John Asher
Vice President, Racing Communications
(502) 636-4586 (Office) * (502) 494-3626 (Mobile)
[email protected]
Darren Rogers
Darren Rogers
Senior Director, Communications & Media Services
(502) 636-4461 (Office) * (502) 345-1030 (Mobile)
[email protected]
700 Central Ave., Louisville, KY 40208
*
(502) 636-4400
* ChurchillDowns.com
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The Triple Crown (1867-2014)
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
2014
California Chrome
California Chrome
Tonalist
California Chrome
Victor Espinoza
Art Sherman
Steve Coburn & Perry Martin
Victor Espinoza
Art Sherman
Steve Coburn & Perry Martin
Joel Rosario
Christophe Clement
Robert S. Evans
California Chrome
Orb
Oxbow
Palace Malice
Wise Dan
Joel Rosario
Claude “Shug” McGaughey III
Stuart S. Janney III & Phipps Stable (“Dinny” Phipps)
Gary Stevens
D. Wayne Lukas
Calumet Farm (Brad Kelley)
Mike Smith
Todd Pletcher
Dogwood Stable (Cot Campbell et al)
Will Take Charge
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
I’ll Have Another
I’ll Have Another
Union Rags
Wise Dan
Mario Gutierrez
Doug O’Neill
Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam)
Mario Gutierrez
Doug O’Neill
Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam)
John Velazquez
Michael Matz
Chadds Ford Stable (Phyllis Wyeth)
I’ll Have Another
Animal Kingdom
Shackleford
Ruler On Ice
f-Havre de Grace
John Velazquez
Graham Motion
Team Valor International (Barry Irwin)
Jesus Castanon
Dale Romans
Mike Lauffer & Bill Cubbedge
Jose Valdivia Jr.
Kelly Breen
George & Lori Hall
Animal Kingdom
Super Saver
Lookin At Lucky
Drosselmeyer
m-Zenyatta
Calvin Borel
Todd Plecther
WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt & Bill Casner)
Martin Garcia
Bob Baffert
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram & Paul Weitman
Mike Smith
Lookin At Lucky
Bill Mott
WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt & Bill Casner)
Mine That Bird
f-Rachel Alexandra
Summer Bird
f-Rachel Alexandra
Calvin Borel
Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr.
Kent Desormeaux
Tim Ice
Drs. K.K. & Vilasini Jayaraman
Summer Bird
Double Eagle Ranch (Mark Allen) & Buena Suerte Equine (Dr. Leonard Blach)
Calvin Borel
Steve Asmussen
Stonestreet Stables (Jess Jackson) & Harold McCormack
Big Brown
Big Brown
Da’Tara
Curlin
Kent Desormeaux
Rick Dutrow Jr.
IEAH Stables (Mike Iavarone et al) & Paul Pompa Jr.
Kent Desormeaux
Rick Dutrow Jr.
IEAH Stables (Michael Iavarone et al) & Paul Pompa, Jr.
Alan Garcia
Nick Zito
Robert LaPenta
Big Brown
Street Sense
Curlin
f-Rags to Riches
Curlin
Calvin Borel
Carl Nafzger
Jim Tafel LLC
Robby Albarado
Steve Asmussen
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith
Curlin
Barbaro
Bernardini
Jazil
Invasor-ARG
Edgar Prado
Michael Matz
Lael Stables (Roy & Gretchen Jackson)
Javier Castellano
Tom Albertrani
Darley Stable (Sheikh Mohammed et al)
Fernando Jara
Kiaran McLaughlin
Shadwell Stable (Sheikh Hamdan)
Bernardini
Giacomo
Afleet Alex
Afleet Alex
Saint Liam
Mike Smith
John Shirreffs
Jerry & Ann Moss
Jeremy Rose
Tim Ritchey
Jeremy Rose
Tim Ritchey
Afleet Alex
Cash is King LLC (Charles Zacney, Robert Brittingham, Jospeh Lerro, Jospeh Judge & Jan Reeves)
Cash is King LLC (Charles Zacney, Robert Brittingham, Jospeh Lerro, Jospeh Judge & Jan Reeves)
Smarty Jones
Smarty Jones
Birdstone
Ghostzapper
Stewart Elliott
John Servis
Someday Farm (Patricia & Roy Jackson)
Stewart Elliot
John Servis
Someday Farm (Patricia & Roy Jackson)
Edgar Prado
Nick Zito
Marylou Whitney Stables
Smarty Jones
Funny Cide
Funny Cide
Empire Maker
Mineshaft
Jose Santos
Barclay Tagg
Sackatoga Stable (Jack Knowlton et al)
Jose Santos
Barclay Tagg
Sackatoga Stable (Jack Knowlton et al)
Jerry Bailey
Funny Cide
Bobby Frankel
Juddmonte Farms Inc. (Prince Khalid Abdullah)
Stonestreet Stables (Jess Jackson), Padua Stables (Satish Sanan), George Bolton & Midnight Cry Stables
War Emblem
War Emblem
Sarava
Victor Espinoza
Bob Baffert
The Thoroughbred Corp. (Prince Ahmed Salman)
Victor Espinoza
Bob Baffert
The Thoroughbred Corp. (Prince Ahmed Salman)
Edgar Prado
War Emblem
Ken McPeek
New Phoenix Stable (Gary Drake) & Mrs. Susan Roy
Azeri
Monarchos
Point Given
Point Given
Jorge Chavez
John Ward Jr.
John Oxley
Gary Stevens
Bob Baffert
The Thoroughbred Corp. (Prince Ahmed Salman)
Gary Stevens
Point Given
Bob Baffert
The Thoroughbred Corp. (Prince Ahmed Salman)
Fusaichi Pegasus
Red Bullet
Commendable
Tiznow
Kent Desormeaux
Neil Drysdale
Fusao Sekiguchi
Jerry Bailey
Joe Orseno
Stronach Stable (Frank Stronach)
Pat Day
D. Wayne Lukas
Bob & Beverly Lewis
Tiznow
Point Given
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1999
Charismatic
Charismatic
Lemon Drop Kid
Charismatic
Chris Antley
D. Wayne Lukas
Bob & Beverly Lewis
Chris Antley
D. Wayne Lukas
Bob & Beverly Lewis
Jose Santos
“Scotty” Schulhofer
Jeanne Vance
Charismatic
Skip Away
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
Real Quiet
Real Quiet
Victory Gallop-CAN
Kent Desormeaux
Bob Baffert
Mike Pegram
Kent Desormeaux
Bob Baffert
Mike Pegram
Gary Stevens
Real Quiet
Elliott Walden
Prestonwood Farm Inc. (Art, Jack & J.R. Preston)
Silver Charm
Silver Charm
Touch Gold
Favorite Trick
Gary Stevens
Bob Baffert
Bob & Beverly Lewis
Gary Stevens
Bob Baffert
Bob & Beverly Lewis
Chris McCarron
David Hofmans
Silver Charm
Grindstone
Louis Quatorze
Editor’s Note
Cigar
Jerry Bailey
D. Wayne Lukas
Overbrook Farm (William T. Young)
Pat Day
Nick Zito
Bill Condren, Joe Cornacchia & Georgia Hofmann
Rene Douglas
D. Wayne Lukas
Overbrook Farm (William T. Young)
Skip Away
Thunder Gulch
Timber Country
Thunder Gulch
Cigar
Gary Stevens
D. Wayne Lukas
Michael Tabor
Pat Day
D. Wayne Lukas
Gary Stevens
D. Wayne Lukas
Michael Tabor
Thunder Gulch
Overbrook Farm (William T. Young) & Gainesway Stable (Robert Lewis & Graham Beck)
Stonerside Stable (Bob & Janice McNair) & Frank Stronach
Go for Gin
Tabasco Cat
Tabasco Cat
Holy Bull
Chris McCarron
Nick Zito
Bill Condren & Joe Cornacchia
Pat Day
D. Wayne Lukas
Overbrook Farm & David P. Reynolds
Pat Day
D. Wayne Lukas
Overbrook Farm & David P. Reynolds
Holy Bull
Sea Hero
Prairie Bayou
Colonial Affair
Kotashaan-FR
Jerry Bailey
Mac Miller
Rokeby Stable (Paul Mellon)
Mike Smith
Tom Bohannan
Loblolly Stable (John E. Anthony)
Julie Krone
“Scotty” Schulhofer
Prairie Bayou
Lil E. Tee
Pine Bluff
A.P. Indy
A.P. Indy
Pat Day
Lynn Whiting
Cal Partee
Chris McCarron
Tom Bohannan
Loblolly Stable (John E. Anthony)
Eddie Delahoussaye
Neil Drysdale
Tomonori Tsurumaki
A.P. Indy
Strike the Gold
Hansel
Hansel
Black Tie Affair
Chris Antley
Nick Zito
Bill Condren, Joe Cornacchia & B. Giles Brophy
Jerry Bailey
Frank Brothers
Lazy Lane Farms (Joe L. Allbritton)
Jerry Bailey
Frank Brothers
Lazy Lane Farms (Joe L. Allbritton)
Hansel
Unbridled
Summer Squall
Go and Go-IRE
Criminal Type
Craig Perret
Carl Nafzger
Frances A. Genter Stable Inc.
Pat Day
Neil Howard
Dogwood Stable (Cot Campbell et al)
Mick Kinane
Dermot Weld
Moyglare Stud Farm (Walter Haefner)
Unbridled
Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence
Easy Goer
Sunday Silence
Pat Valenzuela
Charlie Whittingham
Pat Valenzuela
Charlie Whittingham
Sunday Silence
Arthur Hancock III, Ernest Gaillard, & Charlie Whittingham
Arthur Hancock III, Ernest Gaillard, & Charlie Whittingham
Pat Day
Shug McGaughey III
Ogden Phipps
f-Winning Colors
Risen Star
Risen Star
Alysheba
Gary Stevens
D. Wayne Lukas
Eugene Klein
Eddie Delahoussaye
Louie Roussel III
Eddie Delahoussaye
Louie Roussel III
Risen Star
Louie Roussel III & Lamarque Stable (Ronnie Lamaeque)
Louie Roussel III & Lamarque Stable (Ronnie Lamaeque)
Alysheba
Alysheba
Bet Twice
Chris McCarron
Jack Van Berg
Dorothy & Pamela Scharbauer
Chris McCarron
Jack Van Berg
Dorothy & Pamela Scharbauer
Craig Perret
Alysheba
“Jimmy” Croll
Blanche P. Levy & Cisley Stable (Robert Levy et al)
Ferdinand
Snow Chief
Danzig Connection
Lady’s Secret
Bill Shoemaker
Charlie Whittingham
Elizabeth Keck
Alex Solis
Mel Stute
Carl Grinstead & Ben Rochelle
Chris McCarron
Woody Stephens
Henryk deKwiatkowski
Snow Chief
Spend a Buck
Tank’s Prospect
Creme Fraiche
Spend a Buck
Angel Cordero Jr.
Cam Gambolati
Hunter Farm (Dennis Diaz)
Pat Day
D. Wayne Lukas
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Klein
Eddie Maple
Woody Stephens
Brushwood Stable
Spend a Buck
Swale
Gate Dancer
Swale
John Henry
Laffit Pincay Jr.
Woody Stephens
Claiborne Farm (Seth Hancock)
Angel Cordero Jr.
Jack Van Berg
Ken Opstein
Laffit Pincay Jr.
Woody Stephens
Claiborne Farm (Seth Hancock)
Swale
Sunny’s Halo-CAN
Deputed Testamony
Caveat
All Along-FR
Eddie Delahoussaye
David Cross Jr.
D.J. Foster Racing Stable
Donnie Miller Jr.
Bill Boniface
Francis P. Sears
Laffit Pincay Jr.
Woody Stephens
August Belmont IV
Slew o’Gold
Centennial Farms (Donald V. Little Sr. & Donald V. Little Jr.)
Ferdinand
Gato Del Sol
Aloma’s Ruler
Conquistador Cielo
Conquistador Cielo
Eddie Delahoussaye
Eddie Gregson
Arthur Hancock III & Leone Peters
Jack Kaenel
John Lenzini Jr.
Nathan Scherr
Laffit Pincay Jr.
Woody Stephens
Henryk deKwiatkowski
Conquistador Cielo
Pleasant Colony
Pleasant Colony
Summing
John Henry
Jorge Velasquez
John Campo
Buckland Farm (Thomas Evans)
Jorge Velasquez
John Campo
Buckland Farm (Thomas Evans)
George Martens
Luis Barrera
Charles T. Wilson Jr.
Pleasant Colony
f-Genuine Risk
Codex
Temperence Hill
Spectacular Bid
Jacinto Vasquez
LeRoy Jolley
Mrs. Bertram (Diana) Firestone
Angel Cordero Jr.
