33 years too long......

Its been 33 years since we heard the famous phrase " and ( insert horse) is the Triple Crown winner", 33 years too long I say. The last horse to accomplish this feat was Affirmed in 1978, beating his rival Alydar by a nose. Why has it been so long? Why does it seem nearly impossible? One reason that I recently found could be a cause is bloodlines and sires . I found that some or most of the triple crown winners had triple crown winner sires or english triple crown sires.

1) Affirmed- 1978 triple crown winner.. Had a huge rivalry with champion Alydar, and both horses competed against one another in all three crown races. Big, beautiful chestnut colt, he had excellent confirmation. As a 2 year old , he won 7 of 9 starts and went on to have a very successful 3 year old campaign. Now heres the interesting part: the bloodline. He was the grandson of triple crown winner War Admiral, great-great-great grandson of Man O War ( won 2 of the triple crown races). If you look into his pedigree you will notice he also has Gallant Fox ( triple crown winner) and other notable horses such as Mahmoud( English derby winner) , Native Dancer ( won Preakness and Belmont Stakes) Polynesian ( winner of Preakness Stakes).

2) Secretariat- 1973- most celebrated triple crown winner, won Belmont by an impressive 31 lengths. He was 16.2 hands, chestnut and owned by Penny Chenery. Once again, look at his pedigree! He was the son of Bold Ruler ( winner of Preakness Stakes), Grandson of Nasrullah ( sired triple crown winner Seattle Slew), Somethingroyal ( raced 1 time, unplaced but produced many winners ) Grandson of Princequillo ( won Jockey gold cup , Saratoga Handicap, Saratoga Handicap). If you look way way way back you will notice he has Fair Play ( he was also included in seabiscuit's pedigree).

3) Seattle Slew - 1977- Only triple crown winner to be undefeated- Son of Boldreasoning ( Boldnesian, Bold Ruler) Great great grandsire is Nasrullah ( Polynesian) Dam is My Charmer ( has Nashrulla and Princequillo)

4) Omaha - 1935 - son of triple crown winner Gallant Fox ,

Now these are just 4 of the triple crown winners, but you can see a pattern in bloodlines right?. For example- Omaha was the SON of a triple crown winner ( Gallant Fox) , who is also included in Affirmed's pedigree. You will notice that Secretariat and Seattle Slew both include Polynesian, Bold Ruler and Princequillo. If you go and research every triple crown winner, you will notice that the majority of these horses share a successful common ancestor , and several horses that won major G1 races or triple crown races. Back when triple crown winners became common, the horses were bred for distance, speed , stamina and health. Steroids were not used AS MUCH, or not at all and the horses who stood at stud were healthy, and had great stamina. These horses were bred for these races.

So why do we not have another triple crown?- let me break it down

* Horses today are not bred to run races at such short intervals, and are not bred to run the Belmont Stakes ( mile and half). Today horses are bred more for speed and less on distance

* Steroid use- Steroid use has made oridnary horses who usually are not made for speed , run faster and seem more muscular than they really are. Steroid use often covers up physical flaws and when horses are retired to stud, these physical problems come alive.

* Trainers are entering fresher horses into the last 2 legs of the Triple Crown- after the derby is won, the horse usually faces new competition in the last two legs, and they are usually horses that have not run for a while, and did not run in the derby. Example- Belmont Stakes 2011- Ruler on Ice won , he had not run for a while. Preakness 2011- we had several new shooters such as Isnt he Perfect, Flashpoint, Mr Commons. Entering fresh horses makes it harder in the Triple Crown because not only are they better rested, but they may be superb horses whose owners wish to become a spoiler. We have had alot of spoilers lately- EX).Big Brown losing to Da Tara . If trainers would not try to become spoilers, maybe we would have a triple crown winner.

But I believe the 1st and 3rd point are the reasons for no Triple Crown... if we didnt have more fresher horses entered into the last two legs, we would find it easier for a triple crown winner to emerge... I believe if we bred horses to go longer distances, we would also have a winner. We have alot of sprint/short distance horses, but not many distance horses. I was watching a race in Europe that was 2 miles long, and was seriously thinking- would an American horse run that far and come back healthy? . The answer is no, and we seriously need to change this. Longer distance bred horses= healthier, faster horses who can win the triple crown