The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Horse Racing
From Wikipedia,  www.wikipedia.org

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (Triple Crown for short,
but the term is also used in other sports. It 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
by any athlete (human or animal).

In recent years, the triple crown has become a very rare achievement,
with most horses specializing on a limited range of distances.


The United States Triple Crown is made up of:

Kentucky Derby, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky


Preakness Stakes, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore,
Maryland


Belmont Stakes, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.


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

In the more-than-125-year history of the U.S. events, only eleven
horses have ever won the U.S. Triple Crown:

1919   Sir Barton
1930   Gallant Fox
1935   Omaha
1937   War Admiral
1941   Whirlaway
1943   Count Fleet
1946   Assault
1948   Citation
1973   Secretariat
1977   Seattle Slew
1978   Affirmed


As of May 21, 2005, the longest drought between Triple Crown
winners is 26 years, dating back to Spectacular Bid's ill-fated
Triple Crown run in 1979.

Also, as of May 21, 2005, the VISA Credit Card company, officially
withdrew their sponsorship of the US Triple Crown, starting in
2006. It relieves them of paying the $5,000,000 bonus to the
owner of the horse that wins the Triple Crown. As of the date
this was written, the new sponsor of the US Triple Crown has not
been announced.

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

There is also a Triple Crown in professional baseball.
The winner of Baseball's Triple Crown in hitting must lead
the league in batting average, runs batted in and in
home runs. In pitching, the pitcher must lead the league
in games won, earned run average and strikeouts.

In other sports, there is a Triple Crown in:

In motor racing:

Triple Crown of Motorsport
Triple Crown (endurance racing)
Triple Crown of Formula D

In wrestling:

AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
Triple Crown Championship

In other sports:

Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing
Triple Crown in Basketball
Triple Crown of Boxing
Triple Crown of Cycling
Triple Crown of Brazilian Football
Triple Crown of Golf
Triple Crown (rugby union)
Triple Crown of Snooker
Triple Crown of Surfing
Triple Crown (beauty pageants)
Triple Crown Tournament, a cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
Treble (association football)
Triple Crown of Hiking


Plush Stuffed Horses - Sweet as dew on Red Roses