New TRiple Crown Winner!!
 

Well, it took 37 years, but it FINALLY happened! American Pharaoh just won the Triple Crown by winning the Belmont Stakes, making him only the TWELVTH horse to ever do so. The previous winner was Affirmed in 1978. Yes, folks, history was MADE today!

Sooo.... More people care about a guy turning into a woman then about a historical sports achievement that hasn't happened in 37 years? Un-FREAKING-believable. :teek::trolleye::tgrumble::tcry:

Just as a related not- Victor Espinoza, American Pharaoh's jockey, ALMOST won the Crown last year on California Chrome, who was beaten out of the Belmont by Tonalist, who didn't even run in the Preakness Stakes. Chrome's owner made some much-publicized comments about the unfairness of allowing a horse that has skipped either of the previous races to run in the rest of the Crown races, as it ruins chances for those that have run all three. (Personally, I'm inclined to agree. If a horse can't make one, it shouldn't be allowed to run the others. It's one of the MAIN reasons there have only been TWELVE winners in 140 years!)

Hey, I'm totally stoked about this. I watched it, and it was amazing. True, I don't really take an interest in horse racing, but when the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont are on, I tend to tune in. And if I had bet on American Pharaoh all three times, I would have won. Yes, history was made yesterday, and it's sad that not a lot of people really care.

I don't often get a chance to watch horse racing, but I make a point to watch the big three if I can. Saw all three this year, and I knew just from looking at Pharaoh before the Derby that he had a good chance of taking all three. Chrome was the same way last year. Some horses you can tell are born "winners" by how they look and move. They have something in their stature and attitude that says "I'm the best one here". It's really the only sport I actually love to watch.

I don't care about either. I know jack about horse racing.

When I read the thread title, I thought this was gonna be about pro wrestling or maybe even boxing.

Why would you think that? The Triple Crown is the championship of horse racing. It refers specifically to the three "big" races in the sport- the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, which took place yesterday. And in MOST years, there is NO winner, because a horse has to win ALL THREE to claim the "Crown". Which is actually a trophy, but.... *shrugs*

I know some other sports have TRIED to compare their big games/matches to the Triple Crown, but that's actually impossible to make that comparison, because in NO other sport championship can you have competitors that win only one, two, OR all three of the component contests and still be considered "champions" of individual races, but ONLY be considered "Triple Crown" champ if they win all three! Many of the competitors don't even RUN all three, so they are automatically ineligible for the Crown as soon as they skip or get scratched from even ONE! (Like Tonalist last year. His owners "saved" him to be fresh for the Belmont by skipping the Preakness. As a result, not only was he ineligible for the Crown himself, but his win ruined it for all the ones who HAD run all three. Only in horse racing can a contender spoil the entire competition for all the rest just by NOT showing up one day.)

yeah i saw
 

I was having lunch with my grandmother in subway and the race was on. Good stuff, people were ecstatic.

Yup. My hubby and I were watching, and we started cheering and yelling when he won. First time in our memory (the last one happened when I was 1 yr old) that there's been one. I was jumping up and down whooping, pretty sure the neighbors were wondering what was going on in here, LOL! That was one of the prettiest wins I've ever seen- he started from a good spot, got out in front early, and set the pace for the entire race, before opening it up in the last quarter. I saw it the moment Victor let the horse go, and he didn't disappoint.

yeah
 

It was pretty sweet, i remember going from "i hope he wins it" to "he's gonna do it" and then he won and everyone freaked out.

I've seen people refer to certain pro wrestlers as "triple crown champions" several times before. They need to win 3 different championships in their careers to achieve such title.

And yes, I know it's "fake", but wtv. Most don't get such an honor.

Yeah, but like I said, other sports have tried to borrow the term, but it's only REALLY appropriate to horse racing.

a very cool achievement indeed!

Yep, I was yelling, too, Duckie. It was great and a very good moment. It's nice to see moments like this happen.

Great, My favorite race horse of all time is Man o War, who was not a triple crown winner, but he could of been, had the owner, not been a dick over a argument about one of the races not being real or what ever, and refuse to have that great horse complete in the race. Man O War very well could of been a triple crown winner, but in stand he is a 2 crown winner?? Or what ever its called. Man Man O War as a triple crown winner would of made him a bigger legend than he is.

So true, so true. He's one of the FEW non-crown winners that has had multiple biographies written about him. (King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry being one) But his BIGGEST claim to fame (over and above winning two of the three Crown races) is as the sire of War Admiral, who DID win all three. In fact, more than HALF of the winners since War Admiral (not to mention a plethora of winners of other major races) are descended from his line, as he was one of the most prolific sires of his time- and the most successful.

He won 2 out of 2, since he never was in the 3rd race lol. Again a argument over Man O War's owner over something petty that stop the legend from competing. Man O War's blood line is a strong one, Not only War Admiral, but the underdog Seabiscuit was of Man O War's line, Not sure which race horse today are from Man O War's line.


I always wonder, if Man O War was allow to complete, could he? have done what so many have failed and win all 3 races?? That always bugged my mind. Man O War was robed of a place in history.

Oh yes, he could have, easily. He won 20 out of 21 starts, after all! If you read his history, he was THE best horse of his time, hands down, particularly as a stud. Much like Secretariat(TCW) was in HIS day. Man o' War sired such winners as Hard Tack, War Hero, War Glory(whose daughter War Whisk was the mother of 1962 Triple Crown champ Decidedly!), War Relic(sire of Battlefield, Intent, Relaunch, Known Fact, and Missile, to name a few), Battleship, Blockade, Crusader, Maid at Arms, Nellie Flag, American Flag, and Lady Glory, among others.

And yes, Seabiscuit was also out of his line(grandson). And Kelso, Personal Ensign, War Emblem, and.... Basically, one can track his line through War Admiral(a TCW!) and others he sired- 379 in 22 seasons at stud- and many of those also sired (or dammed) dozens of winners themselves, and so on. Some of his sons and daughters (or grand and even great-grandchildren) were also exported to Britain, France, and Japan, among other places, further spreading his line.

Some famous later descendants- Alydar(TCW), Strike the Gold, Big Brown, Silver Charm, Mine That Bird, Alysheba(TCW), Affirmed(TCW), Winning Colors(filly and KD winner) Seattle Slew, Real Quiet, Barbaro, Zenyatta(filly), Charismatic, Cigar, Curlin, Smarty Jones, Black Caviar(Aussie filly), Skip Away.....

It was Secretariat's blood line though Terlingua, which 2 generations of that bloodline produce American Pharaoh, who would be the triple crown champ. So It was Secretariat's blood line that put a end to the drought. lol

As an interesting aside, Secretariat's dam's sire was Princequillo, whose great-grand-sire was Prince Palatine, whose descendants (through mare Blue Glass, who was sired by Rock Sand, who was also the sire of the dam of- Man o' War!) include Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Cigar, Alydar, Alysheba, and Northern Dancer. Which makes them related. I love this sport.... :tcool:

Both horses came from the same bloodline, which means that pretty much EVERY TCW has been related in some way. And to go even further back, they all came from ONE founding sire of the Thoroughbred breed- the Godolphin Arabian, the most prolific and important of the three founding sires.