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Horse racing’s
biggest achievement is the Triple Crown,
which consists of victories in the Kentucky
Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont,
but no horse has been able to take home that
title in many years. The
last horse to win all three was Affirmed in
1978 and although 11 horses have completed
the feat in the past, none have done so in
the last 30 years and this is one of the
toughest tasks to complete in any sport.
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The term “Triple
Crown” is accredited to a sports writer by
the name of Charles Hatton who wrote it
about the second horse to ever win it,
Gallant Fox in 1930. The
first winner was actually Sir Barton in 1919
but the term had not yet been created at the
time.
The first leg of the
improbable achievement is the Kentucky Derby
at Churchill Downs, which Big Brown won as a
2.4-1 underdog last year. This
race has seen its share of upsets in the
past but none bigger than in 2005 when
Giacamo won as a 50-1 underdog. Over
the last ten years, only four favorites have
taken home the Kentucky Derby crown with 5
of the winners being 10-1 underdogs or
better. If you want to
try and find a nice paying underdog, it
seems the Kentucky Derby is your best bet.
Next up is the
Preakness Stakes at Pimlico where Big Brown
won easily last year as a massive betting
favorite. With two legs
down, Big Brown was in the company of Funny
Cide, War Emblem, and Smarty Jones who all
won both of the first two legs of the Triple
Crown since 2000. In
1997, 1998, and 1999, three other horses
also accomplished this feat. The
Preakness has been just about the opposite
of the Kentucky Derby with the favorites
winning nearly every year. Although
Master Derby won in 1975 as a 23-1 underdog,
the favorite has won in 6 of the last 10
years with only one winner coming in at over
a 10-1 underdog which was Bernandini in 2006
at 13-1.
The last leg of the
Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes at
Belmont Park. With
Kentucky Derby winners generally winning the
Preakness easily, this race tends to have
some great underdog odds on the other horses
since many Triple Crown prospects falter
here. The biggest Triple
Crown underdog in the history of these three
races happened here in 2002 when Sarava when
the 70-1 horse ended famed War Emblem’s
Triple Crown hopes. The
last 10 years have seen three horses win
this race at 18-1 or higher including a
38.5-1 winner last year when Da’Tara ended
any hopes for a Big Brown Triple Crown
title.
The slump we are
currently in is nothing new with horse
racing aficionados having to wait 25 years
after Citation’s Triple Crown prowess in
1948. In 1973,
Secretariat eventually ended the Triple
Crown drought and set some records that
still exist to this day including the best
time ever in the Kentucky Derby.
A great horse does not come along
every year and this extended wait will only
get bettors more excited about the
possibility. Many
sportsbooks offer the option to bet on
whether or not there will be a Triple Crown
winner in any given year so maybe 2009 is
the magic number.
Two different owners
have managed to have their horses win the
Triple Crown twice with Belair Stud taking
it home in 1930 and 1935 with Gallant Fox
and Omaha while Calumet Farm has wins in
1941 and 1948 with Whirlaway and Citation.
Eddie Arcaro remains the only jockey
in horse racing history with two Triple
Crown titles to his name as the main rider
for Calumet Farm when the group ruled over
the horse racing world.
Many horses have
come close in the past with 47 different
ones taking home 2 of the 3 legs with 16
winning the first 2 legs and then coming up
just short at the Belmont Stakes.
Only 2 horses have won the first 2
legs of the Triple Crown and then did not
compete in the Belmont because of injuries,
both with bowed tendons.
It may be another 25
years before we see another great horse who
dominates the field in all three races but
you can count on the moment being well worth
the wait. Secretariat
ended the drought in fantastic fashion and
some race horse will come along and
captivate horse racing fans once again.
The only question for those betting
is how long are we going to have to wait to
win that pesky Triple Crown winner prop bet? |