D. Wayne Lukas
Tartan Stable (Mrs. James Binger)
Eddie Maple
Joe Cantey
Loblolly Stable (John E. Anthony)
Temperence Hill
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1979
Spectacular Bid
Spectacular Bid
Coastal
Affirmed
Ronnie Franklin
Grover “Bud” Delp
Hawksworth Farm (Harry, Teresa & Tom Meyerhoff)
Ronnie Franklin
Grover “Bud” Delp
Hawksworth Farm (Harry, Teresa & Tom Meyerhoff)
Ruben Hernandez
David Whiteley
William Haggin Perry
Spectacular Bid
Affirmed
Affirmed
Affirmed
Affirmed
Steve Cauthen
Laz Barrera
Harbor View Farm (Louis & Patrice Wolfson)
Steve Cauthen
Laz Barrera
Harbor View Farm (Louis & Patrice Wolfson)
Steve Cauthen
Affirmed
Laz Barrera
Harbor View Farm (Louis & Patrice Wolfson)
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
1972
1971
1970
1969
1968
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1962
1961
1960
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew
Jean Cruguet
Billy Turner Jr.
Karen Taylor
Jean Cruguet
Billy Turner Jr.
Karen Taylor
Jean Cruguet
Billy Turner Jr.
Karen Taylor
Seattle Slew
Bold Forbes
Elocutionist
Bold Forbes
Forego
Angel Cordero Jr.
Laz Barrera
E. Rodriguez Tizol
John Lively
Paul Adwell
Eugene C. Cashman
Angel Cordero Jr.
Laz Barrera
E. Rodriguez Tizol
Bold Forbes
Foolish Pleasure
Master Derby
Avatar
Forego
Jacinto Vasquez
LeRoy Jolley
John Greer
Darrel McHargue
W.E. “Smiley” Adams
Golden Chance Farm Inc. (Mrs. R.E. Lehmann et al)
Bill Shoemaker
Tommy Doyle
Arthur A. Seeligson Jr.
Wajima
Cannonade
Little Current
Little Current
Forego
Angel Cordero Jr.
Woody Stephens
John Olin
Miguel Rivera
Thomas “Lou” Rondinello
Darby Dan Farm (John Galbreath)
Miguel Rivera
Thomas “Lou” Rondinello
Darby Dan Farm (John Galbreath)
Little Current
Secretariat
Secretariat
Secretariat
Secretariat
Ron Turcotte
Lucien Laurin
Meadow Stable (Penny Chenery)
Ron Turcotte
Lucien Laurin
Meadow Stable (Penny Chenery)
Ron Turcotte
Lucien Laurin
Meadow Stable (Penny Chenery)
Secretariat
Riva Ridge
Bee Bee Bee
Riva Ridge
Secretariat
Ron Turcotte
Lucien Laurin
Meadow Stable (Penny Chenery)
Eldon Nelson
Del Carroll
William S. Farish III
Ron Turcotte
Lucien Laurin
Meadow Stable (Penny Chenery)
Key to the Mint
Canonero II
Canonero II
Pass Catcher
Ack Ack
Gustavo Avila
Juan Arias
Edgar Caibett
Gustavo Avila
Juan Arias
Edgar Caibett
Walter Blum
Eddie Yowell
October House Farm (Peter Kissel)
Canonero II
Dust Commander
Personality
High Echelon
Fort Marcy / Personality
Mike Manganello
Don Combs
Robert Lehmann
Eddie Belmonte
John William Jacobs
Mrs. Ethel D. Jacobs
John Rotz
John Jacobs
Ethel Jacobs
Personality
Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince
Arts And Letters
Arts And Letters
Bill Hartack
Johnny Longden
Frank McMahon
Bill Hartack
Johnny Longden
Frank McMahon
Braulio Bazea
Elliott Burch
Rokeby Stables (Paul Mellon)
Arts And Letters
Forward Pass
Forward Pass
Stage Door Johnny
Dr. Fager
Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela
Henry Forrest
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela
Henry Forrest
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Heliodoro Gustines
John Gaver Sr.
Greentree Stable (Joan & Jock Whitney)
Forward Pass
Proud Clarion
Damascus
Damascus
Damascus
Bobby Ussery
Loyd “Boo” Gentry Jr.
Darby Dan Farm (John Galbreath)
Bill Shoemaker
Frank Whiteley Jr.
Edith W. Bancroft
Bill Shoemaker
Frank Y. Whiteley Jr.
Edith W. Bancroft
Damascus
Kauai King
Kauai King
Amberoid
Buckpasser
Don Brumfield
Henry Forrest
Ford Stable (Michael Ford)
Don Brumfield
Henry Forrest
Ford Stable (Michael Ford)
Bill Boland
Lucien Laurin
Reginald N. Webster
Buckpasser
Lucky Debonair
Tom Rolfe
Hail to All
Moccasin / Roman Brother
Bill Shoemaker
Frank Catrone
Ada Rice
Ron Turcotte
Frank Whiteley Jr.
Powhatan (Raymond Guest)
Johnny Sellers
Eddie Yowell
Mrs. Ben Cohen
Tom Rolfe
Northern Dancer-CAN
Northern Dancer-CAN
Quadrangle
Kelso
Bill Hartack
Horatio Luro
Windfields Farm (E.P. Taylor)
Bill Hartack
Horatio “Senor” Luro
Windfields Farm (E.P. Taylor)
Manny Ycaza
Elliott Burch
Rokeby Stables (Paul Mellon)
Northern Dancer-CAN
Chateaugay
Candy Spots
Chateaugay
Kelso
Braulio Baeza
James P. Conway
Darby Dan Farm (John Galbreath)
Bill Shoemaker
Mesh Tenney
Rex Ellsworth
Braulio Baeza
James P. Conway
Darby Dan Farm (John Galbreath)
Chateaugay
Decidedly
Greek Money
Jaipur
Kelso
Bill Hartack
Horatio Luro
El Peco Ranch (George Pope Jr.)
John Rotz
Virgil “Buddy” Raines
Brandywine Stable (Donald Ross)
Bill Shoemaker
W.F. “Bert” Mulholland
George D. Widener
Jaipur
Carry Back
Carry Back
Sherluck
Kelso
Johnny Sellers
Jack Price
Katherine Price
Johnny Sellers
Jack Price
Katherine Price
Braulio Baeza
Harold Young
Jacob Sher
Carry Back
Venetian Way
Bally Ache
Celtic Ash-GB
Kelso
Bill Hartack
Victor Sovinski
Sunny Blue Farm (Issac Blumberg)
Bobby Ussery
James Pitt
Turfland (Joseph & Norma Arnold et al)
Bill Hartack
Tom Barry
Green Dunes Farm (William V. Neff)
Kelso
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1959
Tomy Lee-GB
Royal Orbit
Sword Dancer
Sword Dancer
Bill Shoemaker
Frank Childs
Fred & Juliette Turner Jr.
Bill Harmatz
Reggie Cornell
Jacques Braunstein Estate
Bill Shoemaker
Elliott Burch
Brookmeade Stable (Mrs. I.D. Sloane)
Sword Dancer
Tim Tam
Tim Tam
Cavan-IRE
Round Table
Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela
H. A. “Jimmy” Jones
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela
H.A. “Jimmy” Jones
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Pete Anderson
Tom Barry
J. E. O’Connell
Tim Tam
1958
1957
1956
1955
1954
1953
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
Iron Liege
Bold Ruler
Gallant Man-GB
Dedicate / Bold Ruler
Bill Hartack
H. A. “Jimmy” Jones
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Eddie Arcaro
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Wheatley Stable (Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps)
Bill Shoemaker
John Nerud
Ralph Lowe
Bold Ruler
Needles
Fabius
Needles
Swaps
Dave Erb
Hugh Fontaine
D & H Stable (Jack Dudley & Bonnie Heath)
Bill Hartack
H.A. “Jimmy” Jones
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Dave Erb
Hugh Fontaine
D & H Stable (Jack Dudley & Bonnie Heath)
Needles
Swaps
Nashua
Nashua
Nashua
Bill Shoemaker
Mesh Tenney
Rex Ellsworth
Eddie Arcaro
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Jr.)
Eddie Arcaro
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Nashua
Determine
Hasty Road
High Gun
Native Dancer
Ray York
Willie Molter
Andy Crevolin
John Adams
Harry Trotsek
Hasty House Farm (Mr. & Mrs. A.E. Reuben)
Eric Guerin
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
High Gun
Dark Star
Native Dancer
Native Dancer
Tom Fool
Henry Moreno
Eddie Hayward
Cain Hoy Stable (Harry Guggenheim)
Eric Guerin
William Winfrey
A.G. Vanderbilt
Eric Guerin
Bill Winfrey
Alfred G. Vanderbilt
Native Dancer
Hill Gail
Blue Man
One Count
Native Dancer / One Count
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Lucille Park Wright Markey)
Conn McCreary
Woody Stephens
White Oak Stable (A.W. Abbott)
Eddie Arcaro
Oscar White
Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords
One Count
Count Turf
Bold
Counterpoint
Counterpoint
Conn McCreary
Sol Rutchick
Jack Amiel
Eddie Arcaro
Preston Burch
Brookmeade Stable (Mrs. I.D. Sloane)
David Gorman
Sylvester “Syl” Veitch
Cornelius Vanderbilt “C.V.” Whitney
Counterpoint
Middleground
Hill Prince
Middleground
Hill Prince
Bill Boland
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Eddie Arcaro
Homer “Casey” Hayes
C. T. Chenery
Bill Boland
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Hill Prince
Ponder
Capot
Capot
Capot / Coaltown
Steve Brooks
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Ted Atkinson
John Gaver Sr.
Greentree Stable (Joan & Jock Whitney)
Ted Atkinson
John Gaver Sr.
Greentree Stable (Joan & Jock Whitney)
Capot
Citation
Citation
Citation
Citation
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Citation
Jet Pilot
Faultless
Phalanx
Armed
Eric Guerin
Tom Smith
Maine Chance Farm (Elizabeth Graham)
Doug Dodson
H.A. “Jimmy” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Ruperto Donoso
Sylvester “Syl” Veitch
Cornelius Vanderbilt “C.V.” Whitney
Phalanx
Assault
Assault
Assault
Assault
Warren Mehrtens
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Warren Mehrtens
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Warren Mehrtens
Max Hirsch
King Ranch (Robert J. Kleberg)
Assault
Hoop Jr.
Polynesian
Pavot
Busher
Eddie Arcaro
Ivan Parke
Fred Hooper
Wayne Wright
Morris Dixon
Mrs. P. A. B. Widener
Eddie Arcaro
Oscar White
Walter M. Jeffords
Fighting Step
Pensive
Pensive
Bounding Home
Twilight Tear
Conn McCreary
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Conn McCreary
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Gayle L. Smith
Matt Brady
William Ziegler Jr.
By Jimminy
Count Fleet
Count Fleet
Count Fleet
Count Fleet
Johnny Longden
Don Cameron
Mrs. John D. Hertz (Fannie Kesner)
Johnny Longden
Don Cameron
Mrs. John D. Hertz (Fannie Kesner)
Johnny Longden
Don Cameron
Mrs. John D. Hertz (Fannie Kesner)
Count Fleet
Shut Out
Alsab
Shut Out
Whirlaway
Wayne Wright
John Gaver Sr.
Greentree Stable (Helen Hay Whitney)
Basil James
August “Sarge” Swenke
Mrs. A. Sabath
Eddie Arcaro
John Gaver Sr.
Greentree Stable (Helen Hay Whitney)
Alsab
Whirlaway
Whirlaway
Whirlaway
Whirlaway
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Calumet Farm (Warren Wright)
Whirlaway
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1940
Gallahadion
Bimelech
Bimelech
Challedon
Carroll Bierman
Roy Waldron
Milky Way Farm (Ethel Mars)
Fred Smith
Bill Hurley
Col. E. R. Bradley
Fred Smith
Bill Hurley
Col. E. R. Bradley
Bimelech
Johnstown
Challedon
Johnstown
Challedon
Jimmy Stout
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
George Seabo
Louis Schaefer
W. L. Brann
Jimmy Stout
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Challedon
Lawrin
Dauber
Pasteurized
Seabiscuit
Eddie Arcaro
Ben “Plain Ben” Jones
Woolford Farm (Herbert Woolf)
Maurice “Moose” Peters
Dick Handlen
Foxcatcher Farms (William duPont Jr.)
Jimmy Stout
George Odom
Mrs. Plunkett Stewart
Stagehand
1939
1938
1937
1936
1935
1934
1933
1932
1931
1930
1929
1928
1927
1926
1925
1924
1923
1922
1921
War Admiral
War Admiral
War Admiral
War Admiral
Charlie Kurtsinger
George Conway
Glen Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
Charlie Kurtsinger
George Conway
Glen Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
Charlie Kurtsinger
George Conway
Glen Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
War Admiral
Bold Venture
Bold Venture
Granville
Granville
Ira Hanford
Max Hirsch
Morton Schwartz
Ira “Babe” Hanford
Max Hirsch
Morton Schwartz
Jimmy Stout
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Granville
Omaha
Omaha
Omaha
Discovery
Willie “Smokey” Saunders
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Jr.)
