How to Bet on the U.S. Triple Crown

Three races make up the U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, each held at a different racecourse, under various conditions, and at different distances. Just two things remain constant: all are restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbreds and are run on dirt tracks.

The Kentucky Derby - Purse $2 million

Held at Churchill Downs Racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, the Kentucky Derby is run over a distance of 1 1/4 miles on Churchill Downs’s dirt oval and is known as The Run for the Roses because the winner is draped in a blanket of roses. The field is limited to 20 runners, all earning their berth by accumulating points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby circuit in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan.

The Preakness Stakes - Purse $1.5 million

Held at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland, on the third Saturday in May, the Preakness Stakes is run over a distance of 1 3/16 miles on Pimlico’s dirt oval and is known as The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans because the winner is draped in a blanket of black-eyed susan flowers. The field is limited to 14 runners, with entry into the race based primarily on total earnings in graded stakes races, earnings in unrestricted stakes, and overall earnings.

The Belmont Stakes - Purse $1.5 million

Held at Belmont Park Racecourse in Elmont, New York, on the first or second Saturday in June, the Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races at 1 1/2 miles and is thus known as The Test of the Champion. It is run on Belmont’s uniquely large 1 1/2 mile dirt course, nicknamed "Big Sandy." The Belmont Stakes field, limited to 16 runners, is determined by graded stakes earnings, earnings in unrestricted stakes races, and selections by a committee, with preference given to Triple Crown nominees.

The Triple Crown betting attracts more than $300 million in bets each year in the U.S. alone. 

Each race in the Triple Crown has its own betting markets, which include standard “win,” “place,” and “show” bets, along with a variety of exotic wagers such as:

• Exacta: Pick the first and second horse home in any race in the correct order.
• Trifecta: Predict the first three home in the correct order.
• Superfecta: Select the first four to finish the race in exact order.
• Quinella: A Quinella functions like a boxed Exacta—you win if your two picks finish in the top two, in any order. You can also box a Trifecta and Superfecta.
• Future or Ante-Post: This allows you to place an early bet on a horse you believe will qualify for the race and win. Future wagers typically offer higher payouts than race-day bets, as they are made before the final field is confirmed; if the horse you bet on does not run, you lose the bet—no refund is issued. 

You can bet on each Triple Crown race at the track and on legal betting sites worldwide.

The Triple Crown consists of three separate races, and winning all three is considered the highest achievement in U.S. horse racing. Most Triple Crown betting focuses on each race individually, but you can place a futures bet on the Triple Crown winner on some sites.

Here are some tips that can help you with your Triple Crown betting:

• The draw: Pimlico has little to no draw-bias, meaning all posts are fair, but gate 1 at Belmont Park has a 38% win-rate since 1905, and low-numbered posts are also favored at Churchill Downs, thanks to the large Kentucky Derby field size of 20.
• Triple Crown form: Kentucky Derby starters begin their Triple Crown journey there, and most Preakness Stakes winners also ran in the Derby. It pays to follow Derby form when betting on the middle jewel, but be prepared for surprises in the Belmont Stakes and think outside the box.
• Big Sandy: Watch out for the Belmont Stakes: the race is significantly longer than the first two legs of the Triple Crown, and its deeper, more tiring surface makes it the most demanding. A horse truly needs stamina to win at Belmont.
• Pool bets: If you only have $2 to bet, your winnings are limited. But if you and several friends each contribute $2, you can pool your stakes into one larger, potentially more profitable wager. Get together, work out a bet you like, then pool your stakes for one big bet.
   

Daily Racing Form journalist Charles Hatton coined "Triple Crown" in the 1930s. In England, it had already been used to describe a similar series beginning with the 2,000 Guineas, followed by the Epsom Derby, and concluding with the St. Leger. Each race increased in distance and was restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbreds. Since Hatton saw the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes as the U.S. equivalents, he began to refer to the trio collectively as the Triple Crown.

By the 1940s, newspapers routinely used the term, and the Triple Crown title was officially inaugurated in December 1950 at the annual awards dinner of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations in New York. 

The association retroactively awarded the title to 1919 winner Sir Barton, the first horse to achieve the Triple Crown; at subsequent dinners, it did the same for other horses who had won the three races in a year before 1950.

The Triple Crown has been won by 13 horses, beginning with Sir Barton in 1919, who was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes all in the same year. Here is the complete list of winners: