Thirteen horses. That is the full list of Triple Crown winners in more than a century of American racing. Thousands of three year olds have taken aim at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes since 1919. Only 13 swept all three, and the gap between the 11th and the 12th lasted 37 years.
We have put every one of them in a single guide: who rode them, who trained them, how they won and what made each sweep different. If you bet the Derby every May, this is the history that sits behind every “Triple Crown on the line” headline.
What It Takes to Win the Triple Crown
The Triple Crown asks a young horse to win three Grade 1 races over three different distances in roughly five weeks. The Kentucky Derby runs at 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May. The Preakness follows two weeks later at 1 3/16 miles. The Belmont closes the series three weeks after that, traditionally at 1 1/2 miles, a distance most American dirt horses never race again.
That combination of speed, stamina and recovery is what makes the list of Triple Crown winners so short. A horse that peaks for the Derby often has nothing left by June. Fresh rivals who skipped the first two legs wait for the Belmont, and they have beaten plenty of tired favorites over the years.
Racing writers did not use the term “Triple Crown” regularly until the 1930s. Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form gets most of the credit for popularizing it. Sir Barton won all three races in 1919 and received the title after the fact.
The Complete List of Triple Crown Winners
The table below lists all 13 Triple Crown winners with their jockeys, trainers, owners and career records. Two jockeys and two trainers appear twice. Eddie Arcaro rode Whirlaway and Citation for Calumet Farm. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons trained Gallant Fox and Omaha, and Bob Baffert trained American Pharoah and Justify.
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Career Starts | Career Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Sir Barton | Johnny Loftus | H. Guy Bedwell | J.K.L. Ross | 31 | 13 |
| 1930 | Gallant Fox | Earl Sande | James Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 17 | 11 |
| 1935 | Omaha | Willie Saunders | James Fitzsimmons | Belair Stud | 22 | 9 |
| 1937 | War Admiral | Charley Kurtsinger | George Conway | Samuel Riddle | 26 | 21 |
| 1941 | Whirlaway | Eddie Arcaro | Ben Jones | Calumet Farm | 60 | 32 |
| 1943 | Count Fleet | Johnny Longden | Don Cameron | Fannie Hertz | 21 | 16 |
| 1946 | Assault | Warren Mehrtens | Max Hirsch | King Ranch | 42 | 18 |
| 1948 | Citation | Eddie Arcaro | Jimmy Jones (Ben Jones trainer of record for the Derby) | Calumet Farm | 45 | 32 |
| 1973 | Secretariat | Ron Turcotte | Lucien Laurin | Meadow Stable | 21 | 16 |
| 1977 | Seattle Slew | Jean Cruguet | Billy Turner | Mickey and Karen Taylor, Dr. Jim and Sally Hill | 17 | 14 |
| 1978 | Affirmed | Steve Cauthen | Laz Barrera | Harbor View Farm | 29 | 22 |
| 2015 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | Zayat Stables | 11 | 9 |
| 2018 | Justify | Mike Smith | Bob Baffert | China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing, Head of Plains Partners | 6 | 6 |
The Early Triple Crown Winners: 1919 to 1948
Eight of the 13 sweeps came in the first 30 years of the series. Racing was the biggest spectator sport in America for much of that era, and the stables behind these horses were household names.
Sir Barton (1919): The Maiden Who Started It All
Sir Barton lost all six of his starts as a two year old and went into the 1919 Kentucky Derby as a maiden. Johnny Loftus rode him for owner J.K.L. Ross and trainer H. Guy Bedwell. He won the Derby, then won the Preakness four days later, and added the Belmont to finish the set. He retired with 13 wins from 31 starts.
Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935): The Only Father and Son
Gallant Fox won all three races in a 29 day span in 1930, when the Preakness actually ran before the Derby. Earl Sande rode him for Belair Stud and trainer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. Five years later his son Omaha did it again for the same owner and trainer, with Willie Saunders aboard. Omaha even lost the Withers between the Preakness and the Belmont before bouncing back. They remain the only father and son on the list.
War Admiral (1937): Man o’ War’s Champion Son
War Admiral, a son of Man o’ War, won 21 of his 26 starts for owner Samuel Riddle and trainer George Conway. Charley Kurtsinger rode him through the 1937 series, and he stumbled at the start of the Belmont before going on to win it. Many fans remember him for the 1938 Pimlico Special, where he lost a famous match race to Seabiscuit.
Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948): Calumet Farm’s Two Triple Crown Winners
Calumet Farm owned two of the early Triple Crown winners, and Eddie Arcaro rode both. Whirlaway won the 1941 Derby by eight lengths for trainer Ben Jones. He raced 60 times in his career and finished in the money in all 42 starts at ages three and four.
Citation was even better. He won 19 of his 20 starts as a three year old in 1948. Jimmy Jones handled his daily training, while his father Ben stood as trainer of record for the Derby. Citation later became the first horse to earn $1 million.
Count Fleet (1943) and Assault (1946)
Count Fleet went undefeated as a three year old and started as the odds on favorite in all three races. Johnny Longden rode him for owner Fannie Hertz and trainer Don Cameron, and he won the Belmont by 25 lengths.
Assault came from the King Ranch in Texas, trained by Max Hirsch and ridden by Warren Mehrtens. He carried an old hoof injury that earned him the nickname the Club Footed Comet. Bettors let him go off at just over 8/1 in the Derby, and he won it by eight lengths.
The 1970s Triple Crown Winners
After Citation, the series went 25 years without a winner. Then three horses did it in six years.
Secretariat (1973)
Secretariat set the stakes record in all three races for Meadow Stable, trainer Lucien Laurin and jockey Ron Turcotte. His Belmont remains the most famous performance in American racing. He won by 31 lengths in 2:24, an American record for 1 1/2 miles on dirt. We cover his full career in our Secretariat profile.
Seattle Slew (1977)
Seattle Slew became the first unbeaten Triple Crown winner. Billy Turner trained him for owners Mickey and Karen Taylor and Dr. Jim and Sally Hill, and Jean Cruguet rode him in all three legs. He went into the Derby unbeaten in six starts and left the Belmont unbeaten in nine. He finished his career with 14 wins from 17 starts.
Affirmed (1978)
Affirmed beat Alydar in all three races of 1978, and Alydar finished second each time. Steve Cauthen was just 18 when he rode Affirmed for Harbor View Farm and trainer Laz Barrera. Affirmed won 22 of 29 starts and became racing’s first $2 million earner.
The 37 Year Drought
Nobody expected the gap after Affirmed to last a generation. Between 1979 and 2014, 13 horses won the Derby and the Preakness and then failed to complete the set. Spectacular Bid finished third in the 1979 Belmont. Real Quiet lost by a nose to Victory Gallop in 1998. Smarty Jones led inside the final furlong in 2004 before Birdstone ran him down. I’ll Have Another never even reached the gate in 2012 after a tendon injury, and California Chrome finished in a tie for fourth in 2014.
Twelve of those 13 bids ended in the Belmont itself, and the 13th never made it to the gate. That pattern tells bettors plenty about where the series gets decided.
The Modern Triple Crown Winners: American Pharoah and Justify
American Pharoah (2015)
American Pharoah ended the drought in 2015 for Zayat Stables, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza. He then went one better. On October 31, 2015, he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland by 6 1/2 lengths. That made him the first horse to complete racing’s Grand Slam of the Derby, Preakness, Belmont and Classic. The 2026 Breeders’ Cup returns to Keeneland on October 30 and 31, eleven years on from that win.
Justify (2018)
Justify needed only three years to follow American Pharoah. He never raced as a two year old, and he became the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without a juvenile start. Mike Smith rode him for Bob Baffert and an ownership group of China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners. Justify retired unbeaten in six starts, the second undefeated Triple Crown winner after Seattle Slew. He is also the most recent horse to win the Triple Crown.
Why There Was No Triple Crown in 2026
The 2026 series never got close to a sweep. Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby on May 2 under Jose Ortiz, and Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train a Derby winner. He then skipped the Preakness. Napoleon Solo won the Preakness on May 16 at Laurel Park, its temporary home while Pimlico undergoes reconstruction, holding off Iron Honor by 1 1/4 lengths under Paco Lopez for trainer Chad Summers. Golden Tempo returned to win the Belmont at Saratoga on June 6 by 1 1/4 lengths over Commandment.
That Belmont ran at 1 1/4 miles, the shorter distance used during its Saratoga years. NYRA has scheduled the race to return to the rebuilt Belmont Park on June 5, 2027 at its classic 1 1/2 miles. If a Derby and Preakness winner turns up next spring, that extra quarter mile comes back into play.
What Triple Crown Winners Teach Us as Bettors
The history of Triple Crown winners carries real lessons for anyone betting the series.
First, the Belmont decides it. Twelve horses lost a Triple Crown bid in the final leg between 1979 and 2014. A horse chasing the sweep usually goes off at a short price, and stamina doubts at 1 1/2 miles can make the fresh horse that skipped the Preakness the better value.
Second, look at what finishes second. Alydar ran second to Affirmed three times in 1978. Frosted chased American Pharoah home in the 2015 Belmont. When a dominant horse wins at a short price, the exacta and trifecta often pay more than the win bet. Our horse racing terms guide explains every exotic bet if you want a refresher.
Third, the modern Derby winner does not always run back in the Preakness. Golden Tempo proved that in 2026. Always check the Preakness field before you build a futures position around a sweep.
For a deeper read on each champion, America’s Best Racing keeps a detailed profile of all 13 horses.
Bet the Next Triple Crown Chase With MyWinners
The 2027 Triple Crown trail starts with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland this month and runs through the Derby preps next spring. Whether the 14th name on the list of Triple Crown winners arrives in 2027 or decades from now, we will cover every leg of the series with previews, fields and betting angles.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