Willie “Smokey” Saunders
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Jr.)
Willie “Smokey” Saunders
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Jr.)
Omaha
Cavalcade
High Quest
Peace Chance
Cavalcade
Mack Garner
Robert “Whistling Bob” Smith
Brookmeade Stable (Isabel Dodge Sloane)
Robert Jones
Robert “Whistling Bob” Smith
Brookmeade Stable (Isabel Dodge Sloane)
Wayne Wright
Pete Coyne
Joseph E. Widener
Cavalcade
Brokers Tip
Head Play
Hurryoff
Equipoise
Don Meade
Herbert J. “Derby Dick” Thompson
Col. E. R. Bradley
Charlie Kurtsinger
T. P. Hayes
Mrs. S. B. Mason
Mack Garner
Henry McDaniel
Joseph E. Widener
Head Play
Burgoo King
Burgoo King
Faireno
Equipoise
Eugene James
Herbert J. “Derby Dick” Thompson
Col. E. R. Bradley
Eugene James
Herbert J. “Derby Dick” Thompson
Col. E. R. Bradley
Tom Malley
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Burgoo King / Faireno
Twenty Grand
Mate
Twenty Grand
Twenty Grand
Charlie Kurtsinger
James Rowe Jr.
Greentree Stable (Helen Hay Whitney)
George Ellis
James Healy
A. C. Bostwick
Charlie Kurtsinger
James Rowe Jr.
Greentree Stable (Helen Hay Whitney)
Twenty Grand
Gallant Fox
Gallant Fox
Gallant Fox
Gallant Fox
Earl Sande
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Earl Sande
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Jr.)
Earl Sande
“Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons
Belair Stud (William Woodward Sr.)
Gallant Fox
Clyde Van Dusen
Dr. Freeland
Blue Larkspur
Blue Larkspur
Linus “Pony” McAtee
Clyde Van Dusen
Herbert Gardner
Louis Schaefer
Thomas J. Healy
W. J. Salmon
Mack Garner
C. Hastings
Col. E. R. Bradley
Blue Larkspur
Reigh Count
Victorian
Vito
Reigh Count
Charles “Chick” Lang
Bert Michel
Mrs. John D. Hertz (Fannie Kesner)
Raymond “Sonny” Workman
James Rowe Jr.
Harry Payne Whitney
Clarence Kummer
Max Hirsch
A. H. Cosden
Reigh Count
Whiskery
Bostonian
Chance Shot
Chance Play
Linus “Pony” McAtee
Fred Hopkins
Harry Payne Whitney
Alf “Whitey” Abel
Fred Hopkins
Harry Payne Whitney
Earl Sande
Pete Coyne
Joseph E. Widener
Whiskery
Bubbling Over
Display
Crusader
Crusader
Albert Johnson
Herbert J. “Derby Dick” Thompson
Idle Hour Stock Farm (Col. E. R. Bradley)
Johnny “Sit Still” Maiben
Thomas J. Healy
W. J. Salmon
Albert Johnson
George Conway
Glenn Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
Crusader
Flying Ebony
Conventry
American Flag
Sarazen
Earl Sande
William Duke
Gifford Cochran
Clarence Kummer
William Duke
G. A. Cochran
Albert Johnson
G.R. Tompkins
Glenn Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
American Flag
Black Gold
f-Nellie Morse
Mad Play
Sarazen
John “Sit Still” Mooney
Hanly Webb
Rosa Hoots
John Merimee
Albert Gordon
H. C. Fisher
Earl Sande
Sam Hildreth
Rancocas Stable (Harry Ford Sinclair)
Sarazen
Zev
Vigil
Zev
Zev
Earl Sande
David Leary
Rancocas Stable (Harry Ford Sinclair)
Benny Marinelli
Thomas J. Healy
W. J. Salmon
Earl Sande
Sam Hildreth
Rancocas Stable (Harry Ford Sinclair)
Zev / In Memoriam
Morvich
Pillory
Pillory
Exterminator
Albert Johnson
Fred Burlew
Ben Block
Louis Morris
Thomas J. Healy
R. T. Wilson Jr.
C. H. Miller
Thomas Healy
R. T. Wilson
Whiskaway
Behave Yourself
Broomspun
Grey Lag
Grey Lag
Charles Thompson
Herbert J. “Derby Dick” Thompson
Col. E. R. Bradley
Frank Coltiletti
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Harry Payne Whitney
Earl Sande
Sam Hildreth
Rancocas Stable (Harry Ford Sinclair)
Grey Lag
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1920
Paul Jones
Man o’ War
Man o’ War
Man o’ War
Ted Rice
William “Uncle Billy” Garth
Ral Parr
Clarence Kummer
Louis Feustel
Glen Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
Clarence Kummer
Louis Feustel
Glen Riddle Farm (Samuel D. Riddle)
Man o’ War
1919
1918
1917
1916
1915
1914
1913
1912
1911
1910
1909
1908
1907
1906
1905
1904
1903
1902
1901
Sir Barton
Sir Barton
Sir Barton
Sir Barton
Johnny Loftus
H. Guy “Hard Guy” Bedwell
J. K. L. Ross
Johnny Loftus
H. Guy “Hard Guy” Bedwell
J. K. L. Ross
Johnny Loftus
H. Guy “Hard Guy” Bedwell
J. K. L. Ross
Sir Barton
Exterminator
War Cloud (Div. 1) / Jack Hare Jr. (Div. 2)
Johren-GB
Johren
William Knapp
Henry McDaniel
Willis Sharpe Kilmer
John Loftus / Charles Peak
W. B. Jennings / F. D. Weir
A. K. Macomber / W. E. Applegate
Frank Robinson
Albert Simons
Harry Payne Whitney
Johren
Omar Khayyam-GB
Kalitan
Hourless-GB
Old Rosebud
Charles Borel
C. T. Patterson
C. K. G. Billings & Frederick Johnson
Everett Haynes
Bill Hurley
Col. E.R. Bradley
James Butwell
Sam Hildreth
Major August Belmont Jr.
Hourless / Omar Khayyam-GB
George Smith
Damrosch
Friar Rock
Friar Rock
John Loftus
Hollie Hughes
John Sanford
Linus “Pony” McAtee
Albert Weston
J. K. L. Ross
E. Haynes
Sam Hildreth
Major August Belmont Jr.
Friar Rock
f-Regret
f-Rhine Maiden
The Finn
Regret
Joe Notter
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Harry Payne Whitney
D. Hoffman
F. Devers
E. F. Whitney
George Byrne
Edward W. Heffner
Henry C. Hallenbeck
The Finn
Old Rosebud
Holiday
Luke McLuke
Roamer
John McCabe
Frank Weir
Hamilton Applegate
Andy Schuttinger
J. S. Healy
Mrs. A. Barklie
Merritt Buxton
J. F. Schorr
John W. Schorr
Roamer
Donerail
Buskin
Prince Eugene
Whisk Broom II
Roscoe Goose
T. P. Hayes
T. P. Hayes
James Butwell
J. Whalen
J. Whalen
Roscoe Troxler
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Harry Payne Whitney
Rock View
Worth
Col. Holloway
The Manager
Carroll Schilling
Frank Taylor
H. C. Hallenbeck
Clarence Turner
D. Woodford
Beverwyck Stable (F.J. Nolan)
The Manager
Meridian
Watervale
Meridian
George Archibald
Albert Ewing
R. F. Carman
Eddie Dugan
J. Whalen
A. Belmont
Meridian
Donau
Layminster
Sweep
Fitz Herbert
Fred Herbert
George Ham
William Gerst
Roy Estep
J. S. Healey
E. B. Cassatt
James Butwell
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
James R. Keene
Sweep / Dalmatian
Wintergreen
Effendi
Joe Madden
Fitz Herbert
Vincent Powers
Charles Mack
Jerome B. Respess
William Doyle
F. C. Frisbie
W. T. Ryan
Eddie Dugan
Sam Hildreth
S. C. Hildreth
Fritz Herbert
Stone Street
Royal Tourist
Colin
Colin
Arthur Pickens
John Hall
C. E. & J. W. Hamilton
Eddie Dugan
Andrew Jackson Joyner
Harry Payne Whitney
Joe Notter
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
James R. Keene
Colin
Pink Star
Don Enrique
Peter Pan
Colin
Andy Minder
W. H. Fizer
J. Hal Woodford
G. Mountain
J. Whalen
Major August Belmont
G. Mountain
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
James R. Keene
Peter Pan
Sir Huon
f-Whimsical
Burgomaster
Burgomaster
Roscoe Troxler
Peter Coyne
George J. Long (Bashford Manor)
W. Miller
T. J. Gaynor
T. J. Gaynor
Lucien Lyne
John W. Rogers
Harry Payne Whitney
Burgomaster / Accountant
Agile
Cairngorm
f-Tanya
Sysonby
Jack Martin
Robert Tucker
Sam S. Brown
W. Davis
A. J. Joyner
Sydney Paget
Gene Hildebrand
John W. Rogers
Harry Payne Whitney
Sysonby
Elwood
Bryn Mawr
Delhi
Beldame
Frank “Shorty” Prior
Charles Durnell
Mrs. Charles (Laska) Durnell
Hildebrand
W. F. Pressgrave
Goughacres Stable
George Odom
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
James R. Keene
Delhi / Ort Wells
Judge Himes
f-Flocarline
Africander
Hermis
Harold “Hal” Booker
J. P. Mayberry
Charles R. Ellison
W. Gannon
H. C. Riddle
M. H. Tichenor
John Bullman
R. O. Miller
Hampton Stable
Africander
Alan-a-Dale
Old England
Masterman
Hermis
Jimmy Winkfield
Thomas C. McDowell
Thomas C. McDowell
L. Jackson
G. B. Morris
G. B. Morris
John Bullman
John J. Hyland
Major August Belmont Jr.
Hermis
His Eminence
The Parader
Commando
Commando
Jimmy Winkfield
Frank B. Van Meter
Frank B. Van Meter
Landry
T. J. Healy
R. T. Wilson
H. Spencer
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
James R. & F. P. Keene
Commando
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1900
Lieutenant Gibson
Hindus
Ildrim
Commando
Jimmy Boland
Charles Hughes
Charles H. Smith
H. Spencer
J. H. Morris
George J. Long (Bashford Manor)
Nash Turner
H. Eugene Leigh
H. Eugene Leigh
Kilmarnock
Manuel
Half Time
Jean Beraud
Imp
Fred “Flying Dutchman” Taral
Robert Walden
A. H. & D. H. Morris
R. Clawson
F. McCabe
P. J. Dwyer
R. Clawson
Sam Hildreth
Sydney Paget
Ethelbert
Plaudit
Sly Fox
Bowling Brook-GB
Hamburg
Willie Simms
John E. Madden (Albert Simons)
John E. Madden
Willie Simms
H. Campbell
C. F. Dwyer
Fred Littlefield
R. Wyndham Walden
A.H. & D.H. Morris
Hamburg
Typhoon II
Paul Kauvar
Scottish Chieftain
Ornament
Fred “Buttons” Garner
J. C. Chan
J. C. Chan
Thorpe
T. P. Hayes
T. P. Hayes
J. Scherrer
Matt Byrnes
Marcus Daly
Ornament
Ben Brush
Margrave
Hastings
Requital
Willie Simms
Hardy Campbell
Mike F. Dwyer
H. Griffen
B. McClelland
Blemton Stable
Henry Griffin
John J. Hyland
Major August Belmont Jr.
Requital
Halma
Belmar
Belmar
Henry of Navarre
James “Soup” Perkins
Byron McClelland
Byron McClelland
Fred “Flying Dutchman” Taral
E. Feakes
Preakness Stable
Fred “Flying Dutchman” Taral
Edward Feakes
Preakness Stable
Keenan
Chant
Assignee
Henry of Navarre
Henry of Navarre
Frank Goodale
Eugene Leigh
Eugene Leigh & R. Rose
Fred “Flying Dutchman” Taral
W. Lakeland
J.R. & F.P. Keene
Willie Simms
Byron McClelland
Byron McClelland
Henry of Navarre / Domino
Lookout
Commanche
Domino
Eddie Kunze
William McDaniel
J. E. Cushing & J. Orth
Willie Simms
Gus Hannon
Empire Stable
Clifford / Morello
Azra
Patron
Tammany
Alonzo “Lonnie” Clayton
John Morris
Bashford Manor (George J. Long)
William Hayward
Louis Stewart
Louis Stewart
Tammany
Kingman
Foxford
Longstreet
Isaac Murphy
Dudley Allen
Jacobin Stable (K. Stone & Dudley Allen)
Ed Garrison
M. Donavan
C.E. Rand
Potomac
1899
1898
1897
1896
1895
1894
1893
1892
1891
1890
1889
1888
1887
1886
1885
1884
1883
1882
1881
Riley
Montague (5)
Burlington
Salvator
Isaac Murphy
Edward Corrigan
Ed Corrigan
J. Martin
Edward Freakes
Preakness Stable
Pat “Pike” Barnes
Albert Cooper
Hough Brothers
Tournament
Spokane
Buddhist
Eric
Salvator
Thomas Kiley
John Rodegap
Noah Armstrong
Anderson
J. Rogers
S. S. Brown
William Hayward
John Huggins
A.J. Cassatt
Salvator
MacBeth II
Refund
Sir Dixon
Emperor of Norfolk
George Covington
John Campbell
Chicago Stable (Hankins & Johnson)
Littlefield
R. W. Walden
R. W. Walden
Jim McLaughlin
Frank McCabe
Major August Belmont Jr.
