Each summer, there are three races for thoroughbred horses that are more important than any others run during the year. Only three-year-old horses are allowed to run in these races.
The first is the Kentucky Derby, held in Louisville, Kentucky. The second is the Preakness, held in Baltimore, Maryland. And the third is the Belmont Stakes, held at Belmont Park, in Elmont, New York. A horse that wins all three races is said to have won the “Triple Crown.”
Since 1875, when all three races were run for the first time in the same year, only 11 horses have won the Triple Crown. The first to win the Triple Crown, Sir Barton, did it in 1919, and the last was Affirmed, who won all three races in 1978.
The oldest of the three races is the Belmont Stakes, which was first run in 1867!
