Triple Crown (horse racing)
The triple crown of horse racing (the "triple crown") consists of winning the three classic races for three-year-old horses. Winning all three races is the greatest challenge for a racehorse because it proves its versatility and performance consistency over an entire racing season.
According to an old English turf wisdom, the fastest horse wins the " 2,000 Guineas Race", the best horse the " St. Leger ", but the happiest horse the " Derby ".
In recent years, winning the "Triple Crown" has become rare, as most horses are now specialized in certain distances and for a derby winner it is now more attractive and higher priced races than the "St. Leger ”(“ Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe ”,“ Breeders' Cup ”). The Triple Crown is available in several countries, including Great Britain , the USA , Canada , Japan and Germany .
The "triple crown" is mostly just an honorary title. In the USA, however, there has been a special bonus for a few years now, and a few years ago a major bookmaker in England also offered a special price of £ 1 million for the winner of all three classic stallion races in one year.
Great Britain
The following races are part of the Triple Crown series in Great Britain :
- " The Two Thousand Guineas Stakes " at Newmarket Heath, Newmarket , Suffolk , 1609 m, end of April,
- " The Derby Stakes " in Epsom Downs, Epsom , Surrey , 2,414 m, early June,
- " The St Leger Stakes " in Town Moor, Doncaster , Yorkshire , about 2900 m, in mid-September.
Since it can be won (1809) only 15 horses have won the Triple Crown. Nijinsky II is only the second horse to have won the Triple Crown since World War I, and it seems unlikely that this event will happen again. Only the horses Nashwan (1989) and Camelot (2012) won two of the three races. The winners of the Triple Crown Series in Great Britain are:
Fillies Triple Crown
A variant of the Triple Crown is the "triple crown" for mares , with the first race being the mare derby, the Epsom Oaks . The second test is the 1000 Guineas race , also a mare race. The conclusion of the Fillies Triple Crown is the St. Leger Stakes , which is open to stallions and mares . So there can only be either one Triple Crown winner or one Fillies Triple Crown winner in a year. In the past, however, this combination was not considered a true triple crown, so that the best mares often also ran the derby and the Two Thousand Guineas. This is no longer common, so the Fillies Triple Crown are now considered to be equivalent to the Triple Crown.
The winners of the Fillies Triple Crown are:
- 1868 - Formosa , won a dead race with Moslem in the 2000 Guinea Stakes
- 1871 - Hannah
- 1874 - Apology , also won the Ascot Gold Cup
- 1892 - La Fleche , also won the Ascot Gold Cup
- 1902 - Scepter , also won the 2000 Guineas Stakes
- 1904 - Pretty Polly
- 1942 - Sun Chariot
- 1955 - meld
- 1985 - Oh So Sharp
Germany
In the Federal Republic of Germany and in reunified Germany, the triple crown consists of the following races:
- " Mehl-Mülhens race - German 2000 Guineas " - (former "Henckel race"), Cologne , 1600 meters - Gr. II
- " German Derby ", Hamburg-Horn , 2400 meters - Gr. I.
- " Deutsches St. Leger ", Dortmund , 2800 meters - Gr. II
The horse Königsstuhl (* May 17, 1976; † 1995) was only able to claim the title once in 1979 under jockey Peter Alafi .