Emperor of Norfolk / Sir Dixon
Montrose
Dunboyne
Hanover
Hanover
Isaac Lewis
John McGinty
Labold Brothers (Alexander & Ike)
William “Billy” Donohue
W. Jennings
W. Jennings
Jim McLaughlin
Frank McCabe
Dwyer Brothers (Mike & Phil)
Hanover
Ben Ali
The Bard
Inspector B.
Paul Duffy
Jim Murphy
James B. Haggin
Fisher
J. Huggins
A. J. Cassatt
Jim McLaughlin
Frank McCabe
Dwyer Brothers (Mike & Phil)
Joe Cotton
Tecumseh
Tyrant
Erskine “Babe” Henderson
Abe Perry
J. T. Williams
J. McLaughlin
C. Littlefield
W. Donohue
Paul Duffy
W. Claypool
R. A. Haggin
Buchanan
Knight of Ellerslie
Panique
Isaac Murphy
William Bird
William Cottrill & Sam S. Brown
Fisher
T. B. Doswell
Thomas W. Doswell
Jim McLaughlin
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Dwyer Brothers (Mike & Phil)
Leonatus
Jacobus
George Kinney
William “Billy” Donohue
John McGinty
John P. Chinn & George Morgan
Barbee
R. Dwyer
James E. Kelley
Jim McLaughlin
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Dwyer Brothers (Mike & Phil)
Apollo
Vanguard
Forester
Babe Hurd
Green Morris
Green Morris & J. D. Patton
Costello
R. W. Walden
G. L. Lorillard
Jim McLaughlin
Lewis Stuart
Appleby & Johnson
Hindoo
Saunterer
Saunterer
Jim McLaughlin
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
Dwyer Brothers (Mike & Phil)
Costello
R. W. Walden
G. L. Lorillard
T. Costello
R. Wyndham Walden
G. L. Lorillard
Inspector B. / The Bard
Joe Cotton / Bersan
St. Saviour
Leonatus
Runnymede / Forester
Hindoo
Kentucky Derby Winner
Preakness Stakes Winner
Belmont Stakes Winner
Horse of the Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Champion 3yo
Year
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
1880
Fonso
Grenada
Grenada
George Garret Lewis
Tice Hutsell
J. S. Shawhan
L. Hughes
R. W. Walden
G. L. Lorillard
L. Hughes
R. Wyndham Walden
G. L. Lorillard
Lord Murphy
Harold
Spendthrift
Charlie Shauer
George Rice
George W. Darden & Co.
L. Hughes
R. W. Walden
G. L. Lorillard
George Evans
Thomas Puryear
James R. Keene
Day Star
Duke of Magenta
Duke of Magenta
Jimmy Carter
Lee Paul
T. J. Nichols
Holloway
R. W. Walden
G. L. Lorillard
L. Hughes
R. Wyndham Walden
G. L. Lorillard
Baden-Baden
Cloverbrook
Cloverbrook
William “Billy” Walker
Ed “Brown-Dick” Brown
Holloway
R. W. Walden
C. Holloway
Jeter Walden
1879
1878
1877
1876
1875
1874
1873
1872
Dan Swigert
E. A. Clabaugh
E. A. Clabaugh
Vagrant
Shirley
Algerine
Bobby Swim
James Williams
William Astor
Barbee
W. Brown
P. Lorillard
Billy Donohue
Major T. W. Doswell
Major T. W. Doswell
Aristides
Tom Ochiltree
Calvin
Oliver Lewis
Ansel Williamson
H. P. McGrath
L. Hughes
R. W. Walden
J. F. Chamberlin
Bobby Swim
Ansel Williamson
Price McGrath
Culpepper
Saxon-GB
Donohue
H. Gaffney
H. Gaffney
George Barbee
W. Prior
Pierre Lorillard
Survivor
Springbok
George Barbee
A. D. Pryor
J. Chamberlin
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
David McDaniel
David McDaniel
Duke of Magenta
Baden-Baden
Vigil / Vagrant
Tom Ochiltree
Acrobat
Joe Daniels
Harry Bassett
Walter Miller
David McDaniel
David McDaniel
1870
Falsetto
Joe Daniels
Jimmy Rowe Sr.
David McDaniel
David McDaniel
1871
Grenada
Harry Bassett
Kingfisher
Ed “Brown-Dick” Brown
Rollie Colston
Dan Swigert
1869
Fenian
C. Miller
Jacob Pincus
Major August Belmont Jr.
1868
General Duke
Bobby Swim
A. Thompson
McConnell & Harness
1867
f-Ruthless
Gilbert Patrick
A. J. Minor
F. Morris
NOTE: The current order of the Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont – has remained in place since 1931. On 11 occasions, the Preakness was run prior to the
Kentucky Derby, and twice – 1917 and 1922 – both were run on the same day. On 11 occasions, the Belmont was run prior to the Preakness, and both races were run on the same card at
Morris Park in 1890. The first Triple Crown winner Sir Barton captured the Kentucky Derby on May 10 and the Preakness four days later on May 14. He won the Belmont on June 11.
KENTUCKY DERBY
1 ¼ miles – 1896-present
1 ½ miles – 1875-95
Churchill Downs – 1875-present
PREAKNESS STAKES
1 mile – 1909-10
1 mile 70 yards – 1901-07
1 1/16 miles – 1894-1900, 1908
1 1/8 miles – 1911-24
1 3/16 miles – 1925-present
1 ¼ miles – 1889
1 ½ miles – 1873-88, 1890
Pimlico Race Course – 1873-89, 1909-present
Morris Park (New York) – 1890
Gravesend Park (New York) – 1894-1908
Not run 1891-93
BELMONT STAKES
1 1/8 miles – 1893-94
1 ¼ miles – 1890-92, 1895, 1904-05
1 3/8 miles – 1896-1903, 1906-1925
1 ½ miles – 1874-1889, 1926-present
1 5/8 miles – 1867-1873
Jerome Park – 1867-1889
Morris Park – 1890-1904
Belmont Park – 1905-present
Not run 1911-12
SELECT TRIPLE CROWN RECORDS
Most Wins, Jockey:
17, Eddie Arcaro (5 Kentucky Derby, 6 Preakness & 6 Belmont)
11, Bill Shoemaker
9, Pat Day
9, Bill Hartack
9, Earl Sande
9, Gary Stevens
Most Wins, Trainer:
14, D. Wayne Lukas (4 Kentucky Derby, 6 Preakness & 4 Belmont)
13, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons (3 Kentucky Derby, 4 Preakness & 6 Belmont)
11, James Rowe Sr.
11, R. Wyndham Walden
9, Max Hirsch
9, B.A. “Ben” Jones
8, Bob Baffert
Most Wins, Owner:
18, Calumet Farm (8 Kentucky Derby, 8 Preakness & 2 Belmont)
12, Belair Stud
10, Harry Payne Whitney
9, Col. E.R. Bradley
Most Wins, Breeder:
18, Calumet Farm (9 Kentucky Derby, 7 Preakness & 2 Belmont)
15, A.J. Alexander
12, Harry Payne Whitney
11, John E. Madden
10, Belair Stud
Best Record by Triple Crown Winner Through Series:
9-9-0-0, Seattle Slew (1977)
Worst Record by Triple Crown Winner Before Series:
0 wins in 6 starts, Sir Barton (1919)
Best Record by Triple Crown Winner as a 3-year-old:
8-8-0-0, War Admiral (1937)
Best Career Record by Triple Crown Winner:
17-14-2-0, Seattle Slew
21-16-4-1, Count Fleet
Largest Win Margin:
31 lengths, Secretariat (1973 Belmont Stakes)
Longest Period Between Triple Crown Winners:
35 years (1978 Affirmed to present)
Kentucky Derby Attendance & Handle (10-Year History)
Year
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
Attendance
164,906
151,616
165,307
164,858
155,804
153,563
157,770
156,635
157,536
156,435
On-Track Handle
$23,354,673
$21,104,341
$23,749,749
$23,441,879
$21,497,204
$21,191,305
$24,275,864
$24,065,098
$24,463,927
$22,768,539
Off-Track Handle
$163,284,751
$163,495,915
$163,211,106
$141,788,758
$141,251,932
$134,778,465
$140,392,312
$143,953,884
$150,665,163
$133,024,956
All-Sources Handle
$186,639,424
$184,600,256
$186,960,855
$165,230,636
$162,749,136
$155,969,770
$164,668,176
$168,018,982
$175,129,090
$155,793,495
TV Viewership
15.3 million
16.2 million
14.8 million
14.5 million
16.5 million
16.3 million
14.2 million
13.8 million
12.9 million
13.6 million
Preakness Stakes Attendance & Handle (10-Year History)
Year
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Attendance
123,469
117,203
121,309
107,398
95,760
77,850
112,222
121,263
118,402
115,318
112,668
In-State Handle
Out-State Handle
$7,657,513
$7,732,750
$7,891,816
$7,886,943
$9,411,606
$10,914,973
$10,935,010
$11,293,899
$10,309,013
$72,885,449
$68,643,939
$71,356,186
$78,797,464
$64,045,904
$76,279,188
$76,609,358
$79,734,805
$77,549,865
All-Sources Handle
$83,786,363
$81,940,233
$80,542,962
$76,376,689
$79,248,002
$86,684,407
$73,457,510
$87,194,161
$87,544,368
$91,028,704
$87,858,878
TV Viewership
9.6 million
9.7 million
8.1 million
8.8 million
8.4 million
7.8 million
7.9 million
8.4 million
10.1 million
9.3 million
11.6 million
Belmont Stakes Attendance & Handle (10-Year History)
Year
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Attendance
102,199
47,562
85,811
55,779
45,243
52,861
94,476
46,870
61,168
62,274
120,139
Year
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Attendance
390,574
316,381
372,427
328,035
296,807
284,274
364,468
324,768
337,106
334,027
372,861
On-Track Handle
$19,105,887
$10,700,326
$13,777,920
$10,098,573
$7,598,840
$8,998,630
$13,233,071
$8,843,720
$8,958,323
$9,463,840
$14,461,402
Off-Track Handle
$131,143,512
$77,951,697
$82,708,065
$71,146,753
$67,014,304
$80,707,364
$86,625,131
$66,744,172
$72,389,647
$75,118,109
$96,532,988
All-Sources Handle
$150,249,399
$88,652,023
$96,485,985
$81,245,326
$74,613,144
$89,705,994
$99,858,202
$75,587,892
$81,347,970
$84,581,949
$110,994,390
TV Viewership
20.6 million
7.0 million
7.7 million
6.8 million
3.4 million
4.9 million
13.1 million
4.9 million
5.0 million
7.7 million
21.6 million
All-Sources Handle
$420,675,186
$355,192,512
$363,989,802
$322,852,651
$316,610,282
$332,360,171
$337,983,888
$330,801,035
$344,021,428
$331,404,148
$341,701,557
TV Viewership
45.5 million
32.9 million
30.6 million
30.1 million
28.3 million
29.0 million
35.2 million
27.1 million
28.0 million
30.6 million
47.8 million
Triple Crown Attendance & Handle (10-Year History)
On-Track Handle
Off-Track Handle
$45,185,182
$41,273,202
$36,987,860
$38,076,878
$46,920,541
$43,823,791
$44,357,260
$43,526,278
$44,016,625
$318,804,620
$281,579,450
$279,622,422
$294,283,293
$291,063,347
$286,977,244
$299,664,168
$287,877,870
$297,684,932
TRIPLE CROWN NOTES
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The Triple Crown is a three-race series comprised of the $2 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands at 1 ¼
miles on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs; the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes, run over 1 3/16 miles two
weeks later at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course; and the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, run over 1 ½ miles three weeks
after the Preakness at New York’s Belmont Park.
Only 11 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – all colts – have won the Triple Crown, starting with Sir Barton in 1919.
The phrase “Triple Crown” was not associated with the three-race series until 1930, when Daily Racing Form writer
Charles Hatton coined it in describing the sweep of the races by Gallant Fox.
