by Garrett Anderson

Created on: March 05, 2009

It has been thirty years. Thirty years since Affirmed stepped off that Belmont track and into the winner's circle for a photo and a blanket of carnations. Affirmed found the annals of racing history that day in June. I was only 17 years old in 1978. I had no idea that at age 48, I'd still be waiting for the next "Triple Crown" winner. Stark testament to the difficult campaign that young racehorses must endure and conquer to reach horse racing immortality. Huge multi-million dollar bonuses and other monetary awards await the owner(s) of the next triple crown winner.

The "Triple Crown of Racing" is a series of three horse races that are held in the spring and early summer of each year. Only three year old horses are eligible to compete. They are all Grade I events, meaning that only the best and most promising horses are eligible to enter and race. All three races are "route" races, held at distances in excess of a mile.

The triple crown series starts with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. It is a huge, gala affair attracting celebrities and people from all walks of life. Mint Juleps are the drink of the day. Late in the afternoon, as many as 20 entrants representing domestic horses and some from overseas, charge out of the gate for a chance to win horse racing's first crown jewel. The Kentucky Derby is held at a distance of a mile and a quarter. It is called the "run for the roses" with the winning horse receiving a blanket of red roses.

The next leg of the triple crown series is held at Pimlico Racetrack in Maryland two weeks later. The Preakness is held at a distance of a mile and three sixteenths and generally doesn't have as many entrants as the Kentucky Derby.The winner receives a blanket of "Black Eyed Susans" which are Maryland's state flower. The Preakness is actually two years older than the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness was first run in 1873.

The last leg of the triple crown is the Belmont in New York. It is held three weeks after the Preakness in early June. The Belmont Stakes race is contested over a mile and a half. The Belmont has been the "brick wall" of several triple crown attempts. It is the longest of the three races and tests the stamina of all but the hardiest route runners. Charismatic and Smarty Jones were two of the horses that came up just short of horse racing immortality as a result of Belmont's deep track. Perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time, Secretariat, holds the Belmont Stakes record winning time having covered the race in two minutes and twenty four seconds flat. That record has stood since 1973. The winner of the Belmont receives a blanket of carnations.

Now firmly rooted in middle age, I await the next horse racing legend. Each year, I pray the drought will end. This year will mark the 31st year since Affirmed pulled off the greatest of horse racing feats. I will be watching that giant gate open this year on that first Saturday in May. Perhaps this will be the year the drought ends. I hope so.

Learn more about this author, Garrett Anderson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.