The Triple Crown is a trio of signature thoroughbred horse races. The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes are the big 3 in horse racing. The Triple Crown goes back more than 150 years. It has long been the lightning rod linking the public and bettors to the Sport of Kings. You can view Triple Crown odds below. Mage won the 2023 Kentucky Derby and National Treasure won the Preakness.
This level of tradition is extraordinary. The Triple Crown has been conducted throughout three different centuries. The Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, had its 149th edition May 6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. It is the only one of the three that has run continuously since its inception and it goes 1 1-4 miles. The Preakness, begun in 1873 and run consistently since 1894, unveiled its 148th edition May 20 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore at 1 3-16 miles. And the Belmont, the oldest event in the group going back to 1867, fashions its 155th running June 10 at Belmont Park in New York It only missed two years when, of all things, anti-gambling legislation shut down the race in 1911 and 1912. The Belmont is the longest of the events a 1 1-2 miles.
Belmont Bet
Triple Crown odds
There are no horses eligible to win this year’s Triple Crown this year as a result of Mage, the Kentucky Derby winner, finishing third in the Preakness. Prior to the Preakness Stakes, consensus Triple Crown odds had Mage at 6/1 to win the Triple Crown.
Belmont Stakes Odds
You can bet on Belmont Stakes odds below. The nine-horse field was revealed earlier this week.
| Post | Horse | Odds | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tapit Shoes | 20-1 | Brad Cox | Jose Ortiz |
| 2 | Tapit Trice | 3-1 | Todd Pletcher | Luis Saez |
| 3 | Arcangelo | 8-1 | Jena Antonucci | Javier Castellano |
| 4 | National Treasure | 5-1 | Bob Baffert | John Velazquez |
| 5 | Il Miracolo | 30-1 | Antonio Sano | Marcos Menesses |
| 6 | Forte | 5-2 | Todd Pletcher | Irad Ortiz Jr |
| 7 | Hit Show | 10-1 | Brad Cox | Manny Franco |
| 8 | Angel of Empire | 7-2 | Brad Cox | Flavien Prat |
| 9 | Red Route One | 15-1 | Steve Asmussen | Joel Rosario |
148th Preakness Stakes results
The 2023 Preakness Stakes field included seven horses with First Mission being the lone scratch. National Treasure, with 5-2 odds, finished ahead of Blazing Sevens (4-1) and Mage (2-1).
149th Kentucky Derby results
This year’s Kentucky Derby saw five horses scratched for various reasons. This included Kentucky Derby favorite Forte being pulled the morning of the race. Mage, with 15-1 odds, was the winner followed by Two Phil’s (9-1) and Angel of Empire (7-2).
What is the Triple Crown in horse racing?
Before the Breeders’ Cup emerged in the 1980s, the Triple Crown events were considered the three most important races of the year. Conducted during a six-week stretch in May and June, the Triple Crown series links three iconic races into one circuit. Triple Crown odds will emerge as we get closer to the start of the three races.
The Triple Crown term began to emerge in the 1920s and the first trophy to recognize it was introduced in 1950. All previous winners were inscribed on the trophy and there are not many.
Only 13 horses have ever managed to sweep the Triple Crown:
Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiraal (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946) and Citation (1948) made the Triple Crown initially look attainable every few years.
A 25-year drought ensued before Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978) swept all three. Secretariat also set records for the Derby (1:59.40) Preakness (1:55) and Belmont (2;24) that still stand. Astonishingly, he set track records at three different ovals in six weeks.
After Affirmed, racing endured a historic Triple Crown drought of 37 years before American Pharoah won all three events in 2015. Justify repeated the feat in 2018. Both were guided by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Near Misses: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
At last count, 52 horses have won two of the races (23 the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, 18 the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, and 11 the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes). Some near-misses can be attributed to circumstance. Riva Ridge won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont in 1972, but did not run well on the slop at the Preakness and finished fourth to Bee Bee Bee.
Belmont, of course, provided the biggest heartbreak through the years because of the opportunity that was not grabbed.
There were three straight years of thwarted Triple Crown bids in the 1990s. In 1997, Touch Gold denied the Crown to Silver Charm. The 1998 race was the most memorable, with Victory Gallop rallying from six lengths back to defeat Real Quiet by all of four inches. It’s the closest a horse ever came to winning a Triple Crown without getting it.
In 1999, Lemon Drop Kid rejected the bid of Charismatic. Funny Cide came up short in 2003 against fresher horses who had not run in the Preakness. California Chrome, in 2014, was the last Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner unable to nab the Triple Crown.
Changing Priorities Discourage Triple Crown Sweep
The Triple Crown is harder to win now. Trainers have other lucrative options throughout the summer and fall, including the multi-million-dollar Breeders’ Cup races. They don’t always feel compelled to run their horse three times in six weeks during the spring.
Trainers also try to tap into the breeding market and thus run their horses less. They seek to make one big score on the racing circuit and then draw sizable stud fees.
Bettors nonetheless rally around the Triple Crown. By linking a series of high-profile prep races into Kentucky Derby qualifying events for example, the Triple Crown becomes a magnet for horse racing interest from early January through early or mid-June.
The races are not only big spectacles onto themselves, but the road to the crown boosts betting handle at tracks throughout the country during the winter and spring.
Here is a look at each jewel in the horse racing Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby
The fabled Run for the Roses has long been the event that joins the public at large with the regular bettors of the sport. The event routinely draws more than 150,000 fans and is noteworthy as a social event. Kentucky Derby odds and Triple Crown odds will be available to bet on soon.
Racing legends include the incomparable Secretariat, but the Derby has also graduated many Eclipse Award and Breeders’ Cup champions. The greatest upset in Derby history occurred in 1913, when Donerail prevailed at 91-1 betting odds. But the most dramatic may have occurred last year. Rich Strike became one of the all-time Derby Cinderella stories by winning at 80-1.
