How the Triple Crown became horse racing’s biggest prize
Considered one of the hardest accomplishments in sports, the Triple Crown pushes Thoroughbred horses and jockeys to their limits.
While the first Sunday in May is reserved for the illustrious Kentucky Derby, fans know that this is just one of the dramatic three-part saga of horse racing.
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes weren’t originally conceived as a unified challenge. But in the years since each race’s inception, they’ve become part of the most revered test in American horse racing.
Just 13 horses and jockeys have ever won a Triple Crown title in the last century and a half—proof of the punishing nature of three difficult dirt-track races run in such quick succession. Here’s how the Triple Crown got its name, what makes each of these three races so prestigious—and why its future could be in question.
What is the Triple Crown?
Now known as the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the event consists of three dirt-track races run during a grueling five-week period.
Though the order and dates of the races have varied throughout history, today’s Triple Crown begins with the Kentucky Derby the first Saturday of May, continues with the Preakness Stakes the third Saturday of May, and finishes with the Belmont Stakes in early June.
The three races were developed independently, but as the most prestigious thoroughbred races in the U.S. they had long been grouped together by sportswriters and racing enthusiasts.
Then in 1919, American jockey Johnny Loftus rode Sir Barton to victory in all three— the first time a single horse and rider had done so. The feat garnered comparisons to the English Triple Crown, a 217-year-old British championship title given to a horse that wins the Guinness Stakes, the Derby, and the St. Leger Stakes in a single season.
Chicago sportswriter Charles Hatton then popularized the phrase in the 1930s, and over the years the term caught on among sportswriters and the public.
However, it took until the 1980s for the involved racetracks to begin working together to negotiate television broadcast rights and sponsorships, although the three races remain independent.
The ‘Run for the Roses’: The Kentucky Derby
Though the Kentucky Derby is the first Triple Crown race each year, it is actually the youngest of the three races. Run since 1875, the Kentucky Derby is a 10-furlong (1.25-mile) race that traditionally takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
It was founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., a wealthy American who also started the Louisville Jockey Club and built Churchill Downs—the home of the Kentucky Derby. Clark designed the race to emulate Britain’s most prestigious horse race, the Epsom Derby.
Over the years, Kentucky’s version gained its own signature flair, featuring fabulous hats, mint juleps, and a reputation as one of the most exciting races in sports. Black jockeys dominated the Derby in its earliest years despite the existence of Jim Crow-era segregation.
Today, the winning horse is draped with a gigantic blanket of 465 roses, while the winning owner receives a handmade gold trophy and a guaranteed $5 million purse. The race has survived world wars, pandemics, and The Great Depression, holding the title as the longest continuously running sporting event in American history.
(Why the Kentucky Derby is a 151-year-old celebration of hats)
The ‘Run for the Black-Eyed Susans’: The Preakness Stakes
The second race, the Preakness Stakes, traditionally takes place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (In 2026, it will be run at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland, due to construction.)
Known as the “middle jewel” of the Triple Crown, the race was named by Maryland’s then-governor Oden Bowie after a colt named Preakness that won Pimlico’s inaugural race in 1870. Three years later in 1873, the new race launched.
The Preakness Stakes is the shortest of the three races at just 9.5 furlongs, or about 1.2 miles. That short distance, and Pimlico’s traditionally tight corners, make the race extra competitive—and light-hearted.
In addition to a prize purse and a blanket of yellow flowers resembling Maryland’s state flower, the black-eyed Susan, the winning jockey and trainer receive a smaller replica of the famed Woodlawn Vase, a gigantic silver trophy made by Tiffany & Co. in the 1860s that is permanently housed at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The ‘Run for the Carnations’: The Belmont Stakes
The final race, the Belmont Stakes, is a 12-furlong (1.5-mile) competition and thus the most strenuous of the three races. Named after August Belmont, a powerful banker who helped spur the popularity of horse racing among wealthy Americans in the 19th century, the race was first held at Jerome Park in what is now the Bronx in 1867.
In the years since, it’s traditionally taken place at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, though in recent years it has taken place at Saratoga Race Track in Saratoga Springs due to ongoing construction.
Known as the “test of champions,” the Belmont Stakes is the hardest to win due to its lengthy and sandy course. The winning horse is bedecked in a blanket of white carnations, and the race’s prize purse equals $2 million.
Big prizes, big controversies
Since 1950, horses that win all three of the races in a year are awarded the Triple Crown trophy, a silver object designed by Cartier and given by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, an industry group that represents a broad range of U.S. racing entities.
All three races involve three-year-old horses of the Thoroughbred breed—a variety of horse bred specifically for speed. These hard-working horses—sometimes worth millions of dollars—actually reach their highest speeds during their fourth year. But longstanding tradition, and breeders’ use of the high-profile race trilogy to showcase their most exciting new talents, means horses are only eligible for Triple Crown races during their third year.
(Why America's greatest racehorse still dominates the track today)
But though the prestige of a Triple Crown win drives rivalries and fuels the dreams of breeders, owners, jockeys, and fans, the tight schedule has long drawn criticism. Opponents claim the difficulty of winning all three races invites injuryand encourages cheating.
The most recent Triple Crown winner, Justify, failed a drug test a month before its 2018 victory at the Kentucky Derby, but competed nonetheless after California regulators declined to pursue the case. That scandal—and the deaths of seven horses connected to the 2023 Kentucky Derby—has continued to fuel controversy about just when, and whether, Triple Crown contenders should compete.
Horse racing officials have proposed schedule changes in coming seasons to protect horses and riders. Will it work—or will the championship continue to stress hard-working horses to their utmost capacity? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, the Triple Crown title remains the most prestigious in American horse racing.
