In horse racing, there are a few different classifications. These include front-runner, stalker, presser, and closer. Front-runners are the horses that win races, often wire-to-wire. Stalkers and closers sit just behind the first flight of horses and look to make a late run.
The American Triple Crown
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds: The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. There are more than a hundred different races held each year, but the Triple Crown is considered the most prestigious of all.
The Triple Crown was first coined by Charles Hatton, a newspaper columnist focusing on horse racing. In the 1930s, he often used the phrase “triple crown” to describe the three major horse races in America: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Since then, the Triple Crown has become a real event.
The British and American Triple Crowns
The British Triple Crown horse race is similar to the American Triple Crown but is harder to win than the American version. Both races are held over four or five weeks, but the British version takes place over a longer period. This difference in racing distance allows the Triple Crown horse to test a horse’s versatility. Here is a list of the horses that have won the British Triple Crown.
The British Triple Crown is more prestigious than its American counterpart. It has produced fifteen winners. During the early twentieth century, Americans began associating the Triple Crown with the English classics. Visionaries sought to create a similar race in their own country.
The King’s Plates
The King’s Plates were the first national horse races and were introduced by King Charles II in 1660. They were the equivalent of Group One races today, and the winners were awarded a prize. King Charles II also made it a point to increase the prize money and stakes for the race, and breeders took an interest in breeding horses.
The race came into close association with the Buckingham Palace through the efforts of Sir Casimir Gzowski and Thomas Patteson, who petitioned Queen Victoria in 1859. Gzowski was a distinguished engineer whose father served in the Russian Imperial Guard.
The Santa Anita Handicap
The Santa Anita Handicap is an annual Thoroughbred horse race. It takes place in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is considered one of the most prestigious races in North America for older horses. Historically, the race was considered the most important race in North America for horses four years and older.
The Santa Anita Handicap was first run in 1935 for three and four-year-old horses. At the time, the purse was $100,000, which was a large sum for that era. The race was also known as the “Hundred Grander” and “The Big Cap”.