American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing

Last updated

The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New York; they are: the Acorn Stakes, run at Belmont Park at a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles, the Coaching Club American Oaks, run at Saratoga Race Course at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles and the Alabama Stakes, run at Saratoga at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles. [1]

Contents

History

There have been attempts to develop a "Filly Triple Crown" or a Triple Tiara for fillies only, but no set series of three races consistently remained in the public eye. At least four different configurations of races have been designated as such. Two fillies won the series of the Kentucky Oaks, the Pimlico Oaks (now the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes), and the Coaching Club American Oaks, in 1949 and 1952, but the racing press did not designate either accomplishment as a "triple crown". The New York Racing Association designated three of its races as a filly triple crown of sorts, but the races so designated changed over the years. Eight fillies won variations of the NYRA Triple Tiara between 1968 and 1993. [2]

The New York Filly Triple Tiara (1957–2002 and 2007–2009)

The original Triple Tiara consisted of three races at Belmont Park: the 1 mile Acorn Stakes, the 1⅛ mile Mother Goose Stakes and the Coaching Club American Oaks, which varied in distance between 1¼ and 1½ miles.

Eight horses have won the series under this system:

Four horses (Shuvee, Mom's Command, Open Mind and Sky Beauty) have also won the Alabama Stakes in the same year. The Alabama has been part of the Triple Tiara series since 2010, and was also part of that series from 2003 through 2006.

The New York Filly Triple Tiara (2003–2006)

In 2003, the Triple Tiara was reconfigured for a time to consist of the Mother Goose Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama Stakes, a 1¼ mile race held in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The New York Racing Association, the operator of Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, once offered a $2 million bonus to any filly that won all three races. The bonus was discontinued in 2005. In 2007 the New York Racing Association reverted to the original three races of the tiara: the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks. No filly swept this reconfigured series.

The New York Filly Triple Tiara (2010–present)

The Triple Tiara is now a set of three horse races in New York which is open to three-year-old fillies. The three races that compose the series now are The Acorn Stakes, run at Belmont Park at a distance of 1 mile, The Coaching Club American Oaks, run at Saratoga Race Course at a distance of 1⅛ miles and The Alabama Stakes, also run at Saratoga at a distance of 1¼ miles. The current race system was implemented in 2010 by the New York Racing Association and the series is sponsored by Betfair and TVG. [1] No filly has swept this reconfigured series.

National Triple Tiara proposals

In recent years, many owners and trainers of fillies have submitted proposals to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to change the three races that compose the Triple Tiara. Although a great deal of prestige is attached to winning one or more of the current Triple Tiara races, all three are held in New York; because of this, the series is skewed to fillies that race in the northeast. Some from outside the area even modify the name of the series by calling it the "New York Triple Tiara".

Several options of races have been suggested to compose the "National Triple Tiara". The most popular proposal of a "National Triple Tiara" are three races that are on the undercard of the three Triple Crown races for three-year-old males. The National Triple Tiara consists of the Kentucky Oaks, run at Churchill Downs in Louisville; the George E. Mitchell Stakes, run at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore; and the Acorn Stakes, run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. These three races are run on the same or similar date, and on the same racetrack, as the three races in the Triple Crown for colts.

Another proposal has been to use the Kentucky Oaks, the George E. Mitchell Stakes, and the Mother Goose Stakes. This version would allow more time for fillies to recuperate between races. Using the Mother Goose would also allow the New York Racing Association to keep the New York Triple Tiara (the Acorn Stakes, the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama Stakes) in place without interfering with the three National races.

