The three races that make up the Triple Crown are: Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
The Kentucky Derby (held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky) is run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2.0 kilometers).
Preakness Stakes racetrack is 1 3/16 miles, one-sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby.
The third race, the Belmont Stakes, is a 1 ½ mile run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Kentucky Derby has earned the reputation of “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”. For most race fans the derby is a day long affair of mint juleps, classy to crazy hats, and celebrity watching. But for the horse owners, the “Run for the Roses” is the first step to see if their thoroughbred has a shot at the crown.
The Preakness Stakes racing comes to Maryland on the third Saturday in May each year for the second and shortest leg in The triple Crown. This week-long celebration concludes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and determines if there will be a Triple Crown contender for the year.
The Belmont Stakes is the oldest of the Triple Crown races. This third and final leg is contested three weeks after the Preakness and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
Visit TripleCrownraces.com for more info.
Become a betting master with Thrillist.com's horse betting tips.
In the news: While American Pharoah has been winning six of his seven races and making his way to a historic bid next month for thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, his owner, Ahmed Zayat, has been contesting a federal lawsuit brought by a felon that alleges Mr. Zayat has failed to pay a $2 million debt he ran up betting via a website in Costa Rica. Read more at The New York Times.