1. Secretariat. Widely considered the greatest Horse Racing horse of the 20th Century, Big Red set the standard for 3-year-old greatness in the 1973 Triple Crown. He set track records in the Derby and Belmont and would have set one in the Preakness if not for a timing malfunction. Don't ever expect another horse to win the Belmont by 31 lengths in 2:24. Like Woody Stephens' five consecutive Belmont wins from 1982-86, Secretariat's records in the Triple Crown finale will never be broken.

2. Citation. Many old-timers ranked this all-conquering machine up there with Secretariat. In 1997 I interviewed Citation's trainer, the late Jimmy Jones, who thought his horse was better. "Secretariat?" he said with contempt. "He couldn't handle a wet track. Citation could run on anything, he could sprint and he could go long." Jones was right, and Citation was tireless. He was 14-for-16 with two seconds before ruling the 1948 Triple Crown by a combined 17 lengths.

3. Seattle Slew. The speedy Slew, the only horse to sweep the classics while undefeated, was wired and inspired, the ultimate Alpha male. He was heavily favored in all but one of his 17 horse racing career starts, of which he won 14. Like Man o' War, he was "a living flame." His greatness continued in the breeding shed, where he was the best sire among all of the Triple Crown winners.

4. Count Fleet. The Count was never headed throughout the 1943 Triple Crown, which he capped by taking a three-horse Belmont by 25 lengths at odds of 1-20. The chart said he was galloping, so he might have won by 30 if he'd been pushed. Had he not run during World War II, when breeding and horse racing were cut back, his place in history might have been greater.

5. Affirmed. Unlike many champions, the most recent Triple Crown winner didn't relish blowing away his competition. He rarely won by more than he had to. Triumphing in a close fight was Affirmed's style, and he broke archrival Alydar's heart by a combined margin of less than two lengths in the 1978 horse racing classics, holding on by a head in the Belmont and a neck in the Preakness. His rider that magical spring, 18-year-old Steve Cauthen, praised him as a great athlete. In 1997, Cauthen told me that if Affirmed had been a human and played basketball, he would have been Michael Jordan.

6. Whirlaway. This spectacularly talented closer was a true nut case, and probably the only thoroughbred superstar called "The Half Wit" by his trainer. Whirlaway nearly drove Hall of Famer Ben Jones crazy by running so wide on the turns, when the colt's bushy tail presented numerous photo opportunities. "Mr. Long Tail" overcame his horse racing eccentricities to take the 1941 Triple Crown by a total of 16 lengths with no anxious moments.

7. War Admiral. The heavy in the movie "Seabiscuit" was beautifully bred and a magnificent physical specimen. He led at every call in the 1937 Triple Crown, though he took the Preakness by only a head. As a 3-year-old, he was 8-for-8. His misfortune was ending up as the villain the next year in the 1938 Pimlico Special match race with Seabiscuit. War Admiral, a son of Man o' War, was characterized as the horse racing aristocrat against the modestly bred people's horse during the Depression.

8. Gallant Fox. The only Triple Crown winner to sire one (Omaha in 1935), this colt provided a badly needed distraction for horse racing America during the first spring of the Great Depression. He went 9-for-10 as a 3-year-old and won each classic comfortably.

9. Sir Barton. Almost 20 years before the Derby, Preakness and Belmont would be characterized as the Triple Crown, Sir Barton won the first one. Too bad nobody knew about it. In the spring of 1919, only a few months after the end of the cataclysmic World War I, Sir Barton became the star 3-year-old after going 0-for-6 at 2.

10. Omaha. The son of 1930 Triple Crown champion Gallant Fox was a late bloomer, winning only 1 of 9 races as a 2-year-old before turning into the best 3-year-old of his generation.

11. Assault. Whenever horse racing history buffs are asked to name the Triple Crown winners, this 1946 winner almost always is the hardest to recall. Besides being the lowest-rated of the 11 on almost everybody's list, he's the only Texas-bred ever to pull off the sweep. Known as "The Club-Footed Comet" because of a foot problem, he was a dud at stud because he was sterile.