When it comes to prizes awarded in horse racing, Triple Crown victories are the most prestigious achievement that Thoroughbreds can obtain. These races are rightfully deemed as the most challenging competition in horse racing and Triple Crown Winners truly earn a place in racing history.
The demanding Triple Crown schedule includes the Kentucky Derby followed by the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, and finally the Belmont Stakes, which takes place three weeks later. The three-year-old horse that emerges victorious from all the races is declared the only Triple Crown winner.
This concept was unfamiliar until Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, while Charles Hatton officially coined the term “Triple Crown” for a Daily Racing Form’s column in 1930. Up to date, only thirteen horses have carved their names in horse racing history by attaining this goal.
Triple Crown Winning Horses in order by Year
Below are the only thirteen triple crown winners in horse racing in history arranged by chronological order:
Sir Barton
A thoroughbred chestnut colt bred in Kentucky, Sir Barton had an inauspicious start with six lost races in his two-year-old season. In 1918, he was sold to trainer Harvey Guy Bedwell and jockey Johnny Loftus.
According to his trainer’s words, Sir Barton had an unfavorable, cranky personality with a lot of contempt about other horses and humans alike, which made him incredibly difficult to train.
A year after, he debuted as a maiden in the 1919 Kentucky Derby. Although his supposed role was as a speed horse, or a rabbit horse, his favored stablemate Billy Kelly didn’t stand a chance against Sir Barton, who won the race by five lengths.
After easily winning the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes as well, Sir Barton became the first Triple Crown winner.
Gallant Fox
The second among 13 triple crown winners, Gallant Fox, was foaled in 1927 at Claiborne Farm with Sir Gallahad III as his sire.
His trainer, James E. Fitzsimmons (also known as Sunny Jim), concluded, that the volatile bay colt was trained best in proper company.
In 1930, the Preakness Stakes was the first among three horse races. With Earl Sande on the saddle, he achieved an early advantage and reached victory by ¾ length.
Consequently, he was introduced as a favorite to 50,000 viewers at the Kentucky Derby. After an unpromising start, he took the lead and headed into an easy victory by two lengths. Finally, Gallant Fox’s easy win at the Belmont Stakes made him the second-ever horse to win the Triple Crown.
Omaha
Foaled at the same farm and also trained by Fitzsimmons, Gallant Fox’s son, Omaha, was to become his next fellow triple crown winner. Although he only scored one win out of nine as a two-year-old, fame awaited the Belair Stud stallion.
Rode by jockey Smokey Saunders, Omaha took the lead in the backstretch as a second choice at the 1935 Kentucky Derby and won the race by a 1½ length.
A week later, the thoroughbred achieved a much more convincing victory at the Preakness Stakes, winning the race by six lengths. Soon after, Omaha joined triple crown winning horses in racing history with his surprising win at the Belmont Stakes.
War Admiral
Sired by the great Man O’ War, War Admiral proved his potential as the fourth out of thirteen three triple crown races winners. Foaled at Faraway Farm in 1934 and trained by George H. Conway, War Admiral inherited his sire’s talent and the dark brown appearance of his dam, Brushup.
The promising young thoroughbred acquired his first race win as a two-year-old with Charles Kurtsinger as his jockey, along with a nickname from his fans – “The Mighty Atom”.
A year later, War Admiral led the Kentucky Derby race from start to the finish line, only to win it by 1 ¾ length. Having won the Preakness Stakes and emerging as a Belmont winner after the initial quarter-inch stumble, the stallion secured his place among triple crown winning horses in 1937.
Whirlaway
Foaled at Calumet Farm in Lexington and trained by Ben A. Jones, Whirlaway was the son of Blenheim II, a famous English Derby winner.
Famous for his stunningly long tail atypical for a racehorse, fans called him ‘The Flying Tail’ and ‘Mr. Longtail’. The stallion broke his maiden in 1940 with a tight win in Chicago.
With Eddie Arcaro as his jockey, Whirlaway emerged victorious in the home stretch for an eight lengths win at the 1941 Kentucky Derby and a track record that remained for more than two decades.
Whirlaway led the following Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes with an unconquerable advantage that even scared away most of his Belmont competitors, thus joining the triple crown winning horses’ hall of fame.
Count Fleet
The next place in triple crown winners’ history is reserved for Count Fleet, a brown colt foaled in 1940 at Stoner Creek farm, Kentucky. As the son of Reigh Count, the 1928 Kentucky Derby champion, and a dam called Quickly for her sprinting talent, his promising career was guaranteed.
However, it was jockey Johnny Longden who discouraged, his uninterested owner, John D. Hertz, from selling the future triple crown winner.
Count Fleet achieved his first, six-length win in 1942 at the Champagne Stakes along with a new track record. He completed that season with 10 victories out of 15 competitions.
Overcoming a previous injury in time, the three-year-old colt grabbed the Triple Crown in 1943 by winning the Kentucky Derby by three lengths, reaching an eight-length victory at Preakness Stakes, and showing absolute domination at Belmont Stakes, winning the race by unpreceded 25 lengths.
