Who was the Greatest Triple Crown Winner of All-Time?

With the inauguration of the Kentucky Derby in 1875, the "Run for the Roses" joined the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes to form America's premier trio of horse races. First used by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton in 1930, the term "Triple Crown" refers to the the rare thoroughbred who successfully wins all three of these elite and historic races in a single year.

Although there are many other prestigious races and events on today's racing calendar that bring fortune and fame to winning horses, the Triple Crown stands alone as horse racing's biggest and most prestigious prize.

Over the course of nearly a century and a half, only 13 horses have achieved this rare feat, beginning with Sir Barton in 1919. Following a 37-year drought in Triple Crown Winners, American Pharoah famously ran to victory in the 2015 Belmont Stakes. And most recently, Justify prevailed in all 3 races in 2018 to make Bob Baffert one of only two trainers with multiple Triple Crown winners (Jim Fitzsimmons was the other with Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935.

But who was the greatest Triple Crown Winner of all-time in horse racing history? On May 2nd, 2020, NBC aired a one-of-a-kind virtual sporting event to try and answer that very question.

With the Kentucky Derby on hold until September, the 13 historic champions of the Triple Crown faced off in a virtual race to determine who truly was the greatest American thoroughbred of all-time!

Opening Odds and Results for the Triple Crown Showdown

After settling in the middle of the pack for much of the race, Secretariat made his move on Seattle Slew coming down the homestretch. Prevailing in close finish ahead of Citation, Secretariat won the Triple Crown Showdown, with Seattle Slew finishing third, Affirmed taking fourth and American Pharoah rounding out the top 5 finishers.

Post Position	Finish	Triple Crown Winner	Triple Crown Year	Opening Odds

3	1	Secretariat	1973	7-2
8	2	Citation	1948	4-1
5	3	Seattle Slew	1977	5-1
1	4	Affirmed	1978	5-1
6	5	American Pharoah	2015	6-1
10	6	Whirlaway	1941	6-1
11	7	Count Fleet	1943	6-1
12	8	Justify	2018	15-1
2	9	Assault	1946	20-1
13	11	Omaha	1935	20-1
9	10	War Admiral	1947	8-1
7	12	Gallant Fox	1930	7-1
4	13	Sir Barton	1919	20-1