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Triple Crown Winners: All 13 Horses, Their Records, and What Made Each One Special

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Triple Crown Winners: All 13 Horses, Their Records, and What Made Each One Special

Last updated: April 13, 2026

By: Miles HenryFact Checked

Thirteen horses have won the Triple Crown since Sir Barton swept all three races in 1919. To win it, a horse must take the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes in the same season — three elite races over five weeks, with distances increasing at each leg and fresh competition entering specifically to beat a tired Derby winner. It is the hardest sustained achievement in American sport.

The 13 Triple Crown winners, in order:

  1. Sir Barton — 1919
  2. Gallant Fox — 1930
  3. Omaha — 1935
  4. War Admiral — 1937
  5. Whirlaway — 1941
  6. Count Fleet — 1943
  7. Assault — 1946
  8. Citation — 1948
  9. Secretariat — 1973
  10. Seattle Slew — 1977
  11. Affirmed — 1978
  12. American Pharoah — 2015
  13. Justify — 2018

All 13 are stallions — no filly or gelding has ever won the Triple Crown. Seven were chestnut, five were bay, and one (War Admiral) was brown. The most recent winner was Justify in 2018.

After 30 years owning and racing Thoroughbreds at Fair Grounds, Delta Downs, and Evangeline Downs, I’ve studied every one of these horses in depth. The list is short enough that every name deserves attention — not just the famous ones. Below is the complete record of all 13, with career stats, the defining facts of their Triple Crown campaigns, and what separates each one from the others.

Sir Barton the first of all triple crown winners in 1919
Sir Barton in 1919 — the first horse to win all three Triple Crown races, before the term had even been coined.

Complete Triple Crown Winners Table

# Horse Year Color Career Record Trainer Jockey
1 Sir Barton 1919 Chestnut 31: 13–6–5 H. Guy Bedwell Johnny Loftus
2 Gallant Fox 1930 Bay 17: 11–3–2 Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons Earl Sande
3 Omaha 1935 Chestnut 22: 9–7–2 Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons Willie Saunders
4 War Admiral 1937 Brown 26: 21–3–1 George Conway Charley Kurtsinger
5 Whirlaway 1941 Chestnut 60: 32–15–9 Ben Jones Eddie Arcaro
6 Count Fleet 1943 Bay 21: 16–4–1 Don Cameron Johnny Longden
7 Assault 1946 Chestnut 42: 18–6–7 Max Hirsch Warren Mehrtens
8 Citation 1948 Bay 45: 32–10–2 Ben Jones Eddie Arcaro
9 Secretariat 1973 Chestnut 21: 16–3–1 Lucien Laurin Ron Turcotte
10 Seattle Slew 1977 Dark Bay 17: 14–2–0 Billy Turner Jean Cruguet
11 Affirmed 1978 Chestnut 29: 22–5–1 Laz Barrera Steve Cauthen
12 American Pharoah 2015 Bay 11: 9–1–0 Bob Baffert Victor Espinoza
13 Justify 2018 Chestnut 6: 6–0–0 Bob Baffert Mike Smith
All 13 Triple Crown winners are stallions. Bob Baffert trained two (American Pharoah and Justify). Ben Jones trained two (Whirlaway and Citation). Eddie Arcaro rode two (Whirlaway and Citation).

Key Facts About the Triple Crown Winners

Before going through each horse individually, several patterns across the 13 winners are worth noting. No gelding or filly has ever won the Triple Crown — all 13 are stallions. Seven were chestnut, five were bay, and War Admiral was the lone brown horse. The term “Triple Crown” wasn’t coined until 1930, when sportswriter Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form used it after Gallant Fox’s sweep — meaning Sir Barton won the first Triple Crown without it being called that at the time. All 13 winners are enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two trainers have won it twice: Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons (Gallant Fox and Omaha) and Bob Baffert (American Pharoah and Justify). Only one jockey has ridden two Triple Crown winners: Eddie Arcaro (Whirlaway and Citation).

What the list tells you about frequency: Thirteen winners in over 100 years works out to roughly one every eight years on average — but the distribution is uneven. Six winners came in a 30-year window from 1919 to 1948, then a 25-year drought until Secretariat in 1973. Two more followed quickly (Seattle Slew in 1977, Affirmed in 1978), then nothing for 37 years until American Pharoah in 2015. The clustering isn’t random — it reflects changes in how horses are trained, raced, and developed across eras. Understanding that pattern tells you as much about the Triple Crown as studying the individual winners.

1. Sir Barton (1919)

Career record: 31 starts — 13 wins, 6 places, 5 shows | Trainer: H. Guy Bedwell | Jockey: Johnny Loftus | Color: Chestnut

Sir Barton the first triple crown winner 1919
Sir Barton — entered the 1919 Kentucky Derby as a pacemaker for his stablemate, and won by five lengths.

Sir Barton’s Triple Crown is the most accidental in history. He was entered in the 1919 Kentucky Derby not to win but to set pace for his stablemate Billy Kelly, who had been the champion two-year-old in 1918 and was the race favorite. Sir Barton hadn’t won a race in his career to that point. He led wire to wire and won by five lengths, apparently unaware of his assigned role. Billy Kelly finished second.

Four days later, Sir Barton won the Preakness Stakes — again wire to wire. He then ran in the Withers Stakes and won before completing the sweep at the Belmont Stakes, where he set a new track record for the mile and three-eighths distance. He accomplished all three Triple Crown victories within 32 days. The term “Triple Crown” didn’t yet exist, so his achievement went largely unlabeled at the time — it took Gallant Fox’s sweep 11 years later, and Charles Hatton’s pen, to give the accomplishment its name.

2. Gallant Fox (1930)

Career record: 17 starts — 11 wins, 3 places, 2 shows | Trainer: Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons | Jockey: Earl Sande | Color: Bay

Gallant Fox is technically the first Triple Crown winner — in the sense that Charles Hatton first applied the term to his three-race sweep in 1930. He began slowly as a two-year-old but dominated after turning three. His Triple Crown campaign ran in a different order than the modern sequence — he won the Preakness first, then the Kentucky Derby less than two weeks later, then completed the sweep at the Belmont. His three victories spanned 29 days.

Gallant Fox was trained by Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons — the same trainer who would guide Omaha to the Triple Crown five years later, making Fitzsimmons the first trainer to win the Triple Crown twice. Notably, Gallant Fox was beaten in only one race his entire three-year-old season — the Travers Stakes, where he lost to a 100-1 longshot named Jim Dandy in an upset that racing historians still discuss.

3. Omaha (1935)

Career record: 22 starts — 9 wins, 7 places, 2 shows | Trainer: Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons | Jockey: Willie Saunders | Color: Chestnut

Omaha is the only offspring of a Triple Crown winner to win the Triple Crown — his sire was Gallant Fox, making the father-son pairing the only one in Triple Crown history. He was also trained by Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, the same trainer who had guided his father, which gives Fitzsimmons a unique place in the record books: trainer of two Triple Crown winners, five years apart, one the son of the other.

Omaha was a large chestnut who seemed to run his best races in difficult conditions — two of his Triple Crown victories came over wet tracks. The Kentucky Derby was run in pouring rain, and the Belmont track was rated sloppy. His career record is modest by Triple Crown standards (9 wins from 22 starts), but he won when it counted. Like Sir Barton, Omaha also ran in the Withers Stakes between Triple Crown legs, though unlike Sir Barton he lost that race.

4. War Admiral (1937)

Career record: 26 starts — 21 wins, 3 places, 1 show | Trainer: George Conway | Jockey: Charley Kurtsinger | Color: Brown

War Admiral Triple Crown winner 1937 son of Man o War
War Admiral — son of Man o’ War, Triple Crown winner in 1937, remembered as much for one loss as for 21 victories.

War Admiral was the son of Man o’ War, one of the greatest racehorses of all time, and he proved worthy of that bloodline. He went undefeated through his entire three-year-old season and set a track record at a mile and a half — breaking the record his sire Man o’ War had set 17 years earlier at the same distance. His career record of 21 wins from 26 starts is among the strongest of any Triple Crown winner.

War Admiral’s legacy is complicated by the one race he lost that became more famous than any race he won. In 1938, he was matched against Seabiscuit at Pimlico in a match race watched by 40,000 people and heard by an estimated 40 million on radio. The race was framed as East Coast royalty (War Admiral) against West Coast underdog (Seabiscuit). Seabiscuit won by four lengths. War Admiral’s Triple Crown record was real and significant — but most people remember him through that defeat.

5. Whirlaway (1941)

Career record: 60 starts — 32 wins, 15 places, 9 shows | Trainer: Ben Jones | Jockey: Eddie Arcaro | Color: Chestnut

Whirlaway Triple Crown winner 1941 chestnut racehorse
Whirlaway — known for his dramatic come-from-behind style and his extraordinary long tail.

Whirlaway’s Kentucky Derby win in 1941 is one of the most dramatic in race history. Shortly after the start he was trailing the leader by 14 lengths — a deficit that would have ended most horses’ chances. He closed the gap steadily through the middle of the race, then unleashed an extraordinary final burst in the home stretch that won him the race by eight lengths. He tied the margin record and set a new Derby time of 2:01 2/5 that stood for 21 years.