These outstanding results brought him the American Horse of the Year title in the Turf and Sport Digest magazine.
Assault
The seventh among thirteen triple crown winning horses, Assault, was a chestnut stallion born in 1943 on Robert Kleberg Jr’s King Ranch in Texas to sire Bold Venture and dam Igual.
After a promising start with an Experimental Handicap and a Wood Memorial Stakes victory in the 1946 season, Assault took an eight-length victory with the greatest winning margin ever at Kentucky Derby.
With Warren Mehrtens on the saddle, he achieved a narrow victory at the Preakness Stakes race and a firmer one by three lengths at the Belmont Stakes.
Citation
A bay colt born in 1945 at the Warren Wrights Calumet Farm, Citation was the next to join the triple crown winners’ hall of fame. Son of sire Bull Lea and dam Hydroplane II, his fans called him The Big Cy.
Trained by Ben A. Jones and his son Horace, Citation broke his maiden on April 22, 1947, by winning Havre de Grace by a length.
Citation’s astonishing success in the Derby Trials scared all but four stables off sending their horses against him. With Eddie Arcaro at the saddle, he achieved an easy 3 ½ length victory, preceding another 5 ½ length win over Vulcans Forge at Preakness Stakes and eight-length domination in Belmont Stakes. This way, Citation obtained the 1948 US Triple Crown.
Secretariat
The greatest amount of fame among triple crown winning horses perhaps belongs to Secretariat, a large chestnut colt (therefore given the nickname Big Red) foaled on March 30, 1970, at Meadow Farm, Virginia.
With Lucien Laurin’s training and Ron Turncotte on the saddle, the three-year-old stallion began his season with a smooth victory in the Bay Shore Stakes.
Secretariat achieved a fascinating last-to-first move and won the Kentucky Derby race by two and a half lengths with a track record of 1:59 2/5 that still remains undefeated. It wasn’t until 2001 that another horse (Monarchos) won this race in less than two minutes.
Similarly, Secretariat won the Preakness Stakes by 2 ½ lengths after breaking last at the beginning. After a brief controversy, the exact time was declared as 1:54 2/5.
Having entered the Belmont Stakes as a 1-10 favorite against only four competitors, Secretariat won the race by 31 lengths, therefore breaking the record set by Count Fleet three decades ago.
The 1973 US Triple Crown winner was already the cover star of Sports Illustrated, Time, and Newsweek.
Seattle Slew
The tenth Hall of Famer in horse race triple crown history was Seattle Slew, a dark bay stallion foaled in 1974 at White Horse Acres Farm.
He broke his maiden by winning a six-furlong race by five lengths as a two-year-old.
With Jean Cruguet on the saddle, he acquired an easy win by 1 ¾ length at Kentucky Derby followed by a 1 ½ length victory at Preakness Stakes two weeks after.
Finally, having won the Belmont Stakes by four lengths, he became a triple crown champion in 1977.
Affirmed
Following in his great-great-grandfather War Admiral’s hoof steps, Affirmed became the eleventh thoroughbred to obtain the horse race triple crown.
Foaled in 1975 to sire Exclusive Native and dam Won’t Tell You, he became the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in 1977.
Although he was presented as the second choice in the following year’s Kentucky Derby, he won the race by 1 ½ in length. After his narrow victories at the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, he became one of the triple crown winners in 1978.
American Pharoah
Born in 2012, American Pharoah became the first horse to win the horse race triple crown in the 21st century after the longest drought of 37 years.
With Victor Espinoza on the saddle, the stallion reached three easy victories at Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes for the Triple Crown win in 2015.
Additionally, he was the first thoroughbred to win the Grand Slam in the same year.
Justify
The last triple crown winner up to date is Justify, an American stallion foaled on March 28, 2015.
As a pride-inducing, descendant of the legendary Secretariat, Justify became the first Kentucky Derby winner in this century with no prior races as a two-year-old.
In the 2018 season, Justify also won Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. This not only made him the latest among all triple crown winners in history but also the only undefeated one.
FAQ About Triple Crown Winners
If you’re relatively unfamiliar with horse racing and want to obtain basic knowledge about triple crown winners, you’re in the right place. Below, we answer the most common questions on this epic sports competition.
What is the Triple Crown?
The Triple Crown is a spring tournament that contains three Thoroughbred races. The Kentucky Derby is a 1 ¼ mile race that takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Two weeks later comes the 1 3/16 mile race in Baltimore, Preakness Stakes, as the 'middle jewel'. Finally, a thoroughbred must assert dominance in the 1 ½ mile Belmont Stakes race at Belmont Park for a horse race triple crown.
Which horses can compete?
All 3-year-old Thoroughbreds are given an exclusive chance to run for the triple crown with a proper prior nomination and fee paid during the previous winter.
Why is winning the Triple Crown such a tough goal?
Only thirteen horses won this championship due to meticulous circumstances required - such as excessive training, special jockey strategies, or favorable weather.
How much money do Triple Crown Champions earn?
While there’s no fixed monetary prize for this achievement, a Kentucky Derby win brings 1.86 million dollars, the Preakness prize is $900,000, and Belmont pays $800,000.