What is the Triple Crown in Horse Racing?

In British horse racing, the Triple Crown is the incredibly rare achievement where a three-year-old wins three Classics during the season. The colts’ Triple Crown consists of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby at Epsom and Doncaster’s St Leger.

Fillies can technically compete in the colts races but they have the option of winning the fillies’ only 1000 Guineas, Oaks and the St Leger instead. 

The term originates from 1853 in Britain after West Australia landed the big race treble.

The programme is specifically cultivated to increase in distance throughout the season as three-year-olds are still relatively young horses and they will improve and strengthen as the year develops, so the Triple Crown culminates in the longest race in September.

Leg 1 - 2000 Guineas

It takes a significant amount of ability and speed in order to win the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the first leg is definitely the fastest. Run over a mile on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course in May, it’s a key early season target for the previous year’s best juveniles.

Leg 2 - Derby

In many ways, the Derby at Epsom is the ultimate test of a racehorse, as you need the speed required in order to not fall behind early on but the stamina to stay 1m4f too. The track does its very best to unbalance horses, which adds a significant dimension to the challenge.

Leg 3 - St Leger

This is one for the stayers and it tends to be won by horses who go on to compete over two miles or further. Doncaster’s biggest race is actually the oldest of the Triple Crown legs and the extended 1m6f trip provides a severe test of a horse’s stamina.

Why the Triple Crown is so rarely won

The main reason that a colt hasn’t won the Triple Crown is because of how meticulously racehorses are bred. Breeding a horse to have the speed required to win a Group 1 over a mile and the stamina to stay 1m6f is borderline impossible and luck plays a big factor.

Every trainer wants to win the 2000 Guineas and the precocious, speedier three-year-olds tend to come to the fore, which means it can be hard for the 1m4f-1m6f type horses to compete. 

A lot of Guineas winners don’t run in the Derby and even fewer in the St Leger.

Recent big race trends suggest that Derby trials over 1m2f or 1m4f are better at producing Derby winners than the 2000 Guineas and even those who managed to win the first two legs were mostly campaigned over trips between a mile and 1m4f.

The short answer is that most horses are so unsuited by trying to win Group 1s over all three distances that most owners and trainers don’t even attempt to win all three. 

Aidan O’Brien’s Camelot was the last horse to give it a good go and he won the Guineas and the Derby, before falling agonisingly short in the St Leger at Doncaster. Nashwan and Sea The Stars did the Guinea/Derby double but didn’t line up in the Doncaster Classic.

Fillies’ Triple Crown

Fillies are eligible to run in the 2000 Guineas and the Derby but there are fillies-only alternatives which represent an easier route for them to complete a Triple Crown. 

The 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Oaks at Epsom are the first two legs but they still need to beat the boys in the St Leger at Doncaster. Henry Cecil’s Oh So Sharp managed to pull it off in 1985 and her legendary status has led to a race being named after her.

British Triple Crown vs American Triple Crown

There’s also a Triple Crown in American racing but that version differs quite a bit to the British one and is significantly easier to achieve. The hardest part of winning the US Triple Crown is that all three legs take place within a relatively short period of time.

Conclusion: The Ultimate test of a racehorse?

Britain’s Triple Crown is a completely different animal to the US equivalent and there’s a reason that horses don’t even attempt to pull it off. The Classics are so important from a breeding point of view, which is why geldings can’t run and stud value is such a priority.

The likes of Nijinsky and Oh So Sharp really were the ultimate equine performers and any horse that has the speed to win a Guineas but the stamina to win the St Leger truly deserves his or her place in the pantheon of all-time greats.