He was only entered after a late scratch from Ethereal Road and was last in the 20-horse field before roaring through the homestretch to catch everyone.
Rich Strike has never won another race. But he was magic on this day. An administrative shift has produced an abundance of short and mid-priced winners over the past several years. In 2012, the Road to the Kentucky Derby was established. It’s a series of prep races designed to create a qualifying field rather than have it determined by earnings from varied stakes races, including sprints, turf, etc.
Only long distance prep races now count for points. As a result, sprinters are generally not seen in the Derby. They had often wound up luring some of the top horses into a speed duel, paving the way for an unheralded longshot to win from off the pace.
Examples of this included Giacomo in the 2005 Derby. After a brutal speed duel softened the leaders, he romped home from the back of the pack at 50-1, Closing Argument was second at 70-1. Afleet Alex was third at 9-2 and Don’t Get Mad rounded out the superfecta at 29-1.
The $1 superfecta returned a whopping $864,253.50. In the new format, Kentucky Derby contenders have not been devoured by speed duels. They break alertly, maintain position in the first pack and make their move down the lane.
In recent years, it has been hard for a closer to do well. The notable exception was last year.
Three fillies have won the Derby. They were Regret in 1915, Genuine Risk in 1980 and Winning Colors in 1988.
The Preakness Stakes
The shortest race in the series, it occurs exactly two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and, for many years, automatically drew the Derby winner. That has been changing in recent years. Some Derby winners won’t appear if their owners believe two tough races in two weeks is bad for their horse. Triple Crown odds will also be posted ahead of the Preakness for the horse that wins the Derby two weeks prior.
On the flip side of that coin, some owners will skip the Derby and go right to the Preakness. The 2023 Preakness marks the third straight year the approach has paid off. Hidden Treasure, trained by Bob Baffert, is the most recent winner. Early Voting did the same in winning the 2022 Preakness and it’s the route Rombauer took in 2021.
Whomever enters, bettors get some of the nation’s top horses in what’s viewed as a more true race than the Derby. The field is roughly half the Kentucky Derby size. Racing luck has less to do with the outcome.
Pimlico is speed favoring and being near the lead is always valuable. Early Voting took the lead by himself and held off a late-running Epicenter to wire the field in 2022.
Notable Upsets
Oxbow in 2013. He had finished sixth to Orb in the Derby, but got away to unchallenged early fractions. Able to preserve energy, he had enough left to hold off his rivals and prevail at 15-1. This was a stunning reversal of form.
Bee Bee Bee in 1972. This was all about the slop. Kentucky Derby-winning Riva Ridge didn’t like the surface. A 19-1 longshot named Bee Bee Bee did and captured the race. The upset became more magnified when Riva Ridge went on to win the Belmont Stakes. But on Preakness Day, it literally rained on his Triple Crown parade.
Master Derby in 1975. The largest-ever victorious Preakness longshot _ 23-1 _ turned the tables on Foolish Pleasure, who had beaten him soundly in the Derby. Six fillies have won the Preakness. Modern fans would know Rachel Alexandra and Swiss Skydiver, perhaps the two most famous.
In 2009, Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness since Nellie Morse in 1924. She not only beat a reigning male Kentucky Derby winner to do it, but lured his jockey.
In a Triple Crown rarity, Calvin Borel chose not to ride Mine That Bird, whom he had just guided to the Derby victory at 50-1. He opted for favored Rachel Alexandra, and beat the horse he’d won the Derby with.
Mine that Bird finished second. (And then Borel jumped aboard him in an unsuccessful Belmont bid). In 2020, Swiss Skydiver nearly surpassed Secretariat. She delivered a winning time of 1:53.28, the second in Preakness history to Secretariat’s 1:53.
The Belmont Stakes
The 1 1–2-mile test occurs three weeks after the Preakness. The track has shown cutting-edge innovation that has become an industry standard. Belmont Stakes odds and Triple Crown odds will be prominent if a horse is able to grab victories in the first two legs.
Realizing that attendance was considerably lower when no Triple Crown was on the line, officials turned the Belmont into a high-profile end onto itself. The track unfurled a string of championship races with purses upwards of $500,000. This maintained high betting pools and fever-pitch interest.
Many tracks now use this to support their major races. They manage to commandeer the betting market on that day. As for the Belmont Stakes historic moments, take your pick. They are abundant.
Secretariat’s 1973 romp is iconic. He not only shattered the track record by two seconds but did something never done before or after: he ran each furlong faster than the previous one. That’s 10 consecutive furlongs of increasing speed.
In 1989, Easy Goer’s denial of Sunday Silence, who had beaten him in the Derby and Preakness, was significant.
The same held true for Bet Twice demolishing Alysheba in the 1987 Belmont after losing to him in the Derby and Preakness. Bet Twice had been ignored by the New York betting crowd in favor of Alysheba, who was based there. Despite narrowly missing in the Derby and Preakness, Bet Twice was sent off at 9-1 odds and paid handsomely.
Victory Gallop’s late pilfer of the 1998 Belmont, 25 years ago this June, was memorable. The rally by Victory Gallop also represents one of Tom Durkin’s greatest race calls.
To heighten the drama, the Triple Crown had a bonus of $5 million that year for a sweep. Real Quiet missed it by four inches after a photo finish.
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, this photo is worth $5 million,” Durkin exclaimed while stewards examined the photo. “History is in the waiting.”
But for Real Quiet it was not to be. Sarava notched the largest Belmont Stakes upset in 2002 at 70-1.
In 1993, Julie Krone became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race, aboard Colonial Affair. Three fillies have won the Belmont: Ruthless in 1867, Tanya in 1905 and Rags to Riches in 2007.