Three Famous Triple Crown Winners
Written by CRM
Monday, 19 August 2019 00:00

Horse racing is popular in many countries of the world, but in the USA and UK people share a different level of enthusiasm for the sport. The Americans have the Breeders Cup, Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes which are their most popular races.

While in the UK, the Grand National is the most popular race, and its latest edition happened in April this year. Go to Grand National review 2019 and you will know how enormous this race is in the UK.

1- War Admiral


War Admiral was a hugely successful horse who won many races in America. He was the son of Man o' War, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. In terms of size, he wasn't as big as Man o' War but he was just as talented as his father. He was owned by Glen Riddle Farm while George Conway was his trainer.

War Admiral won the 1937 Kentucky Derby, a race Man o' War never competed in, by defeating Pompoon who came in second. A week later, Pompoon and War Admiral faced again in the Preakness Stakes. It was a thrilling contest and War Admiral prevailed by a head in the end.

In the Belmont Stakes, he showcased his real speed and stamina and pulled off a feat that people couldn't forget for years. He was injured before the start of the race, still, he won the race by 3 lengths.

2- Secretariat

No one can dispute that Secretariat was one of the greatest horses in racing history. During his 16 months racing career, he landed some of the biggest racing honors in America.
His most famous victory came in the 1973 Belmont Stakes which is considered as one of the greatest races of all time. It is amazing to win any race by 31 lengths, but to win by that margin in a race like the Belmont Stakes is logic-defying. And Secretariat pulled off this feat in 1973 and stunned the whole world.

That year, the legendary horse broke many other records too. He won the Kentucky Derby by 2.5 lengths in a record-breaking time that stands to this day. He also won the Preakness Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths in 1973 and became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. He won 5 Eclipse Awards and also claimed Horse of the Year honor twice.
Secretariat won 16 races out of 21 he ran in, which also included 3 seconds and 1 third. He died in 1989 at the age of 19 due to a disease named laminitis.

3- American Pharoah

American Pharoah is the first horse in history to win the American Triple Crown plus the Breeders' Cup. It had been 37-years that any horse hadn't won the Triple Crown, and then American Pharoah performed this feat in 2015. He earned more than $8m in prize money by winning the Triple Crown. Bob Baffert trained him while he was owned by Ahmed Zayat of Zayat Stables.

He started his 2015 campaign with victories in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby. He then registered victories at Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before heading to New York to compete in the Belmont Stakes. He won the 2015 Belmont Stakes and became the 12th American Triple Crown winner.