The Triple Crown

I think most people, when they hear the words "The Triple Crown" think of three horse races: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Those races comprise the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Other countries have their own Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing. Those countries include the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada, Turkey and Japan.

When it comes to the U.S. Triple Crown, it has been thirty-five years (1978, Affirmed) since there was been a Triple Crown winner. The longest gap prior to that was twenty-five years. Citation won in 1948 and it wasn't until 1973 that Secretariat won. A total of eleven horses so far have won the elusive Triple Crown. There have been twenty-two horses who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but not the Belmont Stakes. The most recent was I'll Have Another in 2012. Due to an injury, he did not run in the Belmont Stakes. There were twenty-four other near misses, who won either the Kentucky Derby/Belmont Stakes or the Preakness Stakes/Belmont Stakes but did not win the third. One of the horses in this group is Man O'War in 1920. He won the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes but did not run in the Kentucky Derby. He and Secretariat both had the nickname "Big Red." The debate about which of these two horses was the greatest racehorse of all time will likely never end.

The following countries have Triple Crown races just for fillies: the U.S., Japan, Ecuador and Venezuela. In the U.S., fillies have run in the regular Triple Crown races. While a filly has yet to win the U.S. Triple Crown, as of 2009, the following fillies have won one Triple Crown race: 1867, Ruthess - the Belmont Stakes; 1903, Flocarline - the Preakness Stakes; 1905, Tanya - the Belmont Stakes; 1906, Whimsical - the Preakness Stakes; 1915, Regret - the Kentucky Derby; 1915, Rhine Maiden, the Preakness Stakes; 1924, Nellie Morse - the Preakness Stakes; 1980, Genuine Risk - the Kentucky Derby; 1988, Winning Colors - the Kentucky Derby and 2007, Rags to Riches - the Belmont Stakes.

Even though a filly has never won the U.S. Triple Crown - and no horse has won the U.S. Triple Crown since 1978 - I would love to see another U.S. Triple Crown winner and I would love even more to see that horse be a filly.

I have a sudden urge to watch Secretariat this weekend. . .