horse racing

What Is the Triple Crown and How Many Horses Have Won It?

Winning the Triple Crown is a very difficult feat to achieve

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One down, two to go.

Mage pulled off a thrilling victory in the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The No. 8 horse used a fierce charge down the final stretch to edge out Two Phil's and Angel of Empire.

Two Phil's and Angel of Empire were two of the top three betting favorites entering the Derby. But it was the horse with the eighth-best odds who proved to be the best in the field.

And now, Mage is two victories away from history.

Which races are part of the Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown features three races for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses, with just weeks separating each event. A horse that emerges victorious in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes is dubbed a Triple Crown winner.

What is the order of the Triple Crown races?

The Triple Crown begins with the Kentucky Derby followed by the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.

What are the distances of the Triple Crown races?

The Belmont Stakes is the longest race at 1 1/2 miles. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles long, while the Preakness Stakes is the shortest at 1 3/16 miles.

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

Winning the Triple Crown is very hard to do. There have been just 13 Triple Crown winners in horse racing history, with the first one coming over 100 years ago.

Sir Barton was the first to claim the Triple Crown title all the way back in 1919, while Justify was the most recent to do so in 2018.

Here's a full look at the 13 Triple Crown winners:

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

Fifty years ago, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first leg in the horse’s journey to capture the Triple Crown.

When is the Preakness Stakes 2023?

The next leg of the Triple Crown takes place on Saturday, May 20 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

When is the Belmont Stakes 2023?

The Triple Crown wraps up with the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 10 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race comes just over a month after the Kentucky Derby.

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