TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS
Triple Crown winners are a rare
breed. There have only been 11 of them since they
started calling the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and
Belmont races the "Triple Crown" back in the early
1930's. Many have come close, winning the Derby and
Preakness, but only 11 have completed the task which
shows you just how difficult it is.
The sport of horse racing desperately needs a
Triple Crown winner. The sport has been on the
decline for many years and the Barbaro tragedy a
couple of years ago, and now Eight Belles going down
in the Derby haven't helped matters. That's not the
way to draw in a new generation of fans.
Back in 1977, as a twelve year old kid, I watched
Seattle Slew win all 3 legs of the Triple Crown, and
I was hooked. The very next year I watched Affirmed
out duel Alydar to win the Triple Crown. Heck, I
thought Triple Crown winners were common! Something
that happened every few years. Those just a few
years older than me must have figured the same as it
was 1973 that the world watched Secretariat roar
down the stretch in the Belmont. Three Triple Crown
winners in the span of 5 years. Horse racing was at
it's peak.
Little did I realize how rare Triple Crown
winners were. I didn't realize, back in 77, that the
last horse to win the Triple Crown prior to
Secretariat was Citation back in 1948, a span of 25
years. Now here we are in 2008 and it's been 30
years since Alydar.
But once again, as has been the case many times
over the years, there's hope. We have a Kentucky
Derby winner in Big Brown that all eyes will be on
in Pimlico. Is Big Brown horse racings savior? It
won't be easy. Since 1978 we have had 10 horses
"almost" get it done. All of them had the same build
up as we'll get with Big Brown. All of them were
compared to former Triple Crown winners. There's
been some big names. Some famous horses that most
people remember, that have won the first two legs of
the Triple Crown but failed in the Belmont. Names
like Spectacular Bid, Sunday Silence, and recently
Funny Cide and Smarty Jones.
It's so difficult because were asking these
horses to run in 3 races in a time span of just 5
weeks at distances they have never run before. Which
makes the Belmont Stakes, the longest of the tree
races, the most difficult and is why great horses
like Pleasant Colony and Silver Charm come up just
short.
True fans never give up hope. I'll be sitting
there as always this year, watching the Preakness
and rooting for Big Brown regardless of who I bet on
in the race. If he can pull it off and go on and win
the Belmont, he'll be able to reach a whole new
generation of fans that horse racing so desperately
needs. Lots of pressure for a 3 year old, but
pressure these beautiful animals can handle with
ease.
Check out our Preakness coverage
2008 Preakness Contenders
Big Brown Favored to win
Preakness
BET THE PREAKNESS STAKES AT
ALL HORSE RACING
