Triple Crown of Horse Racing

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Each year horse racing fans await the arrival of a Triple Crown winner. There are many feats in sports that are legendary, but most dwarf in comparison to the Triple Crown. It's extremely difficult to achieve. So what is the Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown is achieved by winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. It's incredibly rare. It's called the jewel of horse racing and it's elusive. One of the reasons why it's so hard is that the races are all run within a couple weeks of each other. Most of the horses that run in the events aren't used to working that fast.

Another reason why it's hard to achieve is that the fields all feature some of the best horses anywhere on the planet - it's a Grade I event. Some of the field is only in it for one race, so if any horse has any letup, fresher horses will overtake it. To win, a horse has to have three dominating performances in a row.

We've only seen 11 Triple Crown winners over the past 74 years and it's been almost 30 years since the last one, which was Affirmed in 1978. Winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown can be just as a hard. It's happened 21 times in that 74-year span. And 21 times, the horse going for the Triple Crown has come up short in the final race.

Sportswriter Charles Hutton is credited with bringing the phrase, which originated in England, to America. Today, the Triple Crown races are the most watched. Everyone from movie stars to the common person take interest in the Triple Crown races.

Will this be the year we see a Triple Crown winner? Every year, racebooks take in action on that very question. One thing is for sure; the next Triple Crown winner will dominate all media.