The Belmont Stakes, first run in 1867, is the oldest of the Triple Crown races. The Preakness, first run in 1873 is next,
and the Kentucky Derby was first run in 1875. The Derby, however, has never missed a year in the 140 years since and is
America’s oldest continuously-held sports event.
The current order of the Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont – has remained in place since 1931.
On 11 occasions, the Preakness was run prior to the Kentucky Derby, and twice – 1917 and 1922 – both were run on the
same day. On 11 occasions, the Belmont was run prior to the Preakness, and both races were run on the same card at
Morris Park in 1890.
Triple Crown winners have come in bunches: three in the 1930s (Gallant Fox in 1930, Omaha in 1935 and War Admiral
in 1937), four in the 1940s (Whirlaway in 1941, Count Fleet in 1943, Assault in 1946 and Citation in 1948) and three in
the 1970s (Secretariat in 1973, Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978).
It has been 37 years since Affirmed became the most recent Triple Crown winner in 1978 – the longest stretch without a
Triple Crown winner since the 25 years that separated the 1948 Triple Crown sweep by Citation and the 1973 Triple
Crown won by Secretariat.
Twenty-three horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but did not win the Belmont Stakes. The most
recent was California Chrome in 2014, who finished in a dead-heat for fourth in the Belmont Stakes.
Eleven horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, but failed to win the Preakness Stakes. The most recent
was Thunder Gulch in 1995.
Eighteen horses have won the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, but failed to win the Kentucky Derby. The most
recent was Afleet Alex in 2005.
The back-to-back Triple Crown triumphs by Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978 were the only Triple Crown
sweeps in successive years.
Gallant Fox (1930) is the only winner to sire a Triple Crown winner: Omaha (1935).
Seattle Slew (1977) is the only unbeaten winner of the Triple Crown. His victory in the Belmont Stakes was his ninth win
without a loss, but he was defeated in his first post-Triple Crown race.
Sir Barton, winner of the first Triple Crown in 1919, was winless in his first six races and was entered in the Kentucky
Derby to set the pace for a stablemate. But he won the Derby, then became the first to follow with wins in the Preakness
and Belmont Stakes.
Although only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown, Belair Stud (Gallant Fox, Omaha) and Calumet Farm (Whirlaway
and Citation) owned and bred two winners each.
Calumet Farm leads all owners with 18 Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (8 wins), Preakness (8) and Belmont (2).
Calumet Farm leads all breeders with 18 Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (9 wins), Preakness (7) and Belmont (2).
Nine of the 11 Triple Crown winners were bred by their owners. Only Sir Barton (1919) and Seattle Slew (1977) were
bred by someone other than their owners.
Assault (1946) was owned and bred by Texas’ famed King Ranch and is the only Triple Crown winner bred in the Lone
Star State.
Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro – who won a record-tying five Kentucky Derbies – is the only person to ride two
Triple Crown winners. He was aboard Calumet Farm’s Whirlaway and Citation for their wins in the Derby and their
Triple Crown sweeps.
Eddie Arcaro leads all jockeys with 17 Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (5 wins), Preakness (6) and Belmont (6).
Steve Cauthen, who was 18 when he piloted Affirmed to victory in the Kentucky Derby, is the youngest jockey to rider
the winner of a Triple Crown.
Hall of Famer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons is the only person to have trained two Triple Crown winners. He saddled
Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935) to complete the sweep in their 3-year-old seasons for Bel Air Stud.
Although Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has not won a Triple Crown, he has trained a record 14 winners of Triple
Crown races: Kentucky Derby (4 wins), Preakness (6) and Belmont (4).
The winner of the Kentucky Derby receives roses, the Preakness winner gets black-eyed susans and the Belmont Stakes
winner is presented with roses.
The trophy that goes to a horse that wins a Triple Crown – a three-sided vase with each equal side representing a jewel of
the Triple Crown – was commissioned in 1950 and created by artisans at Cartier Jewelry Company. The trophy is on
display at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONS
SIR BARTON: THE FIRST TRIPLE CROWN WINNER (1919)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
When Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1919, he did so
before the phrase “Triple Crown” was even invented. Indeed, the chestnut son of Star Shoot wasn’t even the most popular horse
of his era. The darling of the media that year was a freshman sensation named Man o’ War, a winner of nine of his 10 starts at age
2.
A grandson of 1893 English Triple Crown winner Isinglass, Sir Barton was bred by John Madden and Vivian Goach
and was foaled in the spring of 1917 at Hamburg Place, birthplace of Kentucky Derby winners Old Rosebud, Zev, Paul Jones,
and Flying Ebony. In 1918, as a 2-year-old, Sir Barton raced four times for his breeders, finishing out of the money each time. He
was then sold for $10,000 to Canadian businessman John Kenneth Levinson Ross, who had commanded a destroyer for the
Royal Canadian Navy during World War I, for which he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for distinguished naval
service.
Ross, whose father, James, founded the Canadian Pacific Railway, purchased his first racehorses in 1915, won the
Preakness in 1916 with Damrosch, and with H.G. Bedwell as his trainer, developed a powerful stable that led all owners in North
America in 1918 and 1919. While Ross dominated the sport with stars such as Billy Kelly, Boniface, Constancy, Milkmaid,
Cudgel and Hallucination, it was Sir Barton who brought him the greatest fame.
Plagued with soft feet that often caused him to lose his shoes during a race, Sir Barton was a cranky colt who disliked all
humans, with the possible exception of his groom. In two starts for Ross as a 2-year-old, he finished out of the money in the
Hopeful behind Eternal, but turned in a strong performance to finish second in the Futurity.
Still a maiden on Derby Day in his first start as a 3-year-old, Sir Barton was supposed to function as a rabbit in the “Run
for the Roses” for his more famous stablemate, Billy Kelly. The plan was for Sir Barton to wear out the favored Eternal, and set
the race up for Billy Kelly. However, no one told Sir Barton, and under jockey Johnny Loftus he won by five widening lengths.
Just four days later, on May 14, he won the Preakness at Pimlico, and, 10 days later, just to keep sharp, took the one-mile Withers
at Belmont Park.
Well-rested by the time the Belmont Stakes came around on June 11, Sir Barton had but two opponents in the race, which
was then contested at 1 3/8 miles. According to the chart, “Sir Barton, after beating the gate, indulged Natural Bridge with the
lead over the Belmont course, then easily took the lead after entering the main course and, drawing away, was easing up at the
end.”
His time of 2:17 2/5 was an American record.
The next day’s edition of the New York Times proclaimed: “SIR BARTON EASILY WINS THE BELMONT: Amazing
3-Year-Old Not Extended, Yet Sets New Track Record for 1 3/8 Miles,” and described his victory thusly: “During the last eighth,
Loftus sat still as a statue, holding his mount back as well as he could, but the beautiful chestnut could not be restrained entirely.
He was endowed with the spirit of competition and ran straight and true to the end, pulling up without showing the least trace of
weariness.”
Finishing up his sophomore campaign with a record of eight wins from 13 starts, Sir Barton won both divisional and
Horse of the Year honors, and began the following year as the top older horse. But at the same time, Man o’ War was achieving
near-immortal status, and the public was clamoring for a match race, which finally took place in Canada in the Kenilworth Gold
Cup. Sir Barton was no match for “Big Red,” losing by five lengths. He never won again, and was retired to stud, first in Virginia,
and then in Nebraska.
Eventually purchased by J.R. Hylton, who owned a few racehorses, the old champion lived out his final years on
Hylton’s farm in Douglas, Wyoming, where he died on Oct. 30, 1937. Originally buried near his paddock, in 1968 Sir Barton was
moved to Washington Park in Douglas, where he lies beneath a statue of a horse.
GALLANT FOX: THE FOX OF BELAIR (1930)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
Foaled at Claiborne Farm on March 23, 1927, Gallant Fox was a leggy bay son of the imported sire, Sir Gallahad III,
and William Woodward Sr.’s prized mare, Marguerite, also the dam of Belair Stud’s 1928 Wood Memorial and Carter winner
Fighting Fox and later, 1938 Travers winner Petee-Wrack.
After a spotty 2-year-old campaign that included victories in the Flash Stakes at Saratoga and the Junior Champion Stakes
at Aqueduct, Gallant Fox returned at age 3 a far more mature individual, impressive enough to entice Earle Sande, who had lost
considerable sum of money in the Wall Street crash of 1929, to come out of a two-year retirement to ride him.
Unlike his predecessor, Sir Barton, Gallant Fox was a gregarious animal who enjoyed the company of both humans and
horses. He preferred to work in company, and trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons would send out a veritable team of horses with him
in the mornings, relay-style, as no other horse in the barn was fast enough to keep up with him.
In 1930, the Preakness was run before the Derby, on May 9, and Sande’s ride was nothing short of brilliant. “Finding a
hole here and a gap there,” reported the New York Times, “Sande snaked his way through the field and was third at the far turn.”
Set down for the drive at the top of the stretch, the “Fox of Belair” fought his way to a three-quarter length victory.
Eight days later, Gallant Fox gave Sande his third Derby victory with an easy win over Gallant Knight at Churchill
Downs, but the handsome colt was not the favorite in the June 7 Belmont Stakes. That honor went to the previous year’s 2-yearold champion, Whichone, who had missed the Preakness and the Derby with knee problems, but had posted an eye-catching win
in his return in the Withers.
It was, at this time, that the phrase “Triple Crown” first began to be associated with the Derby, the Preakness and the
Belmont.
A column in the New York Times prior to the Belmont opined: “In America, the idea of the Triple Crown being duplicated
came when the Preakness, the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes reached such prominence as to overshadow all other
Spring 3-year-old events in this country. And as in England, to win the Triple Crown in America carries with it the utmost that can
be won on our race courses.”
Unimpressed by Whichone, Gallant Fox carried Sande to a wire-to-wire, three-length victory over the champion over a
track rated “good,” replacing Zev as the nation’s all-time money earner with the winner’s purse of $66,040, and more importantly,
cementing the notion of an American Triple Crown comprised of the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont.
Gallant Fox would go on to race six more times as a 3-year-old, piling up victories in the Dwyer, Arlington Classic,
Lawrence Realization, Saratoga Cup, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but his name would also be associated with one of the
biggest upsets in horse racing.
Sent off as the 1-2 favorite in the 1930 Travers Stakes over a muddy track at Saratoga Race Course, Gallant Fox would
get hooked into a speed duel with Whichone, setting the race up for 100-1 shot Jim Dandy, who went on to a stunning eightlength victory.
Retired at the end of the season, Gallant Fox returned to his birthplace and stood at Claiborne Farm for many years.
Among his progeny were 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha, 1936 Horse of the Year Granville, and 18 other stakes winners. He
died on Nov. 13, 1954, and is buried at Claiborne, not far from his sire.
OMAHA: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (1935)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
Omaha was one of only 18 foals from the first crop sired by Gallant Fox, and he came very close to filling the shoes of
his famous father. Although he was chestnut, not bay, Omaha sported a striking blaze down his handsome face and also inherited
his sire’s tall, leggy frame and penchant for speed.
And, much like his father, he came off an unremarkable freshman campaign to immediately stamp himself as a 3-year-old
to be reckoned with a powerful, four-length victory in an allowance at old Jamaica on April 22. The luster dimmed somewhat
when five days later, he finished third in the Wood, and he went postward at Churchill Downs as the second choice to a filly,
Nellie Flag, a daughter of Nellie Morse, the filly who won the 1924 Preakness Stakes, and a granddaughter of Man o’ War.
Caught in traffic, Nellie Flag would finish fourth as Omaha went onto an easy 1½-length victory over Roman Soldier to
win the roses; a week later, he had an even easier time with a six-length romp in the Preakness Stakes, this time as the favorite.
On May 25, trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons entered Omaha in the one-mile Withers at Belmont Park, but the colt could
manage only a second-place finish to Rosemont and doubts set in again.
Belmont Stakes Day dawned gray and damp, and after day-long downpours the track was officially sloppy by post time.
Four horses lined up against Omaha: Rosemont, Cold Shoulder, Firethorn, and Sir Beverley, and when the gates opened Omaha
was shuffled back. But jockey Willie Saunders quickly settled Omaha down, and, waiting patiently, finally sent the colt after
Firethorn with three furlongs to go. Firethorn proved tough, fighting on through the stretch but eventually yielding as Omaha
became the third Triple Crown winner by a 1½-length margin.
The Blood-Horse reported the scene thusly: “Amid hearty cheering, Saunders brought Omaha back to the winner’s circle,
the victory being the most popular of the day. There, despite a driving rain, waited Omaha’s owner, William Woodward, and the
New York banker led in, for the second time in his Turf career, a horse which had won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and
Belmont Stakes in his colors. The first, in 1930, was Gallant Fox, sire of the present 3-year-old champion, now indisputably at the
top of his division. Omaha was the third horse to complete the triple, Sir Barton having accomplished the feat in 1919, and was the
first to be sired by a horse which had won the three events.”