Whirlaway was known for his long, flowing tail and his dramatic running style — he would drop far back early and close fast. Trainer Ben Jones worked extensively on getting him to run straight in the stretch rather than drifting wide, which had cost him races earlier in his career. He was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro for all three Triple Crown victories. With 60 career starts, Whirlaway ran more races than any other Triple Crown winner by a significant margin — and never finished worse than third in his first 42 starts.

6. Count Fleet (1943)

Career record: 21 starts — 16 wins, 4 places, 1 show | Trainer: Don Cameron | Jockey: Johnny Longden | Color: Bay

Youtube video
Count Fleet winning the 1943 Belmont Stakes by 25 lengths — one of the most dominant Triple Crown performances in history.

Count Fleet was so dominant that only two horses entered the Belmont Stakes to challenge him — and he won by 25 lengths, breaking the stakes record. His dominance as a two-year-old was similarly one-sided: he set the record for the fastest mile by a two-year-old Thoroughbred and was the consensus champion of his crop before he ever ran as a three-year-old.

The Belmont Stakes, as dominant as it was, also ended his career. Count Fleet had been nursing a lingering ankle injury through the Triple Crown campaign, and the injury finally caught up with him after the Belmont. He never raced again. He went to stud and proved equally successful there, siring Kentucky Derby winner Count Turf and becoming a significant influence on American Thoroughbred bloodlines. His career was brief but emphatic — 16 wins from 21 starts, including arguably the most complete Triple Crown series run by any horse other than Secretariat.

7. Assault (1946)

Career record: 42 starts — 18 wins, 6 places, 7 shows | Trainer: Max Hirsch | Jockey: Warren Mehrtens | Color: Chestnut

Assault’s story begins before his racing career. As a foal on the King Ranch in Texas — the famous quarter horse operation considered the birthplace of the American Quarter Horse breed — Assault stepped on a surveyor’s stake that drove through his right front hoof. The injury was severe enough that there was discussion about euthanizing him. He survived, but walked with a noticeable limp for the rest of his life. The hoof never fully formed properly.

He ran anyway. Assault was the first Kentucky Derby winner bred outside Kentucky and the only Texas-bred horse to win the Triple Crown. He didn’t favor his injured leg at speed — whatever mechanical disadvantage the hoof gave him in the paddock disappeared once he was running. He carried his nickname “The Club-Footed Comet” honestly in both directions: the club foot was real, and so was the speed. He retired as the all-time leading money earner in American racing at the time.

8. Citation (1948)

Career record: 45 starts — 32 wins, 10 places, 2 shows | Trainer: Ben Jones | Jockey: Eddie Arcaro | Color: Bay

Citation Triple Crown winner 1948 bay Thoroughbred
Citation — arguably the most complete two and three-year-old Thoroughbred in racing history.

Citation may have had the best combined two and three-year-old seasons in the history of Thoroughbred racing. As a two-year-old he won eight of nine starts. As a three-year-old he won 16 consecutive races, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes — the Triple Crown — before a leg injury ended his season. By the conclusion of his three-year-old year he had a record of 27 wins from 29 starts across both seasons.

Citation was Eddie Arcaro’s second Triple Crown mount — Arcaro had ridden Whirlaway for the same stable, Calumet Farm, in 1941. Both horses were trained by Ben Jones, making Jones the only trainer to win the Triple Crown twice with the same jockey. Citation was the first horse to earn $1 million in career earnings and set multiple track records. His Triple Crown came at the end of an 11-race consecutive win streak and was never seriously in doubt in any of the three races.

On Calumet Farm’s Two Triple Crown Winners Calumet Farm’s back-to-back Triple Crown winners — Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948 — represent the most dominant seven-year stretch any single operation has produced in American racing. Ben Jones training both horses, Eddie Arcaro riding both horses, for the same owner. In my experience watching how operations are built at Louisiana tracks, that kind of institutional consistency — same trainer, same jockey, same farm producing champions — doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the product of a system that knows what it’s doing and doesn’t change what works. Calumet in that era was the model for what a racing operation could be.

9. Secretariat (1973)

Career record: 21 starts — 16 wins, 3 places, 1 show | Trainer: Lucien Laurin | Jockey: Ron Turcotte | Color: Chestnut

Youtube video
Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes — 31 lengths, 2:24 flat, a record that still stands.

