Numerous sports have the equivalent of horse racing’s Triple Crown, which is sweeping the three Classic events for three year old runners – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. With three races packed in a tough, five-week schedule and the longest of the three, the Belmont, at the conclusion, sweeping all three has been extremely difficult.
Eleven horses have accomplished this amazing feat, but the last horse to do so was the great Affirmed back in 1978.
Numerous horses have come close in recent years:
2008 Big Brown
2005 Afleet Aleet
2004 Smart Jones
2003 Funny Cide
2002 War Emblem
2001 Point Given
1999 Charismatic
1998 Real Quiet
1997 Silver Charm
1995 Thunder Gulch
Other great horses that won two of the three events but were unable to sweep the Crown include Sunday Silence, Risen Star, Alysheba, Swale, Spectacular Bid and Pleasant Colony.
Other Sports
GOLF: Only one golfer has won all 4 majors in a single year, that being Bobby Jones in 1930. The Tiger Slam back in 2000-1 covered two years.
TENNIS: Five singles players – Don Budge, Rod Laver, Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf – have won the Tennis Grand Slam.
BASEBALL: It’s been 44 years since a batter led the league in average, home runs and runs batted in. That was the Yaz, Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
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