American Triple Crown winners and the hoofprints they left in horse racing history

GHENT, WV (WVNS) — While there will not be a 2024 Triple Crown winner after the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2024, take a look at previous horses that left a hoofprint in horse racing history.

The phrase ‘Triple Crown’ refers to three races in the United States for three-year-old thoroughbreds: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. The races are almost always the same distances each time, with the Kentucky Derby is 1 and 1/4 miles long, the Preakness is 1 and 3/16 miles long, and the Belmont Stakes is 1 and 1/2 mile long. Winners of the Triple Crown must win all three races.

Although the term ‘Triple Crown’ was not declared until much later, the first Triple Crown winner goes back to 1919.

Sir Barton – 1919

Sir Barton was the first Triple Crown winner in history, although he won before the Triple Crown was officially named. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, he was born in 1916 at the Hamburg Place Farm in Kentucky. His racing performances resulted in him being named the 1919 Horse of the Year, and the 1919 Champion 3-Year-Old Male.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , Sir Barton raced a total of 31 times, leaving him with 13 first place, 6 second place, 5 third place, and 7 unplaced finishes.

A 4-year-old Sir Barton competed in, and lost, a match race against the well-known 3-year-old Man o’ War in Canada on October 12, 1920.

Gallant Fox – 1930

Gallant Fox , born on March 23, 1927 at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, was the second winner of the Triple Crown with his first place finish in the Belmont Stakes in 1930. Gallant Fox is the only Triple Crown winner who sired another Triple Crown winner, Omaha. He was the 1930 Horse of the Year and the 1930 Champion 3-Year-Old Male.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , Sir Barton raced 17 times, with a total of 11 first place, 3 second place, 2 third place, and 1 unplaced finishes.

Omaha – 1935

Omaha , a son of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, won the Triple Crown in 1935 making him the third Triple Crown winner in horse racing history. He was born at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky on March 24, 1932. He was named the 1935 Champion 3-Year-Old Male racehorse.

Omaha raced a total of 22 times according to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame . His placings included 9 first place, 7 second place, 2 third place, and 4 unplaced finishes.

War Admiral – 1937

War Admiral , often viewed as one of the more well-known sons of Man o’War, was the fourth winner of the Triple Crown with his Belmont Stakes win in 1937. He was born on May 2, 1934 at Faraway Farm in Kentucky. War Admiral showed his promise as a 3-year-old, and he won the one race that Man o’War never ran in, the Kentucky Derby.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , there were difficulties for War Admiral in the Belmont Stakes. Not only did he delay the race for eight minutes, he stumbled once the gate opened to start the race and got a cut on one of his hind feet. Despite the injury, War Admiral not only won by three lengths, he also beat the track record that his sire set 17 years before.

While War Admiral is well-known as a Triple Crown winner, he is also known for the match race on November 1, 1938 that he lost to Seabiscuit. He was the 1937 Horse of the Year, and the 1937 Champion 3-Year-Old Male. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, War Admiral raced a total of 26 times, with 21 first place, 3 second place, 1 third place, and 1 unplaced finish.

Whirlaway – 1941

The fifth horse to leave his mark in horse racing history by winning the 1941 Triple Crown was Whirlaway . He was born at Calumet Farm in Kentucky on April 2, 1938. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , he was difficult to train and unpredictable when on the racetrack.

While he could run, he reportedly had a tendency to drift towards the outside rail. Once he was a three-year-old, according to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , his trainer fitted him with a full-cup blinker over his right eye to help him focus, resulting in Whirlaway having far more focus and less drifting when racing.

Whirlaway was named the Champion 2-year-old male in 1940, Horse of the Year in 1941, Champion 3-Year-Old Male in 1941, Horse of the Year 1942, and the 1942 Champion Older Male.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , Whirlaway ran a total of 60 races, with 32 first place, 15 second place, 9 third place, and 4 unplaced finishes.

Count Fleet – 1943

Count Fleet was the sixth Triple Crown winner. Born at Stoner Creek Farm in Kentucky on March 24, 1940, the 1943 Triple Crown winner ‘s career as a two-year-old included setting a track record with a sixth-length win in the 1942 Champagne Stakes, equaling the Pimlico Futurity’s track record, and winning the 1942 Walden Stakes by 30 lengths.

During his run for the Triple Crown, Count Fleet won the Kentucky Derby by three lengths, the Preakness Stakes by eight lengths, and the Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths. By the time he was retired, Count Fleet raced a total of 21 times, with 16 first place, 4 second place, and 1 third place finishes.

Count Fleet was named the 1942 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, 1943 Champion three-year-old Male, and 1943 Horse of the Year. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , he was the leading sire in America in 1951, and sired 38 stakes winners.

Assault – 1946

America’s seventh Triple Crown winner, Assault, was born at the King Ranch in Texas on March 26, 1943. According to TwinSpires Horse Racing , he was the first Triple Crown winner who was not born in Kentucky.

Referred to as the “The Club-footed Comet” due to an accident as a weanling where he stepped on something sharp that went through his right front foot, causing Assault to have a limp and oddly-shaped foot. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , while Assault appeared clumsy when going slower, it was not as noticeable when he was running.

Assault won the Kentucky Derby by eight lengths, the Preakness Stakes by a neck, and the Belmont Stakes by three lengths. He raced a total of 42 times, finishing with 18 first place, 6 second place, 8 third place, and 10 unplaced wins.

