Get to know the horses who have joined Secretariat in winning the Triple Crown

When will we witness the next Triple Crown winner in Thoroughbred racing?

It’s impossible to say. They mostly come in flurries, though, followed by lengthy droughts.

The first in 1919. Three in the 1930s. Four in the 1940s. Three in the 1970s. Then two more recently, in 2015 and 2018.

Only 13 horses have won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in the same year, making it one of sports’ most challenging tests.

Here is a look at the baker’s dozen who have gotten the job done.

2018 — Justify

Record: 6-6-0-0

Earnings: $3,798,000

Parentage: By Scat Daddy out of Stage Magic

Owner: China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, WinStar Farm

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

A look back: Justify is the only Triple Crown winner to retire undefeated and is also the most lightly raced, having won all six of his races as a 3-year-old. Justify bested Good Magic by 2 1/2 lengths in the Kentucky Derby, turned back Bravazo by a half-length in the Preakness and defeated Gronkowski by 1 3/4 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. Justify, who was forced to retire in July of his Triple Crown year after the discovery of fluid in an ankle, stands stud at Ashford Stud in Versailles for a $100,000 fee in 2023.

2015 — American Pharoah

Record: 11-9-1-0

Earnings: $8,650,300

Parentage: By Pioneerof the Nile out of Littleprincessemma

Owner: Zayat Stables

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Victor Espinoza

A look back: American Pharoah became the first horse to win Thoroughbred racing’s “Grand Slam,” capturing the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year. American Pharoah secured that honor during the first-ever Breeders’ Cup World Championships contested at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, then was retired with eight Grade 1 wins from his 11 career races. American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby by a length over Firing Line, the Preakness by 7 lengths over Tale of Verve and the Belmont by 5 1/2 lengths over Frosted. American Pharoah, one of history’s most popular racehorses with fans, stands stud in 2023 for a $60,000 fee at Ashford Stud.

1978 — Affirmed

Record: 29-22-5-1

Earnings: $2,393,818

Parentage: By Exclusive Native out of Won’t Tell You

Owner: Harbor View Farm

Trainer: Laz Barrera

Jockey: Steve Cauthen

A look back: Affirmed held off Alydar three times in five weeks to win the 11th Triple Crown. His rivalry with Alydar bound their names inextricably; their battle through the final mile in the Belmont Stakes is recalled as one of the most epic ever fought in a major race. Alydar briefly got his head in front of Affirmed in the stretch, but Cauthen won the race with strategy he imposed on the spot. He switched his whip from his right hand, hitting Affirmed on the left side for the first time in his life. “It spurred him just enough to get his head back in front,” Cauthen said. “It was something different, so it got his attention.”

1977 — Seattle Slew

Record: 17-14-2-0

Earnings: $1,208,726

Parentage: By Bold Reasoning out of My Charmer

Owners: Karen and Mickey Taylor, Jim and Sally Hill

Trainer: Billy Turner

Jockey: Jean Cruguet

A look back: Seattle Slew, bought for a bargain $17,500 at the Fasig-Tipton yearling sale, was the only colt at the time to win the Triple Crown while undefeated. He earned an Eclipse Award as champion juvenile. As a 3-year-old, he was sensational, not suffering his first career defeat until his first race after the Belmont Stakes. At stud, he was the first Derby winner in more than 20 years (since Swaps sired Chateaugay) to sire a Kentucky Derby winner, Swale.

1973 — Secretariat

Record: 21-16-3-1

Earnings: $1,316,808

Parentage: By Bold Ruler out of Somethingroyal

Owner: Meadow Stable

Trainer: Lucien Laurin

Jockey: Ron Turcotte

A look back: Secretariat won his Triple Crown just when it looked like there never would be another: 25 years after Citation. His 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes, run in a track-record 2:24 against wind in the backstretch, is considered the most awesome in the history of that race. Secretariat’s Derby record (1:59 2/5) still stands, and though his Preakness time (1:53) was long in dispute because of a timer malfunction, it is now considered to be the official record. His Triple Crown campaign drew unprecedented attention, with an estimated 85 million TV viewers following his wins.

1948 — Citation

Record: 45-32-10-2

Earnings: $1,085,760

Parentage: By Bull Lea out of Hydroplane II

Owner: Calumet Farm

Trainer: J. H. “Jimmy” Jones

Jockey: Eddie Arcaro

A look back: Citation, the first to crack the $1 million earnings mark, was the fourth in the 1940s to win the Triple Crown. Many believed that he rivaled Man o’ War as the greatest racehorse of all time. Citation was the third of what would be eight Kentucky Derby winners for Calumet Farm, an unmatched achievement among horse owners. He is remembered as the sport’s first millionaire horse and for his remarkable 16-race winning streak.

