Triple Crown Betting
The most popular time of year for American horse race betting fans kicks off on the first Saturday of May when the US Triple Crown of Races gets underway with the running of the epic Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Comprising the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and lastly the Belmont Stakes, all for three-year-old thoroughbreds, these are three of the most exciting races around. Which is why land and online sportsbooks report such high levels of Triple Crown betting, particularly in years when the Kentucky and Preakness have been won by the same horse, and everything comes down to the Belmont.
In the 1970s winning the Triple Crown became almost commonplace with Secretariat doing it in 1973, Seattle Slew in ’77, and Affirmed in ’78. Since then, however, no horse has managed to replicate the impressive feat although many have come agonizingly close by winning two of the three legs.
In fact, six horses in the last nine years have gone to the Belmont Stakes with a chance to win all three legs but they all failed, with Real Quiet coming closest of all (losing by a nose on the wire). The others were Silver Charm, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide, and Smarty Jones.
The only trainer who ever trained two Triple Crown winners was James Fitzsimmons, who won the US Triple Crown in 1930 with Gallant Fox and in 1935 with Omaha.
The road to the Triple Crown begins with the Run For The Roses, and betting on the Kentucky Derby attracts serious horse racing betting fans and occasional wagerers alike. It has produced many notable winners over the past decade – horses who captured the public’s imagination such as Smarty Jones, Charismatic, Funny Cide, and of course the ill-fated Barbaro.
None of these champions were able to defy the odds of winning all three races, which are close together in terms of time and far apart in terms of their distances.
The Kentucky Derby requires that a horse be able to stay a testing mile and a quarter trip and to have substantial luck in running as the field is typically very large. The Preakness Stakes requires a lot of speed as it is run on a speed-favoring track at Pimlico. The ability to stay is not that important. But it becomes all-important soon after in the Belmont Stakes where the runners must travel a mile and a half (the true Derby distance for the rest of the world), and stamina is crucial.
Each year betting on the Triple Crown seems to get more exciting, with huge potential payouts and the promise of a wonder horse winning all three races and achieving immortality in the Sport of Kings. It will be interesting to see what the 2012 Triple Crown campaign has in store.
We feature some of the best places for Triple Crown Betting.
