If a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes AND the Belmont Stakes, it is hailed as a Triple Crown champion of United States throughbred racing.
All these three races are for three-year-olds, so a horse can only start in them during their tree-year-old season.
At the time of writing, only 13 horses have become Triple Crown champions. The first one was Sir Barton, who won the races back in 1919, before the idea of a U.S. Triple Crown had become widespread. He, and the other early Triple Crown winners, were honored retroactively in the 1950s.
The Triple Crown champions
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), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018)
Triple crown betting
The triple crown is very popular among punters who enjoy betting on horse racing. Almost all sports betting websites feature triple crown betting. The triple crown races are among the few horse races that you can bet on in casinos and sports books all over the world. One the best sports betting website to place a bet in is LeoVegas Sports betting website. It is a very well regarded sport betting website. LeoVegas also feature one of the worlds best casino.
If you do not like LeoVegas than you can try another sports betting website such as 888, William Hill, Bet365 or Unibet.
The three races
Kentucky Derby
In a normal year, the Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday of may and is the first leg of the Triple Crown. This race was inagurated in 1875 and is thus the youngest of the three races. It is held in Louisville, Kentucky and its current racetrack is the Churchill Downs. Just like the other two races of the Triple Crown, it takes place on a dirt track.
The Kentucky Derby has been a 1 ¼ mile (10 furlong) race ever since 1897, when it was shortened from 1 ½ mile. The field is limited to 20 horses (since 1975). Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, fillies carry 121 pounds.
The winning horse is presented with a blanket of roses and the Kentucky Derby Trophy. Because of this blanket, the race is also known as The Run for the Roses.
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is normally held on the third Saturday of May, constituting the second leg of the Triple Crown. It was inagurated in 1873 and takes place in Baltimore, Maryland. Its current racetrack is the Pimlico Race Coure. Just like the other two races of the Triple Crown, this is a dirt track race.
The distance for the Preakness Stakes is 13⁄16 miles (9.5 furlongs) and the field is limited to 14 horses. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, fillies carry 121 pounds.
The winning horse is presented with The Woodlawn Vase and is covered in a blanked made from yellow flowers. These flowers are called Black-Eyed Susans, but are actually from another species since Black-Eyed Susans (the state flower of Maryland) doesn´t bloom in May. Still, the race is known as The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.
Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes is normally the last leg of the Triple Crown and takes place on the third Sunday following Preakness Stakes (i.e. it takes place on the first or second Saturday of June).
Belmont Stakes was inagurated in 1867. It´s current home is Belmont Park (since 1905) in Elmont, Long Island, New York State. Just like the other two races of the Triple Crown, this is a dirt track race. Since 1926, the distance has been 11⁄2 miles (12 furlongs), although it was temporarily shortened for the 2020 Belmont Stakes because of the Covid19 pandemic. Since this is the longest of the Triple Crown races, it is known as the Test of the Champion. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds, fillies carry 121 pounds. The field is limited to 16 horses.
The winning horse is covered in a blanket of white coronations and presented with the August Belmont Trophy. Because of this blanket, the race has been nicknamed The Run for the Coronations.