A prime reason for favoring the National Triple Tiara is that the Kentucky Oaks is the most popular races for fillies and draws one of the biggest crowds of any stakes races throughout the year (behind only the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes). [3] The Kentucky Oaks consistently outdraws the Belmont Stakes, the Travers Stakes and the Breeders' Cup series. On the other hand, the George E. Mitchell is currently only a Grade II race as few modern trainers are willing to race their fillies with only two weeks rest after the Kentucky Oaks. But champion filly Silverbulletday did it in 1999, proving that it is still able to be done.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing</span> 3-race horse honor in various countries

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment in Thoroughbred racing. The term originated in mid-19th-century England and nations where Thoroughbred racing is popular each have their own Triple Crown series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Oaks</span> American Thoroughbred stakes horse race

The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers 1+1⁄8 miles (1,800 m) at Churchill Downs; the horses carry 121 pounds (55 kg). The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby each year. The winner gets $846,300 of the $1,500,000 purse, and a large garland blanket of lilies, resulting in the nickname "Lillies for the Fillies." A silver Kentucky Oaks Trophy is presented to the winner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont Park</span> Horse racing track in Elmont, New York

Belmont Park is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown. It was opened on May 4, 1905, and is one of the best well known racetracks in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruffian (horse)</span> American-bred champion Thoroughbred racehorse

Ruffian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won ten consecutive races, including the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks, then known as the American Triple Tiara. She was in the lead at every point of call in every race she ever ran and set new stakes records in each of the eight stakes races she won. Her dominating wins caused her to be named the American Champion filly at both ages two and three. In July 1975, she entered a highly anticipated match race with Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, in which she broke down. Surgery was attempted but Ruffian reacted poorly and exacerbated the injuries while coming out of anesthesia. As a result, she was euthanized.

The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile and a sixteenth with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiara and is followed by the Coaching Club American Oaks then the Alabama Stakes. The filly must win all three races to win the Triple Tiara, as well as the third leg of the "National" Triple Tiara.

The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late October, the race currently offers a purse of $250,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a sixteenth, it was lengthened to a mile and an eighth in 1959. Originally part of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, the Mother Goose was removed from the series in 2010 and its distance reverted to a mile and a sixteenth.

The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it currently offers a purse of $600,000. In 2010 it became the third leg of the American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, after the Acorn Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-Eyed Susan Stakes</span> American Thoroughbred stakes horse race

The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a purse of $300,000

Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stage Door Johnny</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Stage Door Johnny was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the third leg of the 1968 U.S. Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes.

Silverbulletday is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Stakes winner and that year's U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt. Her grandsire was Deputy Minister, the 1981 Canadian Horse of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mom's Command</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Mom's Command was a multiple Grade I-winning American Thoroughbred race horse. In a two-year career, she won eleven of her sixteen races. In 1985, she was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly at the Eclipse Awards.

Open Mind was an American Thoroughbred racing filly. In 1988, she won the Eclipse Award for American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In 1989, she won the award as American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. In her third year, she also won the American Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)</span> Racing honor

In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020.

Spun Sugar is an American thoroughbred mare racehorse. She is sired by multiple grade one stakes winner Awesome Again, who was United States Horse of the Year. He in turn was sired by another leading American sire in Deputy Minister. She was out of the mare Irish Cherry.

But Why Not was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. The daughter of Blue Larkspur and granddaughter of Black Servant is probably best remembered for wins in the Alabama Stakes, the Acorn Stakes, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. In 1947, she was voted by the country's top sports writers as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.

Levee was a Kentucky thoroughbred foaled in 1953. She was an accomplished stakes winner and the dam of the champion race mare Shuvee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess of Sylmar</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Princess of Sylmar is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2013 she appeared to have established herself as the leading American filly of her generation with Grade I wins in the Kentucky Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama Stakes.

Miguel Angel Rivera Vargas is a former Puerto Rican jockey who competed between the 1960s and 1990s. After he went back and forth between Puerto Rico and mainland United States during the 1960s, Rivera moved to the mainland United States during the early 1970s. As part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Rivera won the 1974 Preakness Stakes and the 1974 Belmont Stakes. In additional Triple Crown races, Rivera's highest finish at the Kentucky Derby was sixth during 1977. For the Filly Triple Crown, Rivera won one of the Acorn Stakes races in 1974.

The Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on the turf held annually in September at Belmont Park, Elmont, New York. The purse for the event is US$350,000.

References

  1. 1 2 "Betfair TVG Sponsors Triple Tiara" (Press release). New York Racing Association. 2010-05-28. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
  2. ↑ Genaro, Teresa (June 7, 2011). "The Triple Tiara". Hello Race Fans. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Oaks Day Crowd of 116,046 Sets Record". www.churchilldownsincorporated.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.