The Triple Crown in British horse racing explained

Which three races make up the British Triple Crown?

The Triple Crown is the 2000 Guineas over a mile at Newmarket in May, the Derby over a mile and a half at Epsom in June and the St Leger over about a mile and six and a half furlongs at Doncaster in September.

The challenge is the range of distances. The Guineas is a test of speed, the Derby of speed and stamina around Epsom's gradients and camber, and the St Leger of stamina at the end of a long season. A horse that wins all three must stay far further in September than it needed to in May, while keeping its form across four months of top-level racing.

All three are Classics, restricted to three-year-olds, and the colts' races are also open to fillies. Only one horse per year can complete the set, and the St Leger is the oldest of the three, first run in 1776.

Why is the Triple Crown so hard to win?

The Triple Crown asks one horse to be the best miler of its generation in May, the best middle-distance horse in June and the best stayer in September, three different tests that usually suit three different types of horse.

Speed and stamina pull in opposite directions. A colt fast enough to win the Guineas often lacks the stamina for a strongly run St Leger, while a natural stayer may not have the speed to win a Guineas. On top of that, the horse has to stay sound and in form from spring to autumn, often with a summer target such as the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in between, against rivals who have been campaigned for one race only.

Who was the last horse to win the Triple Crown?

NIJINSKY was the last Triple Crown winner, in 1970, trained in Ireland by Vincent O'Brien and ridden in all three races by Lester Piggott.

Nijinsky also won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes that summer, then was beaten in the Arc de Triomphe after the St Leger, a result often put down to the demands of such a long campaign. He was the fifteenth Triple Crown winner, a list that starts with West Australian in 1853 and includes three winners during the First World War, when substitute races were run at Newmarket.

No colt has completed the set since. The gap of more than half a century says as much about how the sport has changed as about the quality of the horses who have tried.

What is the Fillies' Triple Crown?

The Fillies' Triple Crown is the 1000 Guineas, the Oaks and the St Leger, and it was last won by OH SO SHARP, trained by Henry Cecil, in 1985.

The 1000 Guineas and the Oaks are restricted to fillies, but the third leg is the open St Leger, so a filly has to beat the colts over the longest trip. Several top fillies since have won the first two legs, including Minding in 2016 and Love in 2020, but connections chose other targets rather than the St Leger. As with the colts, the modern programme offers richer autumn options over shorter distances.

Why do modern horses rarely attempt the Triple Crown?

Breeders value speed and middle-distance class far more than stamina, so a Derby winner's stud value is better served by races such as the Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc than by the St Leger's extra distance.

A St Leger win can suggest a horse is a stayer, which is not what commercial breeders want in a stallion. The race also comes after a long summer, and a campaign that runs from the Guineas in May to the St Leger in September leaves less in reserve for autumn championship races. So most Derby winners bypass Doncaster, and the Triple Crown is attempted only when owners value the history more than the risk to stallion value.

How close have recent horses come to winning the Triple Crown?

CAMELOT came closest, winning the 2000 Guineas and the Derby in 2012 for Aidan O'Brien, then finishing second in the St Leger when the attempt was made; Sea The Stars won the first two legs in 2009 but was aimed at other races.

Camelot's bid showed how hard the final step is. He was a Guineas and Derby winner with the pedigree to stay, yet the St Leger found him short of what was needed on the day. Sea The Stars took a different route after the Derby, winning the Eclipse, the International, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc, which shows where modern owners see the prestige and value.

Even the attempt is now a talking point. When a Guineas and Derby winner emerges, the first question after Epsom is whether connections will go to Doncaster, and the answer usually depends on the horse's pedigree, how it has come out of its races and what its owners want from a stallion career. Most of the time the Arc, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes win that argument.

• 1970: NIJINSKY wins all three legs
• 1985: OH SO SHARP wins the Fillies' Triple Crown
• 2009: SEA THE STARS wins the Guineas and Derby, then skips the St Leger
• 2012: CAMELOT wins the Guineas and Derby, second in the St Leger

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