Citation – 1948

Citation was the winner of the 1948 Triple Crown, making him the eighth Triple Crown winner in horse racing history. Born on April 11, 1945 at Calumet Farm in Kentucky, Citation won eight out of nine starts as a two-year-old. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , by the end of his three-year-old racing season, he raced a total of 29 times, with 15 straight wins, three of which were the Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont.

He raced a total of 45 times, and had 32 first place, 10 second place, 2 third place, and 1 unplaced finishes.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , Citation was the first horse with over $1 million in career winnings. TheBloodHorse also ranked Citation Number three of the best racehorses of the 20th century, only beaten by Man o’ War and Secretariat.

Secretariat – 1973

With a gap of 25 years between Triple Crown wins, Secretariat ‘s win of the 1973 Belmont Stakes made him the ninth horse to win the Triple Crown. His performances in the Triple Crown races resulted in him being named one of history’s greatest racehorses.

Born on March 30, 1970 at Meadow Farm in Virginia, Secretariat ‘s origins started with a coin flip between Meadow Stud and Ogden Phipps, where the winner got to pick one of two foals sired by Bold Ruler. Meadow Farm received Secretariat, and Phipps received the other foal. His racing history as a two-year-old led him to become the 1972 Horse of the Year, as well as the 1972 Champion 2-Year-Old Male.

Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby by two and a half lengths, and he ran the 1 and 1/4 mile race with each quarter-mile being faster than the previous one. According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , he set the track record of one minute fifty-nine and two-fifths seconds. His performance in the Preakness, again winning by two and a half lengths, led to him setting a stakes record with his time of one minute and fifty-three seconds.

His performance in the Belmont Stakes however, is what left a mark in horse racing history that no other horse ever approached. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a record 31 lengths, winning in two minutes and 24 seconds, which broke the stakes record by more than two seconds.

Secretariat’s performance in the Triple Crown races resulted in him being named the 1973 Horse of the Year, added him to the Eclipse Awards for Champion 3-Year-Old Male, and 1973 Champion Turf Horse. In 1974, he was also inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. During his racing career he raced a total of 21 times, with 16 first place, 3 second place, 3 third place, and 1 unplaced finish.

While the heart of an average horse often weighs somewhere around eight to ten pounds, according to the History Channel , once a necropsy was performed after Secretariat’s death, it was discovered that his heart weighed around 21 to 22 pounds.

Seattle Slew – 1977

Seattle Slew ‘s run in the Belmont Stakes made him the tenth winner of the 1977 Triple Crown while simultaneously making him the first undefeated Triple Crown winner. He was born on February 15, 1974 at the White Horse Acres Farm in Kentucky.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , not only did Seattle Slew win the 1977 Triple Crown, in 1978 he raced against Affirmed and won by three lengths, marking the first time that Triple Crown winners raced against one another. By the end of his career, he raced a total of 17 times and had 14 first place, 2 second place, 0 third place, and 1 unplaced finishes.

Seattle Slew was the 1972 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, 1977 Horse of the Year, 1977 Champion 3-Year-Old Male, and the 1978 Champion Older Male.

Affirmed – 1978

The eleventh Triple Crown winner in history is Affirmed , who won the Triple Crown in 1978. He was born at the Harbor View Farm in Florida on February 21, 1975.

Affirmed is often associated with Alydar, another racehorse, whose rivalry started in their racing career as two-year-old’s. The two raced against each other multiple times, while Affirmed won all three of the Triple Crown races, Alydar came in second for all three.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame , Affirmed raced 29 times, and had a total of 22 first place, 5 second, 1 third, and 1 unplaced finishes during his career. He was named the 1977 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, the 1978 Horse of the Year, the 1978 Champion 3-Year-Old Male, the 1979Horse of the Year, and the 1979 Champion Older Male.

American Pharoah – 2015

American Pharoah ‘s 2015 Triple Crown win not only made him the twelfth Triple Crown winner in horse racing history, but it also brought an end to the 37 year gap between Triple Crown winners.

Born on February 2, 2012 at Zayat Stables in Kentucky, American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby by one length, the Preakness by seven lengths, and won the Belmont Stakes by five and a half lengths.

His racing career did not end with his winning of the 2015 Triple Crown, he went on to win multiple races, including the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic. According to TwinSpires Horse Racing , American Pharoah was the first horse to win the ‘Grand Slam’ of horse racing: the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

American Pharoah raced a total of 11 times, with placings that included 9 first place, 1 second place, 0 third place, and 1 unplaced finishes. He was the 2014 Champion 2-Year-Old Male, the 2015 Horse of the Year, and the 2015 Champion 3-Year-Old Male.

Justify – 2018

The latest Triple Crown winner was Justify in 2018, making him the thirteenth winner of the Triple Crown. He was born on March 28, 2015 in Kentucky, and according to TwinSpires Horse Racing , he was the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year-old.

Unlike American Pharoah, Justify was retired after the Belmont Stakes and did not go on to race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Upon his retirement, he was the only Triple Crown winner to retire with a record of being undefeated , having raced and won six times. While Seattle Slew was undefeated upon winning the Triple Crown, he continued to race after the Belmont where he lost some races.

Although there will not be a Triple Crown winner in 2024, it can be difficult to not recognize the mark that these horses left in horse racing history. The bloodlines of many horses in 2024 can be traced back to a variety of previous Triple Crown winners, leaving legacies that continue to run on.

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