins on the first Saturday of May. The 2km, 1 ¼ miles or 10 furlong dirt track is held at Churchill Downs which serves as the venue for the event. The purse for the Kentucky Derby is the largest of the three races which stands at a staggering $2 million. The first ever Kentucky Derby attracted some 10,000 spectators which speaks volumes about the popularity of the track. The fastest time for the track was set by the highly successful Triple Crown winner ‘Secretariat’ in 1973 when he ran the length of the track in under 1:59:04 seconds.
As the Kentucky Derby comes to an end, the second leg begins with the third Saturday of May, which marks the start of the Preakness Stakes. Held at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore Maryland, the race is dubbed as the “Run for the black-eyed Susans” because a black-eyed Susan blanket is placed around the winner’s neck. The race is run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs and requires a lot of horse strength to make the run worthwhile. The fastest lap time ever recorded in Preakness Stakes history was achieved in 1985 under the 1:53:04 seconds mark. The purse for the race stands at $1.1 million.
The third Saturday following the Preakness Stakes marks the start of the Belmont Stakes. It is the longest of the three tracks with a total distance of 1½ miles or 12 furlongs. The Belmont stakes is ranked at the fourth position by measure of attendance. The race is dubbed as the “Test for the Champions” because of its daunting length and the fact that it is the last leg of the U.S. Triple Crown. The length of the race varied over the years until 1926 after which the present length has continued to remain the same. The fastest time recorded on the track was in 1973 when ‘Secretariat’ ran the length of the track under 2:24 seconds - winning the Belmont stakes and the U.S. Triple Crown in spectacular fashion by 31 lengths.
Till date, 50 horses have won two races out of a total of three in the U.S. Triple Crown. Only 11 horses have ever won all three races which include Sir Barton in 1919, ‘Gallant Fox’ in 1930, ‘Omaha’ (sired by Gallant Fox) in 1935, ‘War Admiral’ in 1937, ‘Whirlaway’ in 1941, ‘Count Fleet’ in 1943, ‘Assault’ in 1946, ‘Citation’ in 1948, ‘Secretariat’ in 1973, ‘Seattle Slew’ in 1977 and ‘Affirmed’ in 1978.
In the last 32 years, there has been no Triple Crown winner as yet. 11 horses since 1978 have however won two of the three races, most recently by ‘Afleet Alex’ in 2005. ‘Super Saver’, ‘Lookin at Lucky’ and ‘Drosselmeyer’ were the winners of this year’s U.S. Triple Crown.
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