Despite the achievement, Omaha failed to garner Horse of the Year honors; that award went to Discovery, who would
defeat Omaha in the Brooklyn Handicap later in June.
Following victories in the Dwyer and the Arlington Classic, Woodward sent Omaha abroad, where he won the Victor
Wild Stakes and the Queen’s Plate at Kempton Park, losing the Ascot Gold Cup and the Princess of Wales stakes by a nose and a
neck, respectively.
He was returned to the United States to stand at stud at Claiborne, and in 1950, was sent to Grove Porter’s farm in
Nebraska. He was often taken to Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, paraded around the infield, and photographed with several small children
on his back.
When he died in 1957 at the age of 25, Omaha was buried in Ak-Sar-Ben’s “Circle of Champions.”
In 1995, when the racetrack closed, the land was taken over by the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His grave, and the
Circle of Champions, is now located next to a home economics and culinary arts building. Today, when a cooking project fails, the
unfortunate student is told to “Give it to Omaha” – in other words, throw it out the window.
WAR ADMIRAL: MAN O'WAR'S GREATEST SON (1937)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
War Admiral was Man o’ War’s best son even though he looked nothing like his massive, coppery red father. With a
sleek, mink-brown coat and a short, choppy stride that was deceivingly efficient, the little colt stood just 15.2 hands tall – a full
hand shorter than his sire – and became known to his fans as “The Mighty Atom,” or simply “The Admiral.”
He was high-strung individual, according to his exercise rider Tom Harbut, who said he “would jump three times every
time you took him out.” Owned by Glen Riddle Farm, trained by George Conway and ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, he came
off a solid 2-year-old season to win all eight of his starts at 3, becoming the first Triple Crown winner to go unbeaten in his
sophomore year.
He began his 3-year-old campaign at Havre de Grace, winning an allowance and the Chesapeake Stakes and earning the
favorite’s role for the May 8 Kentucky Derby. After War Admiral delayed the start for eight minutes, he cantered home a 1 3/4length winner over 2-year-old champion Pompoon, and boarded a train for Baltimore that same evening.
Neville Dunn, sports editor for the Lexington Herald, wrote: “A little brown horse that takes after his mammy in size but
runs like his daddy charged to victory in the 63rd Kentucky Derby ... and he won so easily ... that 65,000 fans nudged one another
in the ribs and said, ‘I told you so! I told you that War Admiral could run like Man o’ War.’”
The following Saturday in the Preakness, Pompoon proved a much tougher rival, but Samuel Riddle’s colt prevailed
after a thrilling stretch duel to win the second leg of the Triple Crown by a head.
The Belmont was the easiest race of the series, as he won by three lengths over Sceneshifter, but it came at a price.
Acting up at the start, repeatedly crashing through the gate and delaying the race for almost nine minutes, he stumbled at the break,
slicing off a piece of his right front heel. He left behind a trail of blood and beaten rivals as he clipped a fifth of a second off his
father’s track record for 1 ½ miles, winning in 2:28 1/5, and cooled out dead lame. Conway said the following day, “I don’t see
how he can be brought back to the races before fall, and even that is doubtful.”
He did return in October, winning an allowance, the Washington Handicap and the Pimlico Special, to earn Horse of the
Year honors with an 8-0 record, and the following year won nine of his 11 starts, losing only the Mass ‘Cap, in which he was
fourth, and the famous match race with Seabiscuit in the 1938 Pimlico Special.
Retired after winning his lone start at age 5, War Admiral became a successful sire; included among his many stakes
winners were Busanda and Busher. When he died in 1959, he was buried next to his father underneath the famous Man o’ War
statue at Faraway Farm near Lexington, Ky.
WHIRLAWAY: THE "RUNNINGEST" HORSE (1941)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
Eddie Arcaro called him the “runningest” horse he ever sat on. “Not the best, but the runningest,” he said.
His own trainer alternated between calling him dumb, stupid, and crazy. “You can teach him,” said Ben Jones, “but you
can’t teach him much.”
But to thousands of fans who bet their shirts on him and won, Calumet Farm’s Whirlaway was more than the fifth
Triple Crown winner.
A brilliant chestnut with an unusually long and thick tail and a penchant for making every race an adventure by running
all over the racetrack, in 1941 the crowd-pleasing “Mr. Longtail” often landed above Ted Williams, who batted .406 that year; Joe
DiMaggio, who put together a 56-game hitting streak, and Joe Louis, who successfully defended his heavyweight title seven
times, on the front pages of the nation’s sports sections.
Nearly 70 years after he swept through the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, there are but a few who
personally remember “Whirly,” but his legend lives on.
“When you watch films of his races, he was so visually impressive, not only in his stride but with that long tail flowing
out behind him,” said former jockey Richard Migliore. “He was so dominant.”
Whirlaway had, wrote Joe Palmer in The Blood-Horse, “an annihilating burst of speed which he can apparently turn on
at any stage of a race.” But he also was as nervous as a “cat in a room full of rocking hairs,” as Jones put it, and had a habit of
bolting to the outside coming off the turn. In the 1940 Saratoga Special, he went so wide he actually hit the outer rail, but still
managed to win.
By the spring of 1941, eight different jockeys had been aboard the brilliant yet unpredictable colt, and after he lost his
final two prep races, bearing out badly in the Blue Grass and the Derby Trial, Jones put a call into Arcaro, who was at the time
riding for Greentree.
“But I don’t want to ride him,” Arcaro said to Mrs. Joan Payson, daughter of the Greentree owner, who in no uncertain
terms told the jockey he would be aboard the willful colt, as she owned Mrs. Warren Wright of Calumet Farm a favor.
The day before the race, Jones came up with a plan to cure Whirlaway of his habit of heading straight to the outer rail. He
positioned himself on his pony about six feet off the rail at the head of the Churchill Downs homestretch, intending for Whirlaway
to turn the corner and charge between the fence and Jones’ pony.
“I said to myself, ‘If the old man is game enough to stand right there, I guess I’m game enough to run him down,’” Arcaro
said in his autobiography, “I Ride to Win.”
The strategy worked, and, equipped with a one-eyed blinker that Jones fashioned with his pocketknife, Whirlaway won
the Derby in a then-record 2:01 2/5 with “speed to spare.” A week later, after falling so far behind the field he was out of the
picture, he roared back to a thrilling 5 ½-length win in the Preakness. In the Belmont Stakes, knowing he couldn’t hold Whirlaway
back after the half went in :49 2/5, Arcaro sent him to the front with a mile to go and he took the Triple Crown by 1 ¼ lengths.
“He was so good he made ducks and drakes of his opposition,” wrote Bryan Field in the New York Times.
Whirlaway’s lone appearance at Aqueduct at 3 came but two weeks later, when he won the Dwyer, which was called “a
thrilling race, but an expected thrill.” That summer, he won the Travers – the only Triple Crown winner to do so – and then spent
his 4-year-old season running primarily for war bonds, racing 22 times and raising $5 million, including $100,000 at Aqueduct on
Army-Navy Day on June 27, when he won the 1942 Brooklyn Handicap.
Retired after two starts at age 5, with a record of 32 wins, 15 seconds and nine thirds from 60 starts and a bankroll of
$561,161 which made him the all-time money-earning thoroughbred, Whirlaway became a successful sire, and died in 1953 in
Normandy, France.
He was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1959.
COUNT FLEET: AMERICA'S WARTIME TRIPLE CROWN HERO (1943)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
On June 1, 1942, when the world was locked in the deadliest conflict in human history, a 2-year-old brown son of 1928
Kentucky Derby winner Reigh Count stepped onto the main track at Belmont Park.
The colt, an ornery youngster, was named Count Fleet, and it was only happenstance that he was continuing to carry the
colors of his breeder and owner, Fannie Hertz, wife of John D. Hertz. Unhappy with the colt’s bad manners, Hertz, a former
sports writer turned automobile salesman and the founder of both the Yellow Cab Company and the rental car company that bore
his name, had tried unsuccessfully to sell him, but found no takers.
That spring morning at Belmont, sent off at 4-1 under Johnny Longden, Count Fleet swerved at the start, bumped into a
horse named Vacuum Cleaner, and finished second. He did virtually the same thing two weeks later at Aqueduct, which did little
to further endear him to his owner or his trainer, Don Cameron.
Ironically, it was Longden who stopped Hertz from selling the colt outright.
“The colt is dangerous,” Hertz told the jockey. “Someday I am afraid he will do you serious injury.”
“Whatever you do, don’t sell him,” replied Longden. “I’m not afraid of him. I’ll ride him.”
“Then, I’ll take him off the market,” said Hertz.
Count Fleet won his third start and six of his next seven, but then finished a disappointing third in the Belmont Futurity.
Longden then figured out how the colt needed to be ridden.
“You had to let him go to the front and sit there,” Longden told Lexington, Ky.-based writer Billy Reed in an interview.
“I didn’t have to rate him, he’d rate himself. After I let him go to the front he never got beat.”
By the end of 1942, Hertz was glad he had not parted with the lean brown colt, who won 10 of his 15 starts as a 2-yearold, including a record-setting victory in the Champagne and a 30-length romp in the winning the Walden Stakes at Pimlico en
route to championship honors. More tellingly, he was assigned a record 132 pounds in the Experimental Free Handicap and was
already being hailed as the successor to Man o’ War.
His 3-year-old campaign, which began with a 3½-length victory in an allowance at Jamaica, would be as brief as it was
memorable. He brushed aside seven rivals in the Wood Memorial, again winning by 3½ lengths, and by the time he arrived in
Louisville via train he was the 2-5 choice over nine in the wartime “Streetcar Derby,” so called because of wartime restrictions on
gas and oil.
Unbeknownst to his fans, however, was that Count Fleet had sustained a deep gash in his leg in the Wood, which was
successfully treated on the day-and-a-half railroad trip from New York.
When the gates sprang open, it was a fully healed Count Fleet on top, and he went wire-to-wire for a three-length victory
over Blue Swords. A week later, in Baltimore, it was the same story, only the Preakness margin was eight lengths. As a prep for
the Belmont, Cameron sent Count Fleet out for a tune-up in the Withers Stakes, in which he sailed home a five-length winner.
On June 5, in the Belmont Stakes, only two dared line up against “The Count” – Fairy Manhurst and Deseronto – but it
could have been a dozen, so dominant was he in galloping home 25 lengths in front, a record which stood until Secretariat’s 31length victory 30 years later.
But it came at a price. That evening, it was discovered that Count Fleet had bowed a tendon. He never raced again but
there was no question he would be named Horse of the Year.
“His achievements were so dazzling, his record so splendid, that not only does he stand out – he throws into the shade all
other Thoroughbreds of 1943, without regard to age, sex, or other qualifications,” wrote historian John Hervey.
Retired in the fall, Count Fleet went onto a successful career as a sire. Among his progeny were 1951 Horse of the Year
Counterpoint and 1951 Kentucky Derby winner Count Turf, which completed the first “triple sire” in Derby history as the
grandson and son of Derby winners.
Count Fleet died at age 33 at Stoner Stud, near Paris, Ky. and was buried in the central place of honor in its cemetery.
ASSAULT: "THE CLUB-FOOTED COMET" (1946)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
He was born during World War II on a sprawling Texas ranch best known for cattle and quarter horses. When he was
young, he stepped on something sharp, purportedly a surveyor’s stake, which went right through his right front foot and left him
with a permanent limp at a walk or trot. Factor in an unprepossessing frame – he was barely 15.2 hands tall and weighed less than
1,000 pounds – and he would hardly seem a candidate for thoroughbred racing’s most prized and elusive crown.
At a full gallop, however, Assault was flawless, and his sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in
1946 epitomized the will to win of a true champion.
“He beat whatever they threw at him,” said his jockey, Warren Mehrtens. “Assault was all heart.”
King Ranch had acquired its first thoroughbred, Chicaro, in 1936 with the express purpose of improving the outfit’s
quarter horse line. Three years later, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Bold Venture was added to the breeding program and
in 1942, he was bred to a King Ranch mare named Igual, a daughter of Equipoise.
The result was a rather delicate-looking liver chestnut who would suffer from kidney and bleeding difficulties throughout
his racing career, not to mention the misshapen hoof that led to his nickname, “The Club-Footed Comet.”
“When he walks or trots, you’d think he was going to fall down,” said Assault’s Hall of Fame trainer, Max Hirsch. “I
think that when the foot still hurt him, he got in the habit of protecting it, with an awkward gait, and then he kept it up. But he
galloped true. There wasn’t a thing wrong with his action when he went fast.”
Assault broke his maiden in July at Aqueduct in his fourth start, finished a distant fifth in the East View Stakes six days
later and then gained attention on August 6, 1945 – the day the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima – when he
won the Flash Stakes at Belmont Park at odds of 70-1, his only other victory of the year.
