Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
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The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (Triple Crown for short, but the term is also used in other sports, and thus the full name should be used when it could cause confusion) consists of three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a thoroughbred racehorse, if not of any athlete (human or animal). In recent years, the triple crown has become a very rare achievement (and in fact has not been done at all since 1978, although many horses have come close), with most horses specialising on a limited range of distances.
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[edit] United Kingdom
In England, where the term Triple Crown originated with West Australian's three wins in 1853, it is made up of:
- the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes, run over one mile at Newmarket Racecourse in Newmarket, Suffolk;
- the Epsom Derby, run over one and a half miles at Epsom Downs in Epsom, Surrey;
- the St. Leger Stakes, run over one mile, six furlongs and 132 yards at Town Moor in Doncaster, Yorkshire.
There is also a Fillies Triple crown for a filly winning the One Thousand Guineas Stakes,Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes. The last winner of this was Oh So Sharp in 1985. In the past this was not considered a true triple crown as the best fillies would run in the Derby and Two Thousand Guineas. As this is no longer the case, the Fillies triple crown would now be considered comparable as the original.
In the 150 years that these races have been run, only 15 horses have ever won the English Triple Crown, including the great Nijinsky II. Nijinsky II is only the second horse to have won the English Triple Crown since the end of World War I. It was considered unlikely that any horse would ever win the English Triple Crown again before Nijinsky when he won it in 1970. In 2006, however, trainer Jim Bolger mentioned the Triple Crown as a possible 2007 objective for his unbeaten two-year-old Teofilo [1]. In November 2006, bookmaker William Hill plc was offering odds of 12/1 against Teofilo winning the 2007 Triple Crown. Since Nijinsky, only Nashwan in 1989 has won both the Guineas and the Derby, and in addition no Derby winner has even entered the St. Leger since Reference Point in 1987, although this is primarily due to the impact it would have on a horse's Stud value, which would not be the case for a horse who had already won the Guineas.
Triple Crown Champions:
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 1853 | West Australian | Frank Butler | John Scott | John Bowes |
| 1865 | Gladiateur | Harry Grimshaw | Tom Jennings, Sr. | Frédéric de Lagrange |
| 1866 | Lord Lyon | Harry Custance | James Dover | Richard Sutton |
| 1886 | Ormonde | Fred Archer | John Porter | Duke of Westminster |
| 1891 | Common | George Barrett | John Porter | Sir Frederick Johnstone |
| 1893 | Isinglass | Tommy Loates | James Jewitt | Harry L. B. McCalmont |
| 1897 | Galtee More | Charlie Wood | Sam Darling | John Gubbins |
| 1899 | Flying Fox | Morny Cannon | John Porter | Duke of Westminster |
| 1900 | Diamond Jubiilee | Herbert Jones | Richard Marsh | Edward, Prince of Wales |
| 1903 | Rock Sand | Danny Maher | George Blackwell | Sir James Miller |
| 1915 | Pommern | Steve Donoghue | Charles Peck | Solly Joel |
| 1917 | Gay Crusader | Steve Donoghue | Alec Taylor, Jr. | Alfred W. Cox |
| 1918 | Gainsborough | Joseph Childs | Alec Taylor, Jr. | Lady James Douglas |
| 1935 | Bahram | Freddie Fox | Frank Butters | HH Aga Khan III |
| 1970 | Nijinsky | Lester Piggott | Vincent O'Brien | Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. |
[edit] Ireland
In Ireland, the Triple Crown, modelled on the English equivalent, is made up of
- the Irish 2000 Guineas;
- the Irish Derby; and
- the Irish St Leger,
all run at the Curragh.
Only two horses have won all three races since the Irish Two Thousand Guineas was first run in 1921: Museum in 1935 and Windsor Slipper in 1942 (Williams & Hyland 1980). Desert King won the first two legs in 1997, but was perceived to have stamina limitations and not aimed at the St. Leger. Ironically, he went on to sire a great stayer in Makybe Diva, three times winner of the Melbourne Cup over two miles.
[edit] United States
In the United States the Triple Crown is made up of:
- the Kentucky Derby, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky;
- the Preakness Stakes, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland;
- the Belmont Stakes, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Triple Crown starts with the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May. The Preakness follows two weeks later. The Belmont Stakes is five weeks after the Kentucky Derby in early June.
For a horse, winning the Triple Crown is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as all three races only allow 3-year-old horses to enter.
In the U.S., the term "Triple Crown" is the usual reference for these three horse races unless another sport is specified.
In 1930, Gallant Fox won all three important races, and sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the phrase "Triple Crown" into the American lexicon.
In the more-than-125-year history of the U.S. events, only 11 horses have ever won the U.S. Triple Crown; none since 1978:
In addition, several horses have won two of the three races since the last Triple Crown win, most recently Afleet Alex in 2005, who lost the Kentucky Derby but won the Preakness and Belmont. Only one horse, Alydar, has placed (second place) in all three races. He was defeated by Affirmed in all three races in 1978 by a combined margin of two lengths. In addition, Mane Minister finished 3rd in each race in 1991, and Hawkster finished 5th in each race in 1989. One trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has won the Triple Crown with two different horses, Thunder Gulch and Timber Country, winning the three races in 1995. While this is not declared a Triple Crown officially, it is unique as a trainer that he is the only trainer to win the three races in a calendar year with different horses. 2006 is the first time since 2000 that three different horses won the races: Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby (but then suffered a career-ending and eventual life-ending injury during the Preakness), Bernardini won the Preakness, and Jazil won the Belmont Stakes. Also, as of May 21, 2005, the VISA Credit Card company officially withdrew its sponsorship of the U.S. Triple Crown, starting in 2006. It relieves VISA of paying the $5 million bonus to the owner of the horse that wins the Triple Crown. Triple Crown Productions is now sponsoring the races, as of 2006. The $5 million bonus remains intact. Some believe VISA withdrew its sponsorship as a result of the New York Racing Association's decision to break with the other two tracks on a television contract. On October 4, 2004, NYRA announced the American Broadcasting Company and ESPN would hold television rights to the Belmont Stakes, breaking from Triple Crown Productions' deal with NBC Sports. NBC Sports continues the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes rights until 2010. Triple Crown Productions was formed in 1986 with ABC; prior to that, the individual racing associations made their own deals with the TV networks (ABC and CBS). There also is a Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States, open to 3-year old fillies. External link:
[edit] CanadaInaugurated in 1959, the "Triple Crown of Canadian Thoroughbred Racing" consists of:
Seven three-year-olds have won the Canadian Triple Crown:
[edit] JapanJapan has two sets of races referred to as Triple Crowns. Japanese Triple Crown
Only six horses have received the Japanese Triple Crown:
Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown
Only two horses have received the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown:
[edit] Hong KongThe Triple Crown series at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse consists of three races at increasingly longer distances. They are:
[edit] ReferencesWilliams, Guy St. John; Francis P. M. Hyland (1980). The Irish Derby 1866-1979. London and New York: J. A. Allen & Co Ltd.. ISBN 0-85131-358-2.
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