What is the greatest Kentucky Derby winning horse of all time?

By YPB Team
0 votes

The Kentucky Derby has crowned champion thoroughbreds for over 150 years, producing legendary racehorses whose names — Secretariat, Citation, American Pharoah — are etched permