Triple Crown Horse Betting

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, which is most commonly simply referred to as the Triple Crown, is made up of three separate horse racing events all held on different tracks, and within a 5 week time frame. Each of these three events is open only to 3 year old thoroughbred race horses. If a horse wins all three of the events which include the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes; that horse is said to have ‘won the Triple Crown’.

There’s no accomplishment that compares with winning the Triple Crown. Any horse that accomplishes the feat will be forever remembered in the Horse Racing community, and perhaps, worldwide outside of horse racing enthusiasts as well.

Races Included In The Triple Crown Chase

Kentucky Derby - The Kentucky Derby is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky at the Churchill Downs racetrack. The 1 ¼ mile race is run on a dirt track, which some say gives an edge to Western Horses when it comes to handicapping and making bets on the race.

Preakness Stakes - The Preakness Stakes is the 2nd race in this series of races featuring 3 year old thoroughbred horses. The race features a 1 3/16th mile dirt track located at Pimlico Race Course, the 2nd oldest racetrack in the United States. The track which initially opened in October of 1870 is located in Baltimore Maryland. The Pimlico Race Course features track side seats, in addition to video simulcast betting.

Belmont Stakes - The Belmont Stakes race is the longest race of the three races that make up the Triple Crown. The race is held on a 1 ½ mile dirt track in at Belmont Park, which is a racetrack located in Elmont, New York; which is about 35 minutes outside of New York City.

2014 Triple Crown Results

Legal horse bettors the world over were hoping that California Chrome could take down the Triple Crown this year. Such was not the case, as the powerful California colt became the 13th horse since the last such achievement to fail in his Triple Crown bid. Long shots Tonalist, Commissioner and Medal Count finished one, two, three at the 146th Belmont Stakes, and all paid handsomely. Those three horses all skipped the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, and were among the freshest runners in the field. Allowing horses to sit out the Kentucky Derby and/or Preakness makes it exceptionally difficult to achieve Triple Crown immortality, and California Chrome, winner of 6 races in a row previously, has nothing to be ashamed of.

Triple Crown Winners From The Past

Sir Barton (First Ever To Take Down The Triple Crown) - Ridden by Johnny Loftus, following training by H. Guy Bedwell, Sir Barton, a horse that was nearly named Harry Hale after his a commanding officer in the United States Army, became the first horse ever to win the highly acclaimed, though largely elusive Triple Crown in 1919. Sir Barton was a tender footed horse that had been very sick throughout the winter preceding the race; in honesty, it was surprising to many that he even made the race, he was a longshot to win any of the events, and … he won them all.

Gallant Fox – (Trained by Jim Fitzsimmons) - It would be another 11 years before the a single horse won all three of the Triple Crown events again when Gallant Fox carried his jockey, Earl Sande into victory in 1930. Gallant Fox, a horse owned by Belair Stud; was trained by Jim Fitzsimmons, a trainer we’d see again soon celebrating a Triple Crown win. In fact, Fitzsimons was the only trainer to train two horses to win all three events, The Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Kentucky Derby.

Omaha – (Another Triple Crown Win for Jim “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons) - In 1935 Willie Saunders rode Omaha to victory; making history as the 2nd horse to be raced into fame by winning the Triple Crown that was trained by Jim Fitzsimmons of Brooklyn, New York; as was mentioned above. In fact, Omaha was the very next Triple Crown winner following Gallant Fox’s 1930 win. Fitzsimmons actually began his career as a stable boy as in the late 1800’s. From there he became a pretty unsuccessful horse jockey, before eventually finding what appears to have been his true calling, and leading an extremely successful career as a horse trainer. Just like Gallant Fox, Omaha was both bred, and owned by Belair Stud.

Just imagine for a moment what the stakes must have been for Omaha to win the Triple Crown, after his trainer had already brought another horse to that same victory.

From the time Gallant Fox won his first race, to 1955, Belair Stud horses won a total of 12 individual Triple Crown events, culminating with Nashua’s 1955 Belmont Stakes win.

War Admiral - Just two years after Omaha’s win, War Admiral became the next horse to win all three of Triple Crown events and claim the crown for his owners. War Admiral was ridden by Charley Kurtsinger, after having been trained by George H. Conway. The horse was owned by Samuel D. Riddle.

Whirlaway - In 1941, Whirlaway was ridden to victory by Eddie Arcaro after having worked with trainer Ben A. Jones. The horse was both owned and bred by Calumet Farm. Whirlaway’s sire was Blenheim II. Blenheim won the Epsom Derby in 1930. Whirlaway’s dam (or mother) was named Dustwhirl. Dustwhirl was the descendant of a Belmont Stakes Winner among other familial feats.

Count Fleet - When you’re handicapping horses, it’s a pretty common belief that a horse will likely be able to do, what it can do. That means that the hoses skills aren’t likely to change to over much. Which means that the odds of Count Fleet beating the favorite, Occupation on the Old Hilltop track, after having been beaten by Occupation twice before were long, and some loyal Count Fleet fans made quite a bit of cash betting the ponies that day.

Count Fleet won the Triple Crown in 1943, ridden to victory by Jockey Johnny Longden. His trainer was Don Cameron. The horse was bred and owned by Fannie Hertz.

More Triple Crown Winners

• Assault
• Citation
• Secretariat
• Seattle Slew
• Affirmed

There have been no Triple Crown winners since the race was won by Affirmed in 1978. The last of the Triple Crown winning horses went to that great big pasture in the sky in 2002, on May 7th.

Legally Bet On The Triple Crown Horse Race

Betting on the triple crown can be achieved legally by visiting one of our recommended legal online horse betting sites. Our highest rated site is Bovada who is a giant in not only the online horse betting arena, but also sports, poker and casino betting as well. Bovada is a sister site to the Bodog family which is a household name in the online betting industry.

To signup for a betting account, simply visit Bovada and click on the signup link located on the website. The next step is to fund your betting account which can be done by using one of their convenient deposit options which includes credit card funding. All bovada accounts have the option to enjoy all of the betting platforms the site has to offer by using just one master account. And don't forget, Bovada really takes care of their loyal players by offering them weekly cash rebates and ongoing promotions.

Recommended Legal Triple Crown Betting Sites

Triple Crown Horse Race Schedule 2014 Dates

The dates of the 2014 Triple Crown are the following:

Kentucky Derby - Friday, May 2nd 2014

Preakness - Saturday, May 17th 2014

Belmont Stakes - Saturday June 7th, 2014

Recommended Reading

Triple Crown Predictions For 2014 - top 10 contenders for 3 year old horses

Tonalist Foils California Chrome's Triple Crown Bid at Belmont Stakes - 06/09/14