The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
which is open to three-year-old
fillies
A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use:
*In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old.
*In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...
. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in New York; they are: The
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiar ...
, run at
Belmont Park at a distance of 1 mile, The
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...
, run at
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...
at a distance of 1⅛ miles and The
Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...
, also run at Saratoga at a distance of 1¼ miles.
History
There have been attempts to develop a "Filly Triple Crown" or a Triple Tiara for fillies only, but no set series of three races consistently remained in the public eye. At least four different configurations of races have been designated as such. Two fillies won the series of the
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...
, the
Pimlico Oaks {{Short description, Former horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, US
The Pimlico Oaks was a listed Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Run at the beginning of April at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on ...
(now the
Black-Eyed Susan Stakes
The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on the dirt annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The event currently offers a ...
), and the
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...
, in 1949 and 1952, but the racing press did not designate either accomplishment as a "triple crown." The
New York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...
designated three of its races as a filly triple crown of sorts, but the races so designated changed over the years. Eight fillies won variations of the NYRA Triple Tiara between 1968 and 1993.
The New York Filly Triple Tiara (1957-2002 and 2007-2009)
The original Triple Tiara consisted of three races at
Belmont Park: the 1 mile
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiar ...
, the 1⅛ mile
Mother Goose Stakes
The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a m ...
and the
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...
, which varied in distance between 1¼ and 1½ miles.
Eight horses have won the series under this system:
*
Dark Mirage (1968)
*
Shuvee
Shuvee (January 22, 1966 – April 1, 1986) was an American Thoroughbred Eclipse Award, Champion National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame horse racing, racehorse.
Background
Shuvee was a chestnut mare bred in Virginia by Whitney ...
*A* (1969)
*
Chris Evert (1974)
*
Ruffian (1975)
*
Davona Dale
Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness St ...
(1979)
*
Mom's Command
Mom's Command (March 14, 1982 – February 3, 2007) was a multiple Grade I-winning American Thoroughbred race horse. In a two-year career, she won eleven of her sixteen races. In 1985, she was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly at the ...
*A*(1985)
*
Open Mind
Open-mindedness is receptiveness to new ideas. Open-mindedness relates to the way in which people approach the views and knowledge of others." Jason Baehr defines an open-minded person as one who "characteristically moves beyond or temporarily sets ...
*A* (1989)
*
Sky Beauty
Sky Beauty ( February 9, 1990–July 2, 2004) was a thoroughbred horse who won the 1993 Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. As of 2018, she was the last filly to win this title.
Background
Georgia E. Hofmann, who owned Wycombe House Stud ...
*A* (1993)
*A* = Denotes that the horse also won the Alabama Stakes in the same year, which has been part of the Triple Tiara series since 2010, and was also part of that series from 2003 through 2006.
The New York Filly Triple Tiara (2003–2006)
In 2003, the Triple Tiara was reconfigured for a time to consist of the Mother Goose Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks, and the
Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...
, a 1¼ mile race held in August at
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...
in Saratoga Springs, New York.
The
New York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...
, the operator of Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, once offered a $2 million bonus to any filly that swept the three races. The bonus was discontinued in 2005. In 2007 the New York Racing Association reverted to the original three races of the tiara; the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks. No filly swept this reconfigured series.
The New York Filly Triple Tiara (2010–present)
The Triple Tiara is now a set of three horse races in
New York which is open to three-year-old
fillies
A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use:
*In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old.
*In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...
. The three races that compose the series now are The
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiar ...
, run at
Belmont Park at a distance of 1 mile, The
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...
, run at
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actu ...
at a distance of 1⅛ miles and The
Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...
, also run at Saratoga at a distance of 1¼ miles. The current race system was implemented in 2010 by the
New York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park i ...
and the series is sponsored by
Betfair
Betfair is a British gambling company which operates the world's largest online betting exchange. Its product offering also includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Founded in 2000, the business is split int ...
and
TVG.
No filly has swept this reconfigured series.
National Triple Tiara Proposals
In recent years, many owners and trainers of fillies have submitted proposals to the
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with incr ...
to change the three races that compose the Triple Tiara. Although a great deal of prestige is attached to winning one or more of the current Triple Tiara races, all three are held in New York; because of this, the series is skewed to fillies that race in the northeast. Some from outside the area even modify the name of the series by calling it the "New York Triple Tiara."
Several options of races have been suggested to compose the "National Triple Tiara." The most popular proposal of a "National Triple Tiara" are three races that are on the undercard of the three Triple Crown races for three-year-old males. The National Triple Tiara consists of the
Kentucky Oaks
The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...
, run at
Churchill Downs in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
; the
George E. Mitchell Stakes, run at
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
; and the
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiar ...
, run at
Belmont Park in
Elmont, New York
Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...
. These three races are run on the same or similar date, and on the same racetrack, as the three races in the
Triple Crown for colts.
Another proposal has been to use the Kentucky Oaks, the George E. Mitchell Stakes, and the
Mother Goose Stakes
The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late June or early July, the race currently offers a purse of $300,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a m ...
. This version would allow more time for fillies to recuperate between races. Using the Mother Goose would also allow the New York Racing Association to keep the New York Triple Tiara (the Acorn Stakes, the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama Stakes) in place without interfering with the three National races.
* In 1979
Davona Dale
Davona Dale (1976–1997) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse.
Background
Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness St ...
was the only filly to have won any combination of races seriously proposed for the National Triple Tiara. She won the three National Triple Tiara races, the Kentucky Oaks and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (the race was renamed the George E. Mitchell Stakes in 2020), and Acorn Stakes. She also won the Mother Goose Stakes, so two races in the New York Triple Tiara as well.
A prime reason for favouring the National Triple Tiara is that the Kentucky Oaks is the most popular races for fillies and draws one of the biggest crowds of any stakes races throughout the year (behind only the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes).
The Kentucky Oaks consistently outdraws the Belmont Stakes, the Travers Stakes and the
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
series. On the other hand, the George E. Mitchell is currently only a Grade II race as few modern trainers are willing to race their fillies with only two weeks rest after the Kentucky Oaks. But champion filly
Silverbulletday
Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...
did it in 1999, proving that it is still able to be done.
References
External links
A look at the Triple Tiara at Hello Race Fans
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Triple Tiara Of Thoroughbred Racing
Racing series for horses
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
Churchill Downs
Pimlico Race Course
Belmont Park
Saratoga Race Course