Triple Crown Champions Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sir Barton

Sired by leading stud Star Shoot, Sir Barton was a Kentucky-bred chestnut colt with an unpleasant disposition. As two-year-old, he lost all six of his starts. So at age three, he debuted as a maiden -- in the Kentucky Derby! (This was before the race had gained its modern-day prestige.) Trainer Harvey Guy Bedwell had intended Sir Barton to be a rabbit for stablemate Billy Kelly. (A rabbit sets a speedy pace early to tire out opponents so another horse, a closer, can come from behind and win.) But Billy Kelly could not catch Sir Barton, who led the field of twelve colts from start to finish. Just *four days later* he won the Preakness Stakes, and again led all the way! At the Belmont Stakes, he set the record for the fastest race in 1⅜ miles (11 furlongs), at 2:17⅖. Named 1919 Horse of the Year, Sir Barton entered the the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957.

He died in 1937 of colic. His remains are buried under a memorial in Washington Park in Douglas, Wyoming.

In Lexington, Kentucky a street has been named in his honor.

Answer: American Pharoah

After Affirmed's victory in 1978, no other horse won the Triple crown for 37 years, until American Pharoah, a bay colt having a faint star on his forehead but no other white markings, and also having a gentle, friendly disposition. He won the Derby by a length, the Preakness (on a sloppy track) by seven lengths, and the Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths. Later that year he won the Haskell at Monmouth Park but lost at the Travers Stakes held at Saratoga Race Course. American Pharoah also became the first horse to win what some journalists called the "Grand Slam" when he won the Breeder's Cup Classic later in 2015. (The BC Classic did not exist before 1984, so none of the previous Crown winners could have attained this achievement.)

A note on spelling: When owner Ahmed Zayat registered American Pharoah at the Jockey Club, the breed registry for Thoroughbreds in the USA and Canada, the word "pharaoh" was misspelled, transposing the 'a' and 'o'. Though inadvertent, the spelling is permanent, but the Jockey Club has restricted both spellings to prevent a similarly named horse from being registered so as not confuse the betting public or prospective buyers.

Answer: War Admiral

Nicknamed "The Mighty Atom" by his fans, War Admiral was a very dark brown color like his dam, Brushup, and he was foaled at Faraway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. At the 1937 Kentucky Derby, he delayed the start of the race by eight minutes, but ultimately he won easily by 3/4 length. Just a week later the Preakness, he acted up again at the start. He went to the lead at first, lost ground at the turns, and at the home stretched dueled against Pompoon and won by a head. At the Belmont Stakes he stumbled and sliced off about a quarter inch of his right heel, but he nonetheless won by three lengths. The injury caused to him to miss the summer races. War Admiral was also the rival of Seabiscuit in the "Match Race of the Century" in 1938.

Another injury in 1939 forced War Admiral's retirement. He sired 40 stakes winners before his death in 1959. Although his sire line is gone, his pedigree has been carried on through his daughters. Three of War Admiral's descendants are Triple Crown winners: Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and American Pharoah; others include Cigar, Alysheba, and Zenyatta.

Answer: Justify

Kentucky-bred Justify, a large chestnut colt with a white blaze, was trained by Bob Baffert, who had previously trained four Kentucky Derby winners, including 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah.

Justify had never raced as a two-year-old when he started at the Kentucky Derby (though he had entered races at age three previously), but he had won all of his starts as a three-year-old. When he won on a sloppy track by 2½ lengths, with almost no mud as a front-runner, he broke the "Curse of Apollo". (Apollo had been the last horse, in 1882, to win the Derby unraced as a two-year-old). The track for the Preakness was foggy and even sloppier, but Justify won by half a length. With his win at the Belmont he became the second horse in the 21st century to win the Triple Crown, just three years after American Pharaoh. He also became the second undefeated horse to take the title, Seattle Slew (1977) being the first.

Answer: Gallant Fox

Gallant Fox was a large bay colt with a white blaze, bred at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. His trainer, future Hall-of-Famer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons, conditioned him in relays because no single horse could match him through an entire workout. Raced only from 1929 to 1930, he won eleven out of seventeen starts. He was the favorite in the Preakness Stakes, which in 1930 was held before the Kentucky Derby, and after taking the lead early, won it by 3/4 length. At the Derby, Gallant Fox broke slowly, but took the lead on the backstretch before winning breezily by two lengths at 2:07⅗ on a muddy track. At the Belmont Stakes, in a field of just four horses, he won by three lengths over the favorite, Whichone.

After Gallant Fox won these races, sportswriter Charles Hatton of the "Daily Racing Form" popularized the term "Triple Crown" to describe the three American Classic races. ("Triple Crown" would eventually become more common than "American Classic" by far.)

Answer: Omaha

A chestnut horse with a white blaze who stood an impressive 16.3 hands high, Omaha was the son of 1930 Triple Crown champion Gallant Fox. Omaha's dam was Flambino, who herself was sired by the French thoroughbred Sir Galahad III and who was the direct female ancestor of many notable thoroughbreds such as Danzig.

