Items29The creator’s order
  1. 1Secretariat (horse)Secretariat (horse)The 1973 Belmont is the race to watch. Secretariat opened a gap of 31 lengths and finished the mile and a half in 2 minutes 24 seconds. The margin explains why a race that completed the Triple Crown is remembered almost as much for the space behind him.0
  2. 2Red RumRed RumWatch the end of the 1973 Grand National, when Red Rum ran down Crisp at Aintree. That was the first of three wins in the race, followed by victories in 1974 and 1977. The third tells you how long he stayed competitive. The first shows how late in a steeplechase the lead can change.0
  3. 3Phar LapPhar LapPhar Lap won the Melbourne Cup in 1930, then took on a very different field in Mexico and won the 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap. That second race helps explain why his story spread so far from Australia and New Zealand. There was a result on the other side of the Pacific to go with the reputation.0
  4. 4ZenyattaZenyattaZenyatta came from last to win the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the first female horse to win it. The 2010 replay makes a revealing second watch. She came charging again, but Blame held the lead and handed her the first loss of her career.0
  5. 5Man o' WarMan o' WarMan o’ War lost once in 21 starts, to a horse named Upset in the 1919 Sanford Memorial. His response was a three-year-old season without a defeat. Read the record around that one reversal to see how much a single result stands out against two seasons of winning.0
  6. 6SeabiscuitSeabiscuitAt Pimlico in 1938, Seabiscuit met the previous year’s Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a race with only the two of them. He won by four lengths. The head-to-head format makes the result easy to read even if you have never watched a race chart.0
  7. 7Citation (horse)Citation (horse)Citation won 19 of his 20 starts in 1948, the year he took the Triple Crown. Watch for that workload in the record. The three classics tell part of the story. What sets the season apart is how often he ran and won around them.0
  8. 8AffirmedAffirmedThe 1978 Triple Crown is a rivalry in three parts. Alydar finished second to Affirmed in all three races, each time closer at the finish. Look up the Belmont stretch run to see what a Triple Crown can look like when the same rival stays alongside almost to the line.0
  9. 9Seattle SlewSeattle SlewNo horse had finished the American Triple Crown with an unbeaten record before Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Following his wins from the Derby to the Belmont makes it easier to see what that distinction means. Each new distance or field was another test he got through without a defeat.0
  10. 10American PharoahAmerican PharoahAmerican Pharoah ended a 37-year Triple Crown wait in 2015, then won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. Pull up the Belmont and the Classic together. One finished the spring series for three-year-olds, and the other showed how far his season went beyond it.0