Frank L. Weyenberg Library Blog: TRIPLE CROWN OF THOROUGHBRED RACING

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races run by three year old Thoroughbred horses. These races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown and is run over 1 ¼ miles dirt track. The second leg, the Preakness, is run over 1 3/16 miles of dirt track, and Belmont Stakes, the third leg, is run over 1 ½ miles and is the longest dirt track in Thoroughbred racing.

In recent years, it has become very rare for a horse to win all three races as individual horses have become more specialized and can only run a limited range of distances. Twenty-nine horses have come into the final race with the ability to win the Triple Crown, but only 11 have succeeded. Will “I’ll Have Another” be able to do it?

Triple Crown Winners: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978).

The Kentucky Derby was held on May 5, 2012 at Churchill Downs (Louisville, KY).

Winner: “I’ll Have Another”

Preakness Stakes was held on May 19, 2012 at Pimlico Raceway (Baltimore, MD).

Winner: “I’ll Have Another”

Belmont Stakes will be run on June 9, 2012 at Belmont Park (Elmont, NY).

For more information about the Triple Crown, horseracing or famous racehorses check out these reads:

Down to the Wire: the Lives of the Triple Crown Champions by Robert L. Shoop

Secretariat by William Nack

The Horse God Built: the Untold Story of Secretariat, the World’s Greatest Race Horse by Lawrence Scanlon

Secretariat’s Meadow: the Land, the Family, the Legend by Kate Chenery Tweedy

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

The Great Match Race: When North Met South in America’s First Sports Spectacle by John Eisenberg