Like his sire, Omaha was trained by "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons. At the Derby, he came from the outside to take lead in the backstretch and won by 1½ lengths. Just one week later, he won the Preakness Stakes by six lengths, and a few weeks later won the Belmont Stakes over a sloppy track, coming from behind and covered in mud. He had also been raced in between the Preakness and the Belmont at the Withers Stakes, which he lost to Rosemont by 1½ lengths. Omaha got his revenge in the Belmont, when he beat third-placed Rosemont by eight lengths-- and won the Triple Crown besides!

After losing a few races in the States, he went across the Pond and won the Queen's Plate at Kempton Park, England in 1936. After being found lame in 1937, he retired to stud at Claiborne Farms but was not a successful stallion. Eventually he moved to Nebraska, where he would appear at Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha (the city) for pictures with children and to gallop around the track before a cheering crowd. And at that racetrack he was buried after passing away in 1959.

Answer: Seattle Slew

Seattle Slew was a dark bay horse with a small white patch of hair by his left rear hoof. Bred in Kentucky, he was purchased by Karen and Mickey Taylor of White Swan, Washington. Seattle Slew had never lost a race when he entered the three American classic races. Ridden by jockey Jean Cruget, Slew won the Kentucky Derby by 1¾ lengths, the Preakness by 1½ lengths, and the Belmont by four lengths.

The following year he grew very ill, stopped eating, broke out into sweats, and fell down; but he recovered and beat Affirmed (1978 Triple Crown champ) in the Marlboro Cup by three lengths. Seattle Slew was named Champion Older Horse of the Year in 1978, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.

In retirement, he became the leading sire of 1984. Twenty-five years to the day he won the Kentucky Derby, Seattle Slew died peacefully in his sleep in 2002.

Answer: Citation

A bay colt sired by Bull Lea, Citation was foaled at Calumet Farm, the most successful Thoroughbred stable in U.S. history. Known as Big Cy by his fans, Citation captured the Kentucky Derby by 3½ lengths. In the Preakness Stakes Citation led from start to finish, beating Vulcans Forge by 5½ lengths.

He easily swept the Triple Crown when he led the field at the homestretch of the Belmont, to a victory of eight lengths. Jockey legend Eddie Arcaro rode Citation in all three races. Citation injured himself in a later race, and sired a few foals while he recovered.

Then he returned to racing and won the Jockey Gold Cup, and in the Pimlico Special, he ran in a field of exactly one horse (himself), as no one else would dare! He raced through age six, and then retired to stud at Calumet Farm, until his death from natural causes in 1970.

Answer: Affirmed

The great-great-grandson of 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral, Affirmed was a chestnut colt bred in Florida. At age two he won seven of nine starts and became the 1977 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He was only the second favorite in the Kentucky Derby, but won by 1½ lengths.

He won the Preakness by a neck and the Belmont by just a nose! Teenaged Steve Cauthen was his jockey in all three races. At age four, Affirmed won the Santa Anita Handicap, the California Stakes, the Woodward Stakes, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

He was named Horse of the Year and American Champion Older Male Horse of 1979. In 1980 he was elected to the United States Racing Hall of Fame. As a stallion, he sired over 80 stakes winners. Falling ill with laminitis, he was put to sleep in 2001.

Answer: Secretariat

Sired by Bold River out of Somethingroyal, Secretariat was foaled at Meadow Stables in Virginia. Meadow Stables (run by Penny Chenery for her father Christopher Chenery) owned the chestnut colt, who was trained by Lucien Laurin. Nicknamed Big Red, he had three white socks and a star with a narrow stripe, and he stood about 16.2 hands (66 inches or 168 cm), weighed 1175 pounds (533 kg), and boasted a 75-inch girth (190.5 cm).

At the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat broke last, but moved up the field on the backstretch and won by 2½ lengths with a breath-taking track record of 1:59⅖. He ran each quarter mile *faster* than the one before it.

In the Preakness Stakes, Secretariat broke last again but then shot to the lead on the first turn. After he reached the lead with 5½ furlongs to go, no one challenged him and he won by 2½ lengths. The exact time had been under dispute because of timer malfunction, but in 2012 the Maryland Racing Commission determined it was a track record at 1:53.

In a field of just four horses, Secretariat was a 1-10 favorite at the Belmont. He won by a mind-blowing 31 lengths at a time of 2:24 flat, setting a world record for 1½ miles on dirt. A pole was erected at the Belmont track at 31 lengths from the finish line to memorialize this feat.

Inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1974, Secretariat was euthanized in 1989 for laminitis and buried whole at Claiborne Farm. In 1999, the US Postal Service released a postage stamp in Secretariat's honor, and in 2010 a feature film about the amazing horse was released, starring Diane Lane as Penny Chenery.