In the GDR, the " triple crown " consisted of races
- »Spring Breeding Prize for three-year-olds«
- »Derby of the GDR«
- "Big Autumn Prize for three-year-olds"
and was won by three horses:
year | Surname | ancestry | breeder | owner | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Lomber | Trion - Lolita v. Gypsy son | Graditz Stud | Graditz Stud | H. Schäfke |
1979 | Gidron | Santamoss - Geografia v. Girst | Graditz Stud | Graditz Stud | F. Borrack |
1955 | factotum | Harlequin - spring sun v. Lampos | Graditz Stud | Graditz Stud | R. Kortum |
France
The French triple couronne consists of:
- Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas)
- Prix du Jockey Club
- Grand Prix de Paris (previously Prix Royal-Oak instead)
Two horses won the French Triple Couronne: Zut (1879) and Perth (1899)
For mares:
- Poule d'Essai des Pouliche (French 1000 guineas)
- Prix de Diane
- Prix Vermeille
Four mares won all three races: Nikellora (1945), Corteira (1948), Allez France (1973), Zarkava (2008)
United States
In the USA, the Triple Crown consists of the following races:
- Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville , Kentucky , 1.25 miles (2012 m), on the first Saturday in May
- Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore , Maryland , 1,910m, on the third Saturday in May
- Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park Racecourse in Elmont , New York , 2,414m, in early June
The Triple Crown has only been awarded in the USA since 1930, which went to Gallant Fox in the same year . The three races have been held for 125 years. Only 13 horses could win all three races:
- 1919 - Sir Barton
- 1930 - Gallant Fox
- 1935 - Omaha
- 1937 - Was an admiral
- 1941 - Whirlaway
- 1943 - Count Fleet
- 1946 - Assault
- 1948 - citation
- 1973 - Secretariat
- 1977 - Seattle Slew
- 1978 - Affirmed
- 2015 - American Pharoah
- 2018 - Justify
The " Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters " for harness racing consists of the Hambletonian Stakes , the Yonkers Trot and the Kentucky Futurity .
The “ Harness Racing's Pacing Triple Crown ” for pace races consists of the Cane Pace , the Messenger Stakes and the Little Brown Jug .
Canada
The " Triple Crown of Canadian Thoroughbred Racing" has existed since 1959 and consists of the following three races:
- Queen's Plate - held at Woodbine Racecourse in Toronto in June
- Prince of Wales Stakes - held at Fort Erie Racecourse in July
- Breeders' Stakes - back at Woodbine Racecourse in August.
Seven three-year-olds have won the Canadian Triple Crown: New Providence (1959), Canebora (1963), With Approval (1989), Izvestia (1990), Dance Smartly (1991), Peteski (1993), Wando (2003)
Japan
Japan has two Triple Crowns ( Japanese 冠 , Sankan ) - one for three-year-old stallions and mares and one exclusively for mares.
Japanese triple crown
- Satsuki-shō ( 皐 月 賞 ; Japanese 2000 Guineas - 2000 m), at the Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi , Chiba
- Tōkyō Yūshun ( 東京 優 駿 ; Japanese Derby - 2400 m), at the Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchū , Tokyo
- Kikka-shō, also Kikuka-shō, ( 菊花 賞 ; Japanese St. Leger - 3000 m), on the Kyōto racecourse in Kyōto
Seven horses have won the Triple Crown so far:
- 1941 - Saint Lite
- 1964 - Shinzan
- 1983 - Mr. CB
- 1984 - Symboli Rudolf
- 1994 - Narita Brian (from Brian's Time - from the Pacificus , from Northern Dancer )
- 2005 - Deep Impact (from Sunday Silence - from the Wind in Her Hair , from Alzao )
- 2011 - Orfevre (from Stay Gold - from Oriental Art , by Mejiro McQueen)
Japanese mare triple crown
- Ōka-shō ( 桜 花 賞 ; Japanese 1000 guineas), on the Hanshin Racecourse in Takarazuka
- Yūshun Himba ( 優 駿 牝 馬 ; Japanese Oaks), at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchū , Tokyo
- Shūka-shō ( 秋華 賞 ; since 1996), at the Kyoto Racecourse in Kyoto / Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (1976-1995)
The Japanese mares Triple Crown have won four horses so far:
- 1986 Mejiro l'Amone (from Mogami - from Mejiro Hiryu , from Never Beat )
- 2003 Still in Love (from Sunday Silence - from Bradamante , from Roberto )
- 2010 Apapane (from King Kamehameha - from the Salty Bid , from Salt Lake )
- 2012 Gentildonna (from Deep Impact - from Donna Blini , from Bertolini )
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Craig, Dennis, Breeding Racehorses from Cluster Mares , JA Allen, London, 1964
- ↑ Triple Crown ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Statistics on kinscem.de
- ↑ By Nicholas Godfrey 11:33 AM 17 OCT 2010: JAPAN Apapane completes fillies' Triple Crown at Kyoto . Racing Post. October 17, 2010. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 20, 2012.