Triple Crown Horse Races: What to Know About the Series

Sir Barton became the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 1919. The Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., followed by the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and the Belmont Stake at Bel Montana Park in New York.

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stake are the Triple Crown races for 3-year-old thoroughbreds. The order of the races has varied since 1969, but in 2020 the Belmonstakes was run first, followed by the Derby in September and the Preaks in October.

The Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville. The Preakness Stakes is two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. A $3 million purse is split among the top five finishers, with $1.86 million going to the victors. The Belmont Stake is three weeks after the Derby and is the longest race in North America. It's held at Belmont Park in New York. Some horses skip the Preaks in favor of the Belts. Early Voting, a horse that finished second in the Wood Memorial, was held out of this year's Derby.

13 horses have won the Triple Crown. Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, American Pharoah, and Justify have done so. 11 fillies have also won a Triple Championship, but none has won more than one.

Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby winner, will skip the Preakness Stakes on May 21 and go to the Belmont Stake on June 11 instead. Rich Strike was an 80-1 shot and trained by Eric Reed. He was not even in the field until the day before the race. His only previous victory was in a claiming race on the dirt at Churchill Downs.