Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing


The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment in Thoroughbred racing. The term originated in mid-19th-century England and nations where Thoroughbred racing is popular, each having their own Triple Crown series.

England

In England, where the term Triple Crown originated with West Australian's three wins in 1853, it is made up of:
  1. The 2,000 Guineas Stakes, run over 1 mile at Newmarket Racecourse in Newmarket, Suffolk
  2. The Derby, run over 1 mile 4 furlongs and 10 yards at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Epsom, Surrey
  3. The St Leger Stakes, run over 1 mile 6 furlongs and 132 yards at Town Moor in Doncaster, Yorkshire
Since the 2,000 Guineas was first run in 1809, fifteen horses have won the English Triple Crown. The most recent – and only winner since World War II – was Nijinsky, in 1970. For many years, it was considered unlikely that any horse would ever win the English Triple Crown again. In the winter of 2006/2007, however, trainer Jim Bolger was training his unbeaten colt Teofilo for the Triple Crown and bookmaker William Hill plc was offering odds of only 12/1 on Teofilo winning the 2007 Triple Crown. The horse was withdrawn from the 2000 Guineas two days before the race after suffering a setback and never raced again.
Since Nijinsky, only Nashwan, Sea the Stars and Camelot have won both the Guineas and the Derby. Between Reference Point in 1987 and Camelot in 2012, no Derby winner even entered the St. Leger. This reluctance to compete in the St. Leger is said to be because of the impact it would have on a horse's stud value in a market where speed is preferred to stamina.

Triple Crown winners

For a list of the annual individual race winners, see English Triple Crown race winners.
Triple Crown winners:
YearWinnerJockeyTrainerOwner
1853West AustralianFrank ButlerJohn ScottJohn Bowes
1865GladiateurHarry GrimshawTom Jennings, Sr.Frédéric de Lagrange
1866Lord LyonHarry CustanceJames DoverRichard Sutton
1886OrmondeFred Archer and George BarrettJohn PorterDuke of Westminster
1891CommonGeorge BarrettJohn PorterSir Frederick Johnstone
1893IsinglassTommy LoatesJames JewittHarry McCalmont
1897Galtee MoreCharles WoodSam DarlingJohn Gubbins
1899Flying FoxMorny CannonJohn PorterDuke of Westminster
1900Diamond JubileeHerbert JonesRichard MarshEdward, Prince of Wales
1903Rock SandDanny MaherGeorge BlackwellSir James Miller
1915†PommernSteve DonoghueCharles PeckSolly Joel
1917†Gay CrusaderSteve DonoghueAlec Taylor, Jr.Alfred W. Cox
1918†GainsboroughJoe ChildsAlec Taylor, Jr.Lady James Douglas
1935BahramFreddie Fox and Charlie SmirkeFrank ButtersHH Aga Khan III
1970NijinskyLester PiggottVincent O'BrienCharles W. Engelhard, Jr.

†Wartime winners Pommern, Gay Crusader and Gainsborough are not counted, according to many judges, as the three races were all held at Newmarket and racing itself was too disrupted. By this reckoning, there were only 12 triple crown winners, and only three in the 20th century.

Failed Triple Crown attempts

The following horses won the 2000 Guineas and Derby but were beaten in the St Leger:
Additionally:
  • Blue Peter won 2000 Guineas and Derby in 1939 but St Leger was cancelled due to World War II.

    Fillies Triple Crown

There is also a Fillies Triple Crown for a filly winning the 1,000 Guineas Stakes, Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes. In the past, this was not considered a true Triple Crown as the best fillies would often run in the Derby and Two Thousand Guineas. As this is no longer the case, the Fillies' Triple Crown would now be considered as comparable as the original. Winners of the Fillies Triple Crown are:
The so-called Stayers Triple Crown consists of the most prestigious long-distance races in the British flat racing season:
  1. The Ascot Gold Cup, raced over 2m 4f during Royal Ascot,
  2. The Goodwood Cup, raced over 2m during the Goodwood Festival,
  3. The Doncaster Cup, raced over 2m 2f during the St Leger Festival.
YearWinnerJockeyTrainerOwner
1879IsonomyTom CannonJohn PorterFrederick Gretton
1949AlycidonDoug SmithWalter EarlEdward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby
1953SouepiCharlie ElliottGeorge DigbyGeorge Digby
1979Le MossLester Piggott, Joe MercerHenry CecilCarlo d'Alessio
1980Le MossJoe MercerHenry CecilCarlo d'Alessio
1986LongboatWillie CarsonDick HernDick Hollingsworth
1995Double TriggerJason WeaverMark JohnstonR W Huggins
2019StradivariusFrankie DettoriJohn GosdenBjorn Nielsen

United States

Triple Crown winners

In the United States, the three races that make up the Triple Crown are:
  1. Kentucky Derby, run over on a dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky
  2. Preakness Stakes, run over on a dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland
  3. Belmont Stakes, run over on a dirt track at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City
YearWinnerJockeyTrainerOwnerBreeder
1919Sir BartonJohnny LoftusH. Guy BedwellJ. K. L. RossJohn E. Madden
1930Gallant FoxEarl SandeJim FitzsimmonsBelair StudBelair Stud
1935OmahaWillie SaundersJim FitzsimmonsBelair StudBelair Stud
1937War AdmiralCharley KurtsingerGeorge H. ConwaySamuel D. RiddleSamuel D. Riddle
1941WhirlawayEddie ArcaroBen A. JonesCalumet FarmCalumet Farm
1943Count FleetJohnny LongdenDon CameronFannie HertzFannie Hertz
1946AssaultWarren MehrtensMax HirschKing RanchKing Ranch
1948CitationEddie ArcaroHorace A. JonesCalumet FarmCalumet Farm
1973SecretariatRon TurcotteLucien LaurinMeadow StableMeadow Stud
1977Seattle SlewJean CruguetWilliam H. Turner, Jr.Mickey and Karen L. Taylor
Tayhill Stable/Jim Hill, et al.		Ben S. Castleman
1978AffirmedSteve CauthenLaz BarreraHarbor View FarmHarbor View Farm
2015American PharoahVictor EspinozaBob BaffertAhmed ZayatZayat Stables
2018JustifyMike E SmithBob BaffertWinStar Farm, et al.John D. Gunther

Triple Tiara

There have been several different versions of the Triple Tiara in the United States. One of them was a national version that consisted of undercard events on the same weekends as the associated Triple Crown races:
  1. Kentucky Oaks, run over on a dirt track, at Churchill Downs;
  2. Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, run over on a dirt track, at Pimlico Race Course;
  3. Acorn Stakes, run over on a dirt track, at Belmont Park;
Only one filly won this version of the Triple Tiara, Davona Dale in 1979. Few have even tried as the short time between the Kentucky Oaks and Black-Eyed Susan is generally considered too short for fillies.
The most commonly accepted version of the Triple Tiara is the American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing which uses three races from New York. From 1957 to 2002, and 2007 to 2009, these three races were the Acorn Stakes, the Mother Goose Stakes, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Eight fillies won this version of the New York Triple Tiara:
In 2010, the NYRA changed the configuration of the Triple Tiara to include the Alabama Stakes instead of the Mother Goose. As of 2022, no filly has won the reconfigured Triple Tiara.