- The first Triple Crown winner was Sir Barton. He accomplished that honor in 1919, the year following the end of World War I.
- Adjusted for inflation, the biggest money-winning horse of all times was John Henry while Cigar, grandson of Seattle Slew, currently holds the North American prize-winning record.
- Seattle Slew was the first undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown. He accomplished that feat in 1977. The next year, he beat Affirmed, the last Triple Crown winner, in the Marlboro Cup.
- The greatest money-winning filly, Lady’s Secret, was the daughter of Triple Crown champion Secretariat.
- Bulle Rock was the first Thoroughbred in America’s Thirteen Colonies. He was shipped from Britain in 1730.
- The first Belmont Stakes (named for August Belmont, the first president of the American jockey club) was run in 1867 at Jerome Park. It was later moved to Belmont Park.
- In 1873, the first Preakness Stakes was run at Pimlico Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
- The first Kentucky Derby was run at the Louisville Jockey Club Course in 1875. The course is now known as Churchill Downs.
NOTE: We are exceedingly grateful to Leonard D. Smith, DVM (of Hendrix, Oklahoma) and his son, Wayne Smith, for providing us with facts for this story and for previously unpublished photographs of Seabiscuit and Ridgewood Ranch. Thanks, especially, to Gregory Kuehn (of Albuquerque, New Mexico), one of the most knowledgable Seabiscuit authorities available, for his expert help with this story.