Troubled as well by splints, a bad ankle and a problematic knee, Assault’s delayed 3-year-old campaign kicked off with a
victory in the Experimental Handicap at Jamaica on April 9 followed by a 4½-length win in the Wood Memorial less than two
weeks later. Four days after finishing fourth in the mud in the Kentucky Derby Trial, Assault destroyed 16 rivals in the “Run for
the Roses,” pulling clear to an eight-length win at odds of more than 8-1.
Sent off as the favorite in the Preakness – the only Triple Crown race in which he would be favored – Assault held a fourlength advantage at the top of the stretch but barely managed to hold on to a desperate neck victory over Lord Boswell.
It was Lord Boswell, then, who would be favored in the June 1 Belmont Stakes, but when the field of seven turned for
home, he would remain where he had spent much of the race – buried at the back of the pack.
Meanwhile, Assault, according to the chart, “stumbled at the start but recovered quickly, was sent up on the inside, was
steadied along the far turn, where he began to improve his position, came to the outside for the stretch run, swerved slightly,
disposed of the leaders and drew away.”
His three-length victory over Natchez gave racing its seventh Triple Crown winner, but Assault would go on to write
another chapter in his legend that fall.
In eight meetings with the great Stymie over the next two years, Assault would win five, including a magnificent last-tofirst victory in the 1947 Butler Handicap at Jamaica under Eddie Arcaro.
Assault was finally retired in 1950 with 18 victories from 42 races and a bankroll of $675,470, and his physical problems
continued into his retirement. He was unable to produce any thoroughbred offspring, but several quarter-horse mares he was
pastured with reportedly became pregnant.
He died on Sept. 1, 1971, at age 28, and is buried at King Ranch.
Of Assault, Hirsch said simply: “I never trained a better horse.”
CITATION: BIG CY OF CALUMET FARM (1948)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
Seven years after Whirlaway carried the devil’s red-and-blue silks of Calumet through a sweep of the Kentucky Derby,
Preakness and Belmont Stakes, a leggy bay 3-year-old colt bearing the same colors strode onto the track at Havre de Grace for the
$29,000 Chesapeake Stakes.
Five days earlier, Citation had suffered only the second loss of his career, finishing second in the Chesapeake Trial under
new jockey Eddie Arcaro, a replacement for Albert Snider, who had drowned in March on a fishing trip in the Everglades.
The Chesapeake, at 1 1/16 miles, is notable for two reasons: first, it would serve as Citation’s penultimate prep for the
Kentucky Derby in two weeks time. Secondly, it marked the beginning of a 16-race winning streak that encompassed that year’s
Triple Crown, lasted until 1950, and stamped Citation as arguably the greatest racehorse that ever lived.
“Citation was the best horse I ever saw,” his trainer, Jimmy Jones, told Joe Durso of the New York Times in a 1996
interview. “And I saw Man o’ War.”
The 1948 Kentucky Derby was run over a sloppy track – more than an inch of rain had fallen, conditions which favored
Citation’s classy stablemate Coaltown, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. As Ben Jones gave Arcaro a leg up, the jockey is alleged
to have said, “Are you sure I’m on the right one?” To which Jones reportedly snapped “You’re on the right one.”
With win wagering only, it didn’t matter to the bettors which part of the entry won. In the early going, Coaltown
comfortably loped along on the lead while Citation trailed by as many as six lengths. On the backside, Arcaro began to fret. “I said
to myself, ‘Suppose Citation doesn’t pick Coaltown up when I call on him?’,” he wrote in his autobiography, “I Ride to Win.”
But when he called, Citation answered in a big way. Charging past his stablemate, “Big Cy” went on to an easy 3 ½length score. Two weeks later he galloped off to a 5 ½-length victory over Vulcan Forge in the Preakness, and tuned up for the
Belmont Stakes with an 11-length win in the Jersey Derby on May 29.
Citation had made but one previous appearance at Belmont Park, winning the Futurity Trial as a 2-year-old, one of just
three career races in which he was not the favorite. On Belmont Stakes Day, June 12, he was sent off as the 2-5 favorite over seven
rivals, but he ran more like a 1-20 shot.
He stumbled at the start, but quickly recovered and bounded into the lead, running easily through fractions of :24, :48 2/5
and 1:12 3/5 with his nearest competitors a length or so behind. Then, on the far turn, Citation began to make his move.
“I could not see Arcaro move,” wrote Joe Palmer in the June 18, 1948 edition of The Blood-Horse. “But with some
slight dropping of the hands, he released the swelling energy of the great racer beneath him. Citation opened away. He was threesixteenths away but he was home. The Belmont crowd began to roar, before he hit the furlong-pole. This observer dropped his
glasses, climbed over assorted cameramen, and went downstairs to get into the champagne.”
Five lengths in front at the top of the stretch, Citation hit the wire eight lengths in front of Better Self, tying Count
Fleet’s stakes record of 2:28 1/5.
Before 1948 was over, Citation would win 19 of 20 starts, 17 of them stakes, in what many believe was the greatest
season ever by a racehorse. Although hampered by arthritis, which cause him to miss all of 1949, he returned to the races the
following year, winning an allowance at Santa Anita before his win streak came to an end on January 16, 1950 in a handicap race.
He was retired in the summer of 1951 after having become racing’s first millionaire, with a record of 32-10-3 from 45
starts and a bankroll of $1,085,760. Inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1959, Citation died on Aug. 8, 1970 at the age of 25 and
is buried at Calumet Farm.
“I’ve tried to fault him, but I just can’t find any holes,” said Ben Jones. “He’s the best. Maybe we’ll never see his likes
again in our time. He was the best horse I ever saw. Probably the best horse anybody ever saw, I expect.”
SECRETARIAT: THE PEOPLE'S HORSE (1973)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
There were Triple Crown winners before him, and Triple Crown winners after him, but nobody swept through the
Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes with the same drama, style and flair as Secretariat.
He won 16 of 21 races, graced the covers of several national magazines, was twice Horse of the Year, but it is the
Belmont for which Secretariat is best remembered.
On June 9, 1973, “Big Red” went postward as the 1-10 favorite to become the ninth Triple Crown winner, and the first in
25 years. Challenging him were Sham, who had finished second in both the Derby and the Preakness, and three other mismatched
thoroughbreds.
When the gates opened, Secretariat and Sham raced together around the first turn through a half-mile in a suicidal :46 1/5.
On the backstretch, with jockey Ron Turcotte sitting still as a stone, the colt gathered momentum with every stride. He ran threequarters in 1:09 4/5, the mile in 1:34 1/5, and when he hit the quarter-pole in 1:59, faster even than he had won the Derby, the
crowd was on its feet, screaming in anticipation. “Secretariat is alone. He is moving like a tremendous machine!” track announcer
Chick Anderson yelled. “He’s going to be the Triple Crown winner. Unbelievable! An amazing performance. He’s 25 lengths in
front!”
Prompted only by history and racing only against the clock, Secretariat was completely alone as he swept across the finish
line an astounding 31 lengths in front of Twice a Prince in a world-record 2:24 for the 1 1/2 miles.
As Charles Hatton wrote in the Daily Racing Form, “His only point of reference is himself.”
Secretariat was born March 30, 1970, at Meadow Farm in Virginia, a strikingly handsome chestnut son of Bold Ruler
with three white stockings, a white star, and stripe. Viewing him as a yearling, trainer Lucien Laurin commented he was probably
“too good-looking” to amount to much as a racehorse. Upon his arrival at Hialeah Park as a 2-year-old, all his owner, Penny
Chenery, could say was “Wow.”
He began his career at Aqueduct, finishing fourth, and then embarked on a campaign that would carry him to Horse of the
Year honors, a rarity for 2-year-olds.
“Big Red’s” 3-year-old campaign started off as more of the same: He swept through the Bay Shore and Gotham Stakes,
but then the unthinkable happened: He lost, finishing third in the Wood Memorial to Angle Light. Immediately, questions were
raised about his ability, as a son of Bold Ruler, to go 1 ¼ miles, but when the first Saturday in May rolled around, he was the 3-2
choice to win the “Run for the Roses” – the last time in his career he would go off at more than even money.
By the time he arrived back in New York for the Belmont with Derby and Preakness victories in tow, the entire country
was anticipating the end of the quarter-century Triple Crown drought. In the New York Post, columnist Larry Merchant warned
that “the country may turn sullen and mutinous” should he lose the “Test of the Champion.”
When Secretariat won the Belmont, he did more than become the first horse since Citation to win three races at three
different distances over three different racetracks in the span of five weeks. He turned in the single greatest performance in the
history of horse racing.
After the Belmont, Secretariat raced nine more times, winning six, coming in second twice and third once. His major
losses were to Onion in the Whitney and to Prove Out in the Woodward; both were trained by Allen Jerkens. Inducted into
racing’s Hall of Fame in 1974, Secretariat was also ranked 35th on ESPN’s 100 Greatest Athletes of the Twentieth Century, one of
only three non-humans on the list.
Suffering from laminitis, he was euthanized in October, 1989, and is buried at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky.
Wrote Charles Hatton at the end of Secretariat’s 1973 campaign:
“Weave for the mighty chestnut
A tributary crown
Of autumn flowers, the brightest then
When autumn leaves are brown
Hang up his bridle on the wall,
His saddle on the tree,
Till time shall bring some racing king
Worthy to wear as he!”
SEATTLE SLEW: AN UNDEFEATED RUN (1977)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
At birth, no one expected Seattle Slew to do much of anything.
Foaled in 1974 in Kentucky, the son of Bold Reasoning out of My Charmer was first described by White Horse Acres
breeding manager Paul Mallory as “ugly.”
A plain dark bay – nearly black – colt, Seattle Slew had no white markings, big floppy ears, and a domineering
personality, even as a youngster.
The colt was not accepted to the prestigious 1975 Keeneland summer yearling sale based on pedigree and appearance.
Instead, he went to the Fasig-Tipton Lexington auction.
Slew was sold to Pearson’s Barn for $17,500. The owners, two young couples from Washington State – Mickey and
Karen Taylor and Jim and Sally Hill – had chosen the colt for a reason.
A veterinarian who had done work on Bold Reasoning, Jim Hill was intrigued by his first crop yearlings and thought this
particular colt was the best of the lot.
“When I first saw him I said he was a runner or my name was not Jim Hill,” Hill told The Blood-Horse. “I thought he had
everything it took from a physical standpoint, to be a racehorse. I certainly didn’t foresee he would be a champion, but I did feel he
would be a runner.”
The owners dubbed the horse Seattle Slew – Seattle for the city Karen and Mickey Taylor called home, Slew for the
muddy, swampy character of property Jim Hill owned in Florida.
Around the barn, trainer Bill Turner called him “Baby Huey,” after the ungainly cartoon character.
From the moment he set foot on a racetrack though, Slew proved Jim Hill’s instincts had been sound. The colt began his
racing career at Belmont with an easy five-length victory in a six-furlong maiden race on Sept. 20, 1976. He raced twice more as a
2-year-old, closing out the year with a gate-to-wire win in the Grade I Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park.
Slew did not race again until early March of 1977, but made an effortless comeback winning a seven-furlong allowance
race by nine lengths. After two easy Grade I scores in the Flamingo and the Wood Memorial, the colt headed to Churchill Downs.
Unlike some of his previous starts, the Derby proved more of a challenge, but one Slew met readily. Caught in traffic
after a troubled start, the colt scrapped his way to the front and emerged a 1 ¾- length winner.
The Preakness was easier – Slew won by a 1 ½ lengths after drawing far enough away from the rest of the field that
French-born jockey Jean Cruguet felt comfortable easing him in the stretch.
Neither of these performances compared to Slew’s win in the Belmont. Breaking from post 5 over a muddy track, the colt
took an authoritative lead from the start and, though momentarily pressured by Sanhedrin near the quarter pole, maintained the
lead to the finish, winning by four lengths. Cruguet was so confident in the stretch that he stood up in the irons and waved his whip
to the crowd even before the wire.
“He went away,” Cruguet said after the race. “He had plenty left. He had relaxed and rated beautifully down the
backstretch. In the stretch I looked to make sure and he was just going so beautifully and nobody was going to catch him this day.”
In winning the Belmont, Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and the first undefeated horse to do so.
After running fourth in his next start, the Grade I Swaps the following month, Slew developed a rare virus and nearly
died. He returned to racing in May 1978 to win an allowance race for new trainer Doug Peterson and raced well overall as a 4year-old. Two months before he was retired, Seattle Slew defeated the heir to the Triple Crown, Affirmed, in the Grade I
Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park.
After a very successful stud career – Seattle Slew sired more than 100 stakes winners including A.P. Indy, Swale, and
Slew o’ Gold – he died on the 25th anniversary of his victory in the Kentucky Derby, May 7, 2002.
AFFIRMED: THE GREATEST RIVALRY (1978)
Reprinted courtesy of NYRA
Given that he was only the 11th – and, to date, last – Triple Crown winner in history, one might think that Affirmed’s
name could stand alone.
