Added: 08/14/2007 |
Horse-Racing And The Triple CrownI never really take much of an interest in horse racing until it is time to watch the races of the triple crown. Something about that quest for horse racing immortality that is all wrapped up in three races that just gets me. I think a lot of people take an interest in the horse racing triple crown and love watching all three races to see if history will be made in their lifetime.
The American triple crown begins with the world famous Kentucky Derby. This is a race for three year old thoroughbred race horses and is probably the single most recognizable American horse race on the planet. Held each year at the world famous Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Kentucky the Kentucky Derby is a one and a quarter mile race that is run on the first Saturday in May. Celebrities make their way to Churchill Downs every year to be seen at the Kentucky Derby and to also place a little wager or two. The race, also known as “The Run For The Roses,” draws upwards of 155,000 spectators each year and has a total purse of approximately $2 million US dollars. Ever since its inception in 1875 the Kentucky Derby has been known as “The Fastest Two Minutes In Sports” and is watched by horse-racing fans all over the world.
The next jewel in the triple crown is the Preakness Stakes which is held the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. This one and three sixteenths mile race is actually older than the Kentucky Derby as the Preakness was inaugurated in 1873 but it has always lacked the drawing power of the Kentucky Derby and also offers half of the purse of the Derby as the Preakness only offers a purse of $1 million US. The Preakness has always felt like the “little brother” of the triple crown races to me as it always seems to lack the same style and flash that the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes seem to have but it is a necessary win if a horse wants to win the triple crown.
The final jewel in the triple crown, and my personal favorite race to watch, is the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont is the grand daddy of all of the triple crown races as it was inaugurated in 1867 a full 7 years before the Preakness but it still carries that $1 million US purse that the Preakness carries which falls significantly short of where the Kentucky Derby purse falls. The Belmont Stakes is run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York and there is just something about the Belmont that I really love. I think it has a lot to do with the fans that are at the Belmont Stakes. While the crowds at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness are your typical reserved racing fans the fans that go to the Belmont are my fellow New Yorkers and we wear our hearts on our sleeves. If there is a crowd favorite at the Belmont all you have to do to figure out which one it is is to listen to the crowd.
Since the phrase “Triple Crown” was first coined in 1930 by sportswriter Charles Hatton only 11 horses have won the sweep. The last to do it was Affirmed in 1978 and since Affirmed there has been War Emblem, Funny Cide, and Smarty Jones who have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but lost the Belmont. Every year racing fans wait for that triple crown winner and every year it is just as exciting as the year before.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
