The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing 

(Triple Crown) for short, but the term is also used in other sports, and thus the full name should be used when it could cause confusion) consists of three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a thoroughbred racehorse, if not of any athlete (human or animal). In recent years, the Triple Crown has become a very rare achievement (and in fact has not been done at allsince 1978, although many horses have come close), with most horses specializing on a limited range of distances.

In the United States the Triple Crown is made up of:

The Triple Crown starts with the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May. The Preakness follows two weeks later. The Belmont Stakes is five weeks after the Kentucky Derby in early June.

For a horse, winning the Triple Crown is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as all three races only allow 3-year-old horses to enter.

In the U.S., the term "Triple Crown" is the usual reference for these three horse races unless another sport is specified.

In 1930, Gallant Fox won all three important races, and sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the phrase "Triple Crown" into the American lexicon.

In the more-than-125-year history of the U.S. events, only 11 horses have ever won the U.S. Triple Crown; none since 1978. 

As of May 20, 2006, the longest drought between Triple Crown winning horses is 29 years, dating back to Spectacular Bid's ill-fated Triple Crown run in 1979. Since Affirmed, nine horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Of those, Real Quiet has come the closest to winning the Triple Crown, losing the Belmont Stakes by a nose in 1998. Charismatic led the Belmont in the final furlong in 1999 but broke his leg in the final stretch and fell back to third. Many horse-racing enthusiasts believe that had he not broken his leg, Charismatic would have won the Triple Crown. The two most recent to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but lose the Belmont were Funny Cide in 2003 and Smarty Jones in 2004. Funny lost the Belmont in the slop to fresh horses, and Smarty lost by only a length.

In addition, several horses have won two of the three races since the last Triple Crown win, most recently Afleet Alex in 2005, who lost the Kentucky Derby but won the Preakness and Belmont.

Only one horse, Alydar, has placed (second place) in all three races. He was defeated by Affirmed in all three races in 1978 by a combined margin of two lengths. In addition, Mane Minister finished 3rd in each race in 1991, and Hawkster finished 5th in each race in 1989.

One trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has won the Triple Crown with two different horses, Thunder Gulch and Timber Country, winning the three races in 1995. While this is not declared a Triple Crown officially, it is unique as a trainer that he is the only trainer to win the three races in a calendar year with different horses.

2006 is the first time since 2000 that three different horses won the races: Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby (who suffered a career, and eventual life-ending injury during the Preakness), Bernardini won the Preakness, and Jazil won the Belmont Stakes.

Also, as of May 21, 2005, the VISA Credit Card company officially withdrew its sponsorship of the U.S. Triple Crown, starting in 2006. It relieves VISA of paying the $5 million bonus to the owner of the horse that wins the Triple Crown. Triple Crown Productions is now sponsoring the races, as of 2006. The $5 million bonus remains intact.

Some believe VISA withdrew its sponsorship as a result of the New York Racing Association's decision to break with the other two tracks on a television contract. On October 4, 2004, NYRA announced the American Broadcasting Company and ESPN would hold television rights to the Belmont Stakes, breaking from Triple Crown Productions' deal with NBC Sports. NBC Sports continues the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes rights until 2010. Triple Crown Productions was formed in 1986 with ABC; prior to that, the individual racing associations made their own deals with the TV networks (ABC and CBS).

There also is a Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing in the United States, open to 3-year old fillies.