1946 — Assault

Record: 42-18-6-7

Earnings: $675,470

Parentage: By Bold Venture out of Igual

Owner: King Ranch

Trainer: Max Hirsch

Jockey: Warren Mehrtens

A look back: Early in life, Assault crippled a foot when he stepped on a surveyor’s stake. It was a miracle that he recovered, that he raced and that he raced well enough to win the Triple Crown. He was considered an unlikely Triple Crown prospect and was never a favorite in his life until after the Derby, when he won the Preakness. But he went from strength to strength, becoming a great handicap campaigner at age 4, though he lost a famous match race to Armed by 8 lengths when he went temporarily lame with a minor leg problem called a splint.

1943 — Count Fleet

Record: 21-16-4-1

Earnings: $251,300

Parentage: By Reigh Count out of Quickly

Owner: John D. Hertz

Trainer: Don Cameron

Jockey: John Longden

A look back: There was speculation that the 1943 Kentucky Derby would be canceled because of wartime restrictions on travel and gas rationing. But Churchill Downs insisted the race go on, and so it became known as the “Streetcar Derby.” Count Fleet had plenty of gas for that race. He turned the Derby into a front-running exhibition, then used that style to win the Preakness a week later. He won the Withers, then followed that with a 25-length win in the Belmont Stakes. It was to be his last race. He bowed a tendon in the Belmont, ending his career.

1941 — Whirlaway

Record: 60-32-15-9

Earnings: $561,161

Parentage: By Blenheim II out of Dustwhirl

Owner: Calumet Farm

Trainer: Ben Jones

Jockey: Eddie Arcaro

A look back: Whirlaway was an erratic 2-year-old with a habit of running out on the turns and often dawdling at the start. He bolted to the outside again as a 3-year-old in Keeneland’s Blue Grass Stakes and then in the Derby Trial. For the Derby, Whirlaway’s trainer outfitted him with a special one-eyed blinker that closed off the vision to his outside to discourage him from bolting. He arranged for a stronger rider. The changes paid off. Whirlaway won the first of eight Kentucky Derbys and two Triple Crowns that would go to Calumet Farm.

1937 — War Admiral

Record: 26-21-3-1

Earnings: $273,240

Parentage: By Man o’ War out of Brushup

Owner: Samuel D. Riddle

Trainer: George Conway

Jockey: Charles Kurtsinger

A look back: This brown son of Man o’ War became the fourth Triple Crown winner, the third one to win it in the 1930s and the only one to go undefeated throughout his 3-year-old season. Hours after winning the Derby, War Admiral was on a train to Baltimore, where he did not have an easy time in the Preakness, battling the length of the stretch with runner-up Pompoon. In the Belmont, he had every excuse to lose after tearing off a piece of one front hoof when he stumbled badly at the gate. But he persevered to win, though he trailed blood into the winner’s circle.

1935 — Omaha

Record: 22-9-7-2

Earnings: $154,755

Parentage: By Gallant Fox out of Flambino

Owner: William Woodward

Trainer: Jim Fitzsimmons

Jockey: William “Smokey” Saunders

A look back: Omaha was from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, forming the first father-son combination to win the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Yet he did not have an auspicious beginning. He won one race as a 2-year-old. He was not favorite for the Derby: A filly eclipsed him in that role. Despite winning the Triple Crown, Omaha raced under a shadow of indifference in popularity that had some saying he was the best of a mediocre lot that year. Still he equaled Man o’ War’s record for 1 1/8 miles in the Dwyer Stakes, then set a record for 1 1/4 miles in the Arlington Classic.

1930 — Gallant Fox

Record: 17-11-3-2

Earnings: $328,165

Parentage: By Sir Gallahad III out of Marguerite

Owner: William Woodward

Trainer: Jim Fitzsimmons

Jockey: Earl Sande

A look back: Gallant Fox was a surprising winner of the Triple Crown, overlooked in the excitement that built from the beginning of the season around colts named Whichone and Boojum. By the time of the Derby, he already had won the Preakness. His year was one of 13 times the Derby was preceded by what is now the second race in the Triple Crown. Even after winning the Preakness and Derby, Gallant Fox was not the favorite in the Belmont Stakes. But he won to give Woodward the first of his five winners in that race.

1919 — Sir Barton

Record: 31-13-6-5

Earnings: $116,847

Parentage: By Star Shoot out of Lady Sterling

Owner: J.K.L. Ross

Trainer: Guy Bedwell

Jockey: John Loftus

A look back: The Triple Crown would not become known as such until the 1930s, when the three races were given that name by racing writer Charles Hatton. But after becoming the first to win what was later called the Triple Crown, Sir Barton was dubbed the “horse of the decade.” He did not start out in that regard. In fact, he was put in the Derby as a “rabbit” to set a fast pace for his stablemate, Billy Kelly. Sir Barton was a maiden when he won the Derby. But he won his Triple Crown with distinction, setting a then-American record in the Belmont Stakes.

On the 50th anniversary of his Triple Crown, why Secretariat still resonates today

‘People are coming.’ Secretariat’s Paris home honoring him with park, mural and sculpture.

Did Secretariat change the sport of horse racing? See how much is different since 1973.

Is there a potential Triple Crown winner in this year’s Kentucky Derby field?

Watch: Secretariat’s record-setting Triple Crown races still induce chills 50 years later