Secretariat ended a 25-year Triple Crown drought and set records at each of the three races — records that still stand as of 2026. His Kentucky Derby time of 1:59 2/5 was the first sub-two-minute Derby in history and has never been broken. In the Preakness he took command early and won by 2½ lengths over Sham in a time of 1:53, confirmed as a stakes record after the track clock malfunctioned. At the Belmont he won by 31 lengths in 2:24 flat — the fastest mile and a half on dirt ever run in a race, and a record that has never been approached.

What made Secretariat’s Triple Crown physically unusual was his split pattern. Horses normally run the first quarter fastest and slow progressively as fatigue accumulates. At the Belmont, Secretariat ran each successive quarter faster through the middle of the race — he accelerated when every other horse in history has slowed down. His estimated heart weight at necropsy was commonly cited at approximately 22 pounds, nearly three times the average Thoroughbred’s 8-9 pounds, which provides the cardiovascular explanation for what otherwise looks impossible on a split sheet. He won the Horse of the Year award both as a two-year-old and a three-year-old.

10. Seattle Slew (1977)

Career record: 17 starts — 14 wins, 2 places, 0 shows | Trainer: Billy Turner | Jockey: Jean Cruguet | Color: Dark Bay

Seattle Slew Triple Crown winner 1977 undefeated
Seattle Slew — purchased for $17,500 as a yearling, won the Triple Crown undefeated, and became one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history.

Seattle Slew was purchased as a yearling for $17,500 — a modest sum that his subsequent career made look like the greatest bargain in racing history. He won the first nine races of his career, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes, making him the first horse to win the Triple Crown while entering the series undefeated. Only Justify, in 2018, has matched that feat.

After racing, Seattle Slew at stud proved as influential as he had been on the track. His notable offspring include Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Swale and A.P. Indy, a Belmont Stakes winner and Horse of the Year. He is also the grandsire of Tapit, the leading sire in North America in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The $17,500 purchase price continues to appreciate with each generation of his bloodline.

11. Affirmed (1978)

Career record: 29 starts — 22 wins, 5 places, 1 show | Trainer: Laz Barrera | Jockey: Steve Cauthen | Color: Chestnut

Affirmed Triple Crown winner 1978 with jockey Steve Cauthen
Affirmed — the last Triple Crown winner until American Pharoah in 2015, known for his three-race battle with Alydar.

Affirmed’s Triple Crown is the most competitively contested in history. In all three races, Alydar — trained at Calumet Farm — pushed Affirmed to the limit. The margin of victory in the Kentucky Derby was 1½ lengths. The Preakness was a neck. The Belmont, at a mile and a half, was a head — the two horses ran stride for stride through the entire stretch, and Affirmed held on. Three races, three different margins, the same two horses first and second every time.

Of Affirmed’s five career second-place finishes, three were won by Alydar. Affirmed was the first horse to earn $2 million in career earnings and was named Horse of the Year in 1978 and 1979. He was the great-great-grandson of Triple Crown winner War Admiral. His Triple Crown in 1978 was the last for 37 years — American Pharoah in 2015 ended the drought that Affirmed started.

12. American Pharoah (2015)

Career record: 11 starts — 9 wins, 1 place, 0 shows | Trainer: Bob Baffert | Jockey: Victor Espinoza | Color: Bay

American Pharoah Triple Crown winner 2015 ending 37 year drought
American Pharoah winning the 2015 Belmont Stakes — ending a 37-year Triple Crown drought.

When American Pharoah won the 2015 Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths, he ended a 37-year drought — the longest in Triple Crown history. During those 37 years, 13 horses had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and failed at the Belmont, leading some in the industry to wonder whether the Triple Crown was structurally impossible for the modern horse. American Pharoah answered the question. He was named two-year-old champion, 2015 Horse of the Year, and retired to stud with a 9-1-0 record from 11 career starts.

One of the more unusual footnotes to American Pharoah’s story involves the buyback pattern that produced him. In 2007, owner Ahmed Zayat purchased back Pioneer of the Nile — American Pharoah’s sire — at auction for $290,000 after the colt failed to meet reserve. In 2013, Zayat similarly bought back American Pharoah for $300,000. Two buybacks, same owner, five years apart — the second one producing the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.

13. Justify (2018)

Career record: 6 starts — 6 wins, 0 places, 0 shows | Trainer: Bob Baffert | Jockey: Mike Smith | Color: Chestnut

Justify Triple Crown winner 2018 undefeated six races
Justify at the 2018 Belmont Stakes — completing an undefeated Triple Crown just 112 days after his first career start.

Justify accomplished the Triple Crown with the most compressed timeline in history. He made his first career start on February 18, 2018. He won the Belmont Stakes on June 9, 2018 — 112 days later — completing an undefeated 6-0 career and claiming the Triple Crown. No horse has gone from first career start to Triple Crown completion faster in the modern era.