But, since their epic rivalry captured America’s attention beginning as 2-year-olds in 1977, Affirmed has always been
associated with Alydar.
Affirmed, a striking chestnut colt by Exclusive Native (Raise a Native) out of Won’t Tell You, won his first meeting
with Alydar in the Youthful Stakes at Belmont in June 1977, almost exactly a year before their historic showdown in the 1978
Belmont Stakes. Alydar finished fifth in the Youthful, revealing little of the competition to come.
In their next race, Alydar finished a solid 3 ½ lengths ahead of Affirmed in the Great American Stakes at Belmont, and
the rivalry began to take shape. The pair met four more times during their 2-year-old seasons, and Affirmed bested Alydar in three
of those contests, though they always finished one-two.
After taking different paths to the Derby, the two horses met again on the first Saturday in May. Again, Affirmed defeated
Alydar, by 1 ½ lengths, with 18-year-old Steve Cauthen in the irons. In the Preakness, Affirmed won again, this time only by a
neck. By the time the pair met in the Belmont in June 1978, no one could talk about anything else.
“It’s only been two horses so far,” Affirmed’s trainer, Laz Barrera, told the New York Times the week before the
Belmont. “All the time, since last year, it’s only two horses. Affirmed and Alydar. Nothing has changed.”
The morning of the Belmont, Barrera was confident his colt would emerge victorious. But Alydar’s connections were
determined not to allow that scenario to play out again.
Affirmed drew post position 3 for the Belmont, Alydar post 2. Cauthen’s instructions were to send Affirmed up from the
start and position him inside, and all went as planned. A quarter-mile into the race, Affirmed was loping along comfortably in front
with Alydar back in third. The early pace was slow and Alydar’s veteran rider, Jorge Velasquez, went after Affirmed, bringing
Alydar right alongside of him at the mile marker.
While the crowd had expected a duel, what they got was one of the greatest showdowns in racing history. The two horses
matched strides from the mile pole to the top of the stretch – while Affirmed held on to a narrow advantage, Alydar kept coming,
relentlessly pursuing his rival.
Because the horses were so close, Cauthen had to switch his whip from his right hand to his left and hit Affirmed on the
left side. Many believe the switch may have given the colt the final encouragement he needed and Affirmed crossed the wire with
a head in front of his rival.
In winning the Triple Crown, Affirmed set several records – it was the first time the Triple Crown had been won in
consecutive years (Seattle Slew won it in 1977). The final time of 2:26 4/5 made it the third-fastest Belmont in history, despite the
slow early going. When he started in the Belmont, Affirmed had won all six of his 3-year-old starts so far – his only losses in 15
career outings to that point came as a 2-year-old when he ran second to Alydar.
After the Belmont, the rivalry did not die. Both Affirmed and Alydar independently won stakes at the 1978 Saratoga
meet, then met again in the Travers. Though Affirmed finished first, he drifted in front of Alydar in the stretch, causing Velasquez
to take Alydar up abruptly. After an inquiry, Affirmed was taken down and Alydar placed first.
Affirmed was named Horse of the Year in 1978, and after a slow start to his 4-year-old campaign, finished by winning
seven of nine starts and ending his career with a win in the 1979 Jockey Club Gold Cup, the race that had eluded him a year
before.
After a respectable stud career – though rival Alydar is widely considered to have sired more successful offspring –
Affirmed was euthanized in 2001, at 26.
HISTORY OF THE TRIPLE CROWN
The Triple Crown is undoubtedly the most difficult feat in all of Thoroughbred racing. Only 11 colts have captured the
Triple Crown, while 50 others have finished only one win shy of the honor.
Sir Barton’s victories in the 1919 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes became the starting point for the
Triple Crown. However, the phrase “Triple Crown” was not associated with the feat until 1930, when the popular sportswriter
Charles Hatton of Daily Racing Form coined the phrase in writing about Gallant Fox’s victories in the three races.
Three Triple Crown champions were produced in the 1930s – Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935) and War Admiral
(1937). Gallant Fox sired Omaha, the 1935 winner, and is the only Triple Crown champion to sire a Triple Crown victor.
Four Triple Crown champions were crowned during the following decade, beginning with Whirlaway in 1941. He was
followed by Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946) and Citation (1948).
Twenty-five years elapsed between Citation and Secretariat, who in 1973 accomplished the feat, smashing records in the
Derby and Belmont en route to the prestigious award. In the years leading up to Secretariat’s Triple Crown triumph, many doubted
if there would be another Triple Crown winner. The Triple Crown had become more difficult to attain with increased racing across
the country and a larger number of foals produced annually.
In 1977, Seattle Slew became the only unbeaten colt to sweep the Triple Crown, compiling nine consecutive victories
including the three jewels of the Triple Crown. Affirmed captured the coveted series a year later to become the 11th Triple Crown
champion. His accomplishment marked the first time the Triple Crown has had winners in successive years.
The death of Seattle Slew on May 7, 2002 marked the first time in recent history that there was no Triple Crown living
champion to rule Thoroughbred racing.
THE TRIPLE CROWN TROPHY
Elegant and distinctive, the Triple Crown trophy has come to represent the pinnacle achievement in horse racing.
Commissioned in 1950 by the Thoroughbred Racing Association, artisans at the world-famous Cartier Jewelry Company were
charged with creating more than a trophy, but a true work of art. The result was a three-sided vase, each face equally representing
the three jewels of the crown, and beautifully capturing the spirit of horse racing’s most sought after, and rarest, honor. Upon
completion, retroactive trophies were presented to the first eight winners of the Triple Crown.
Today the Triple Crown is a permanent trophy awarded to the winner with information pertaining to each race engraved
on corresponding sides. The trophy resides at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky.
52 NEAR TRIPLE CROWN MISSES
YEAR
2014
2012
2008
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
1999
1998
1997
1995
1994
1991
1989
1988
1987
1984
1981
1979
1976
1974
1972
1971
1969
1968
1967
1966
1964
1963
1961
1958
1956
1955
1953
1950
1949
1944
1942
1940
1939
1936
1932
1931
1923
1922
1920
1895
1881
1880
1878
1877
KENTUCKY DERBY
California Chrome
I’ll Have Another
Big Brown
3rd (Giacomo)
Smarty Jones
Funny Cide
War Emblem
5th (Monarchos)
Charismatic
Real Quiet
Silver Charm
Thunder Gulch
6th (Go for Gin)
10th (Strike the Gold)
Sunday Silence
3rd (Winning Colors)
Alysheba
Swale
Pleasant Colony
Spectacular Bid
Bold Forbes
5th (Cannonade)
Riva Ridge
Canonero II
Majestic Prince
Forward Pass (won via DQ)
3rd (Proud Clarion)
Kauai King
Northern Dancer
Chateaugay
Carry Back
Tim Tam
Needles
2nd (Swaps)
2nd (Dark Star)
Middleground
2nd (Ponder)
Pensive
Shut Out
2nd (Gallahadion)
Johnstown
Bold Venture
Burgoo King
Twenty Grand
Zev
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
PREAKNESS
California Chrome
I’ll Have Another
Big Brown
Afleet Alex
Smarty Jones
Funny Cide
War Emblem
Point Given
Charismatic
Real Quiet
Silver Charm
3rd (Timber Country)
Tabasco Cat
Hansel
Sunday Silence
Risen Star
Alysheba
7th (Gate Dancer)
Pleasant Colony
Spectacular Bid
3rd (Elocutionist)
Little Current
4th (Bee Bee Bee)
Canonero II
Majestic Prince
Forward Pass
Damascus
Kauai King
Northern Dancer
2nd (Candy Spots)
Carry Back
Tim Tam
2nd (Fabius)
Nashua
Native Dancer
2nd (Hill Prince)
Capot
Pensive
5th (Alsab)
Bimelech
5th (Challedon)
Bold Venture
Burgoo King
2nd (Mate)
12th (Vigil)
Pillory
Man o’ War
Belmar
Saunterer
Grenada
Duke of Magenta
Cloverbrook
BELMONT
DH-4th (Tonalist)
Scratched (Union Rags)
DNF (Da’ Tara)
Afleet Alex
2nd (Birdstone)
3rd (Empire Maker)
8th (Sarava)
Point Given
3rd (Lemon Drop Kid)
2nd (Victory Gallop)
2nd (Touch Gold)
Thunder Gulch
Tabasco Cat
Hansel
2nd (Easy Goer)
Risen Star
4th (Bet Twice)
Swale
3rd (Summing)
3rd (Coastal)
Bold Forbes
Little Current
Riva Ridge
4th (Pass Catcher)
2nd (Arts and Letters)
2nd (Stage Door Johnny)
Damascus
4th (Amberoid)
3rd (Quadrangle)
Chateaugay
7th (Sherluck)
2nd (Cavan)
Needles
Nashua
Native Dancer
Middleground
Capot
2nd (Bounding Home)
Shut Out
Bimelech
Johnstown
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
Twenty Grand
Zev
Pillory
Man o’ War
Belmar
Saunterer
Grenada
Duke of Magenta
Cloverbrook
23 WINNERS OF KENTUCKY DERBY & PREAKNESS STAKES BUT NOT BELMONT STAKES
YEAR
2014
2012
2008
2004
2003
2002
1999
1998
1997
1989
1987
1981
1979
1971
1969
1968
1966
1964
1961
1958
1944
1936
1932
KENTUCKY DERBY
California Chrome
I’ll Have Another
Big Brown
Smarty Jones
Funny Cide
War Emblem
Charismatic
Real Quiet
Silver Charm
Sunday Silence
Alysheba
Pleasant Colony
Spectacular Bid
Canonero II
Majestic Prince
Forward Pass (won via DQ)
Kauai King
Northern Dancer
Carry Back
Tim Tam
Pensive
Bold Venture
Burgoo King
PREAKNESS
California Chrome
I’ll Have Another
Big Brown
Smarty Jones
Funny Cide
War Emblem
Charismatic
Real Quiet
Silver Charm
Sunday Silence
Alysheba
Pleasant Colony
Spectacular Bid
Canonero II
Majestic Prince
Forward Pass
Kauai King
Northern Dancer
Carry Back
Tim Tam
Pensive
Bold Venture
Burgoo King
BELMONT
DH-4th (Tonalist)
Scratched (Union Rags)
DNF (Da’ Tara)
2nd (Birdstone)
3rd (Empire Maker)
8th (Sarava)
3rd (Lemon Drop Kid)
2nd (Victory Gallop)
2nd (Touch Gold)
2nd (Easy Goer)
4th (Bet Twice)
3rd (Summing)
3rd (Coastal)
4th (Pass Catcher)
2nd (Arts and Letters)
2nd (Stage Door Johnny)
4th (Amberoid)
3rd (Quadrangle)
7th (Sherluck)
2nd (Cavan)
2nd (Bounding Home)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
11 WINNERS OF KENTUCKY DERBY & BELMONT STAKES BUT NOT PREAKNESS STAKES
YEAR
1995
1984
1976
1972
1963
1956
1950
1942
1939
1931
1923
KENTUCKY DERBY
Thunder Gulch
Swale
Bold Forbes
Riva Ridge
Chateaugay
Needles
Middleground
Shut Out
Johnstown
Twenty Grand
Zev
PREAKNESS
3rd (Timber Country)
7th (Gate Dancer)
3rd (Elocutionist)
4th (Bee Bee Bee)
2nd (Candy Spots)
2nd (Fabius)
2nd (Hill Prince)
5th (Alsab)
5th (Challedon)
2nd (Mate)
12th (Vigil)
BELMONT
Thunder Gulch
Swale
Bold Forbes
Riva Ridge
Chateaugay
Needles
Middleground
Shut Out
Johnstown
Twenty Grand
Zev
18 WINNERS OF PREAKNESS STAKES & BELMONT STAKES BUT NOT KENTUCKY DERBY
YEAR
2005
2001
1994
1991
1988
1974
1967
1955
1953
1949
1940
1922
1920
1895
1881
1880
1878
1877
KENTUCKY DERBY
3rd (Giacomo)
5th (Monarchos)
6th (Go for Gin)
10th (Strike the Gold)
3rd (Winning Colors)
5th (Cannonade)
3rd (Proud Clarion)
2nd (Swaps)
2nd (Dark Star)
2nd (Ponder)
2nd (Gallahadion)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
(Did not start)
PREAKNESS
Afleet Alex
Point Given
Tabasco Cat
Hansel
Risen Star
Little Current
Damascus
Nashua
Native Dancer
Capot
Bimelech
Pillory
Man o’ War
Belmar
Saunterer
Grenada
Duke of Magenta
Cloverbrook
- END -
BELMONT
Afleet Alex
Point Given
Tabasco Cat
Hansel
Risen Star
Little Current
Damascus
Nashua
Native Dancer
Capot
Bimelech
Pillory
Man o’ War
Belmar
Saunterer
Grenada
Duke of Magenta
Cloverbrook