Buckpasser was a real personality – that’s a nice way of putting it. It’s a testament to his talent, if not his tenacity, that the blueblood colt compiled a Hall of Fame career despite his nonchalant and often frustrating attitude toward racing.
More than 260 years ago, a total solar eclipse swept across Great Britain. It was on that day — April 1, 1764 — and during the eclipse itself that a horse was born at Cranbourne Lodge. Arriving as he did during such a rare, celestial event, the horse was named Eclipse, and through his achievements on the track and at stud, he would ensure that the name Eclipse would never be forgotten.
Dr. Charles Henry Strub was one of those entrepreneurial businessmen seemingly capable of succeeding in any imaginable enterprise. He started out small as a baseball player of modest ability and as a dentist keen to embrace innovation. By the time of his death, he had kickstarted the career of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune, and transformed Santa Anita Park into one of horse racing’s greatest stages.
The U.S. Triple Crown in Thoroughbred racing has been swept by only 13 horses in the history of the sport. It takes a special racehorse to win the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby, the 1 3/16-mile Preakness Stakes, and the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes in a five-week stretch during the spring of a 3-year-old campaign.
Let's take a look back at the 13 superstars in this slideshow below who were able to etch their names in the history books as Triple Crown winners.
