by Craig J Davenport

Created on: April 15, 2008   Last Updated: March 27, 2010

In 1919 a horse named Sir Barton did something no other horse had ever done. He won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and The Belmont Stakes. The Jockey Club, which is made up of older executive types and have always run the sport of thoroughbred horse racing in this country had been thinking of a so-called Triple Crown, including these three grade one races.

In the mid twenties they made it official. Everyone was excited and knew it would bring in more money. In 1926 the three races became the distances as they are now and so was born the modern day Triple Crown. The only memorable race that took place in the early twenties was a match race between the Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, and the great Man O' War, who won the Preakness stakes and the Belmont stakes in 1920. He didn't run in the Derby that year, since there was really no significance to the Triple Crown. Man O' War only lost one start out of twenty one. He stumbled out of the gate and lost to Upset, whom he would have easily beaten under different circumstances.

There was quite a bit of shuffling going on in the twenties, but in 1930 a very swift horse came along. Gallant Fox was his name and he won the Triple Crown. He also did something else notable. He sired a colt called Omaha, who went on to win the Triple in 1935. This never had happened before or since.

In 1937 one of Man O' War's offspring won the Triple. We all know about War Admiral. In 1938 a match race was set up between War Admiral and his second cousin from California, Sea Biscuit. No one alive will ever know why the two owners raced these two horses at Pimlico for $15,000.00, when they had been offered one hundred fifty thousand to run at Belmont. I have a copy of the original contract between the horse owners and Mr. Vanderbilt, who owned Pimlico at the time.

After Omaha won the Triple in 1935, War admiral was next in 1937, and then came Whirlaway in 1941. Whirlaway didn't show much as a two year old in 1940, but he managed to win the Triple in 1941.

In 1943, the year of my birth, a beautiful Stallion called Count Fleet came along and won the Triple. He was probably the most beautiful horses to step on a track. Meanwhile at Calumet Farms, where Ben Wright was running a successful baking soda business, his sons were trying to talk him into getting into horse racing.

Just before Ben Wright died, the family decided to go wide open into the horse business. They hired the best trainers, the Jones Family, and imported the most famous stud

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