With Justify winning the American Triple Crown horse racing series in 2018, 13 horses have won this coveted and elusive title over the last 100+ years.
Here is the list of thoroughbred horses and their owner(s), trainer and jockey for winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes of the Triple Crown.
Triple Crown Winners
Sir Barton (1919)
Owner: JLH Ross / Trainer: HG Bedwell / Jockey: John Loftus
Gallant Fox (1930)
Owner: Belair Stud / Trainer: James Fitzsimmons / Jockey: Earl Sande
Omaha (1935)
Owner: Belair Stud / Trainer: James Fitzsimmons / Jockey: William Saunders
War Admiral (1937)
Owner: Samuel D. Riddle / Trainer: George Conway / Jockey: Charley Kurtsinger
Whirlaway (1941)
Owner: Calumet Farm / Trainer: Ben A. Jones / Jockey: Eddie Arcaro
Count Fleet (1943)
Owner: Ms. JD Hertz / Trainer: Don Cameron / Jockey: John Longden
Assault (1946)
Owner: King Ranch / Trainer: Max Hirsch / Jockey: Warren Mehrtens
Citation (1948)
Owner: Calumet Farm / Trainer: Ben A. Jones / Jockey: Eddie Arcaro
Secretariat (1973)
Owner: Meadows Stable / Trainer: Lucien Laurin / Jockey: Ron Turcotte
Seattle Slew (1977)
Owner: Karen L. Taylor / Trainer: William Turner Jr. / Jockey: Jean Cruguet
Affirmed (1978)
Owner: Harbor View Farm / Trainer: Lazaro S. Barrera / Jockey: Steve Cauthen
American Pharoah (2015)
Owner: Zayat Stable / Trainer: Bob Baffert / Jockey: Victor Espinosa
Justify (2018)
Owner: WinStar Farm / Trainer: Bob Baffert / Jockey: Mike Smith
American Triple Crown Horse Racing Facts
Since 1875 when the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes were all in existence as far as Grade 1 stakes races, 13 horses have been first in all three events as a three-year-old thoroughbred.
Sir Barton became the first Triple Crown winner in 1919 after the Thoroughbred Racing Committee formally proclaimed this honor in December of 1950.
War Admiral won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes as part of the Horse of the Year in 1937. He went on to race Seabiscuit in the ‘Match Race of the Century’ in 1938.
James Fitzsimmons, Ben A. Jones and Bob Baffert are the only trainers to win multiply Triple Crown awards in the duration of this horse racing event. Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to win multiple Triple Crown events (in 1941 and 1948).
Secretariat earned the Triple Crown racing series in 1973 by winning the Belmont Stakes with an incredible 31-length lead over the horse in second place. The Belmont Stakes is the most extensive test of the Triple Crown racing series at 1½ miles on dirt.
Affirmed was the last horse to win the Triple Crown in the 20th century by taking first place in the 1978 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
American Pharoah won the 2015 Triple Crown as the first racehorse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in the 21st century. Justify won the Triple Crown just three years later in 2018.
Seattle Slew and Justify are they only two racehorses to win all of the Triple Crown prep races before finishing first in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Justify is a direct descendant of Seattle Slew as a son of Scat Daddy.
