50 Fun Facts About Triple Crown

Which horse in 1919 became the first winner of the American Triple Crown?

He won his season debut as a maiden in the Kentucky Derby, then swept the other two races before anyone called it a Triple Crown.

The term "Triple Crown" was first used when which horse swept the three races in 1930?

The New York Times applied the phrase to his sweep, though it did not catch on widely until his son repeated the feat five years later.

Which 1935 Triple Crown winner was the son of the previous winner?

He is the only Triple Crown winner sired by another Triple Crown winner, and he went on to narrowly lose England's Ascot Gold Cup at four.

Which 1937 Triple Crown winner lost the 1938 "Match Race of the Century" to Seabiscuit?

Despite the famous defeat, he won 21 of 26 starts and became a leading sire whose blood runs through American Pharoah and Justify.

Which 1941 Triple Crown winner was nicknamed "Mr. Longtail"?

His unusually long, thick tail streamed out behind him in races. He is also the only horse to add the Travers Stakes to a Triple Crown sweep.

Which 1943 winner took the Belmont Stakes by a then-record 25 lengths?

He never lost a race at three and was named 1943 Horse of the Year after an undefeated season.

Which 1946 Triple Crown winner is the only one bred in Texas?

He shares the record for the largest Kentucky Derby winning margin, eight lengths, with the 1941 winner.

Which 1948 Triple Crown winner was the first horse to win US$1,000,000 in earnings?

He also ran off 16 consecutive stakes wins, a streak that stood as a benchmark for decades.

Which 1977 winner was the first to take the Triple Crown while undefeated?

As an awkward foal he was nicknamed Baby Huey and some said he looked like a mule. Only Justify has since matched the undefeated feat.

Which 1978 winner beat rival Alydar into second place in all three Triple Crown races?

The two met ten times in total. After his sweep there was a 37-year wait for the next Triple Crown winner.

Which horse ended a 37-year drought by winning the Triple Crown in 2015?

He then added the Breeders' Cup Classic, becoming the first horse to complete the modern Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing.

Which horse became the 13th American Triple Crown winner in 2018?

He was the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a two-year-old.

By how many lengths did Secretariat win the 1973 Belmont Stakes?

His 2:24 for a mile and a half remains the American dirt record, and the race is widely called the greatest ever run by a Thoroughbred.

What was Secretariat's famous nickname?

Exercise rider Jim Gaffney gave him the name; he was a bright-red chestnut with three white socks and a star.

Who rode Secretariat to the 1973 Triple Crown?

The Canadian jockey also won the 1972 Kentucky Derby on Riva Ridge, making him one of the few to win the Derby in back-to-back years.

What winning time did Secretariat post in the 1973 Belmont Stakes?

The 2:24 for a mile and a half set Belmont and world dirt records for the distance, and through 2025 no Belmont winner had come within a second of it.

Who trained Secretariat?

Laurin once grumbled that the colt "can't outrun a fat man" before the big chestnut started to show his speed in workouts.

Which woman ran Meadow Stable and raced Secretariat?

She took over the stable when her father fell ill in 1968 and arranged the breeding; on first seeing the foal she wrote one word in her notebook: "Wow!"

Secretariat was named after a department of which organization?

Stable secretary Elizabeth Ham suggested the name from her former job; the first batch of proposed names had all been rejected by the Jockey Club.

Which stallion sired Secretariat?

Secretariat's dam was Somethingroyal; the colt came to Meadow Stable only because Penny Chenery lost a coin toss for first pick of the foals.

Secretariat was syndicated before his three-year-old season for what record sum?

Thirty-two shares sold at $190,000 each, beating Nijinsky's previous record, on the condition that he retire at the end of the year.

In which state was Secretariat foaled?

He was born just after midnight on Easter Monday 1970 at Meadow Stable in Doswell, and stood when he was 45 minutes old.

Which racetrack hosts the Kentucky Derby?

The Louisville track was named for John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land, though the name only became official in 1937.

The Preakness Stakes is traditionally run at which Baltimore track?

Pimlico opened in 1870; the race was first run there in 1873, two years before the first Kentucky Derby.

Over what distance is the Belmont Stakes traditionally run at Belmont Park?

It is the longest of the three races, hence the Test of the Champion; one full lap of Belmont Park. While the park was rebuilt in 2024-26 the race ran at Saratoga over 1 1/4 miles.

How long is the Kentucky Derby?

The race was first run at a mile and a half, matching the Epsom Derby, and was shortened to ten furlongs in 1896.

The Kentucky Derby is known by what floral nickname?

The winner is draped in a blanket of 554 red roses; the tradition traces to an 1883 post-Derby party where roses were handed to the ladies.

The Belmont Stakes winner is draped in a blanket of which flower?

About 700 flowers imported from Colombia go into the 40-pound blanket, earning the race the nickname Run for the Carnations.

The Preakness winner receives a blanket made to look like which Maryland state flower?

The real flower does not bloom until late June, so yellow flowers are daubed with black lacquer to imitate it.

In what year was the first Kentucky Derby run?

Aristides won the inaugural running before an estimated 10,000 people; the Derby has been held every single year since.

The first Belmont Stakes in 1867 was held at which Bronx racetrack?

The track was built by speculator Leonard Jerome and financed by August Belmont Sr., for whom the race is named. A filly, Ruthless, won the first running.

A replica of which trophy is presented to the Preakness winner's owner?

The original is kept at the Baltimore Museum of Art and brought to the track under guard each year for the presentation.

The Preakness Stakes was named after what?

The colt Preakness won the Dinner Party Stakes on the day Pimlico opened in 1870; the colt was himself named for a New Jersey stud farm.

Which Maryland governor named the Preakness Stakes?

The race he named was originally a mile and a half; the first running in 1873 drew seven starters and was won by Survivor by 10 lengths.

What is the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby?

Bourbon, mint and sugar syrup over ice, properly served in a frosted silver cup; most fans drink theirs from souvenir glasses first sold in 1939.

Which Stephen Foster song is played as the horses parade before the Derby?

The University of Louisville marching band has played the Stephen Foster song since the tradition began in 1921.

Which 1913 winner went off at 91-1, the longest odds ever to win the Kentucky Derby?

The record stood alone for more than a century until Rich Strike won at 80-1 in 2022.

Which 80-1 longshot won the 2022 Kentucky Derby after only making the field as a late replacement?

He got in only after a late scratching, then produced the second-biggest upset in the race's history.

Who became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby in 1970?

She finished 15th aboard Fathom. Krone later became the first woman to win a Triple Crown race, the 1993 Belmont.

Which jockey is the only one to have ridden two Triple Crown winners?

He swept the series on Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948, and won a record 17 Triple Crown races in total.

Who became the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown in 1978?

He was 18. He later moved to Europe and remains the only jockey to have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby.

Which jockey won the 2018 Triple Crown at age 52, the oldest ever to do so?

He also holds the record for Breeders' Cup wins by a jockey, with 27.

Which Mexican-born jockey won the 2015 Triple Crown, the first Hispanic rider to do so?

It was his third Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line, after falling short on War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014.

Which trainer saddled both the 2015 and 2018 Triple Crown winners?

He holds the Preakness record with eight wins and has been the subject of repeated controversy over failed drug tests by his horses.

Which 2007 filly became the first of her sex to win the Belmont Stakes since 1905?

The previous filly to win was Tanya in 1905; the very first Belmont in 1867 was also won by a filly, Ruthless.

Which horse upset Smarty Jones in the 2004 Belmont before a record crowd of 120,139?

It was the third straight year a Derby and Preakness winner lost at Belmont, after War Emblem in 2002 and Funny Cide in 2003.

Which horse won the 2014 Derby and Preakness but lost the Belmont to Tonalist?

His owners raced as DAP Racing, which stood for "Dumb Ass Partners", a jab at a passerby who questioned their purchase of his dam.

By what margin did Real Quiet lose the 1998 Belmont, the narrowest Triple Crown miss ever?

Victory Gallop caught him on the line after battling him in all three races. His trainer had nicknamed the narrow-framed colt "The Fish".

Which 1920 legend won the Preakness and Belmont but was never entered in the Kentucky Derby?

Owner Samuel Riddle thought ten furlongs was too far so early in a young horse's season. He won the Belmont by 20 lengths anyway.

Which trainer won all three 1995 Triple Crown races with different horses?

Thunder Gulch took the Derby and Belmont and Timber Country the Preakness, a sweep no other trainer has matched.