Justify is the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a two-year-old — a distinction that had become known as the “Apollo Curse” because no horse had broken it in 136 years. He is also only the second horse, after Seattle Slew, to win the Triple Crown while undefeated entering the series. He retired sound after six races with trainer Bob Baffert — Baffert’s second Triple Crown winner after American Pharoah in 2015, making him the only trainer to win the Triple Crown twice in the modern era.

What Justify’s Six-Race Career Tells You About Modern Racing Justify retired after six races, undefeated, with the Triple Crown. That career arc would have been unthinkable in earlier eras — Whirlaway ran 60 times. Citation ran 45. Even the modern horses before American Pharoah typically ran 10-15 times. The shift toward preserving sound, valuable breeding stallions has fundamentally changed what a “career” looks like for elite horses. Justify’s six races were carefully constructed to get him to the Triple Crown in the best possible condition. Whether that’s the right way to manage a great horse is a legitimate debate in the industry — but the result was a perfect record and a second Triple Crown in four years for Bob Baffert’s barn.

FAQs About Triple Crown Winners

How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

Thirteen horses have won the Triple Crown: Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015), and Justify (2018).

Who was the first Triple Crown winner?

Sir Barton in 1919 was the first horse to win all three races — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes — in the same season. However, the term ‘Triple Crown’ wasn’t coined until 1930, when sportswriter Charles Hatton used it after Gallant Fox’s sweep. Sir Barton’s achievement was recognized retroactively.

Who was the most recent Triple Crown winner?

Justify in 2018 is the most recent Triple Crown winner. He won all three races undefeated, completing the Triple Crown just 112 days after his first career start — the fastest any horse has gone from debut to Triple Crown completion in the modern era.

Which Triple Crown winner had the best career record?

Citation had the strongest combined record across his two and three-year-old seasons — 27 wins from 29 starts across both years, including 16 consecutive wins as a three-year-old. Whirlaway had the most career starts (60) and wins (32) of any Triple Crown winner. Justify had the highest win rate at 100% from 6 starts, though his career was the shortest by far.

Has a filly ever won the Triple Crown?

No. All 13 Triple Crown winners are stallions. Three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby — Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980), and Winning Colors (1988) — but none has completed the Triple Crown. Genuine Risk finished second in the Preakness in 1980. Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness in 2009 but did not run the Derby.

Which horses won the Triple Crown while undefeated?

Only two horses won the Triple Crown while entering the series undefeated: Seattle Slew (1977), who won the first nine races of his career including all three Triple Crown races, and Justify (2018), who won all six career starts including the Triple Crown. Justify also retired undefeated.

Who trained the most Triple Crown winners?

Bob Baffert trained two Triple Crown winners — American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018) — the most of any active trainer. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons also trained two — Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935). Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to ride two Triple Crown winners — Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948).

What was the longest gap between Triple Crown winners?

The longest gap was 37 years, between Affirmed (1978) and American Pharoah (2015). During that span, 13 horses won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but failed to win the Belmont Stakes. The second-longest gap was 25 years, between Citation (1948) and Secretariat (1973).

Was Secretariat the greatest Triple Crown winner?

Secretariat made the strongest case by a measurable standard — he holds all three Triple Crown race records (Kentucky Derby 1:59 2/5, Preakness 1:53, Belmont 2:24 flat), all still standing as of 2026. No other Triple Crown winner set a record in even one of the three races that lasted this long. The argument for other horses — Man o’ War, Citation, Count Fleet — rests on different criteria: dominance, durability, or the conditions under which they ran.

Key Takeaways
  • 13 winners in over 100 years — Sir Barton (1919) to Justify (2018), all stallions, no fillies or geldings
  • Secretariat holds all three race records — Derby (1:59 2/5), Preakness (1:53), Belmont (2:24 flat) — all still stand as of 2026
  • Two undefeated Triple Crown winners — Seattle Slew (1977) and Justify (2018)
  • Longest drought: 37 years — Affirmed (1978) to American Pharoah (2015)
  • Bob Baffert trained two — American Pharoah and Justify; Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons also trained two — Gallant Fox and Omaha (father and son)
  • Eddie Arcaro rode two — Whirlaway (1941) and Citation (1948), both for Calumet Farm
  • Justify’s 112 days — from first career start to Triple Crown completion — the fastest in modern racing history

For the full breakdown of the three races themselves — distances, history, and why the schedule makes the Triple Crown so difficult — see The Triple Crown Races: Everything You Need to Know. For the horse most people consider the greatest Triple Crown performance, see Was Secretariat the Fastest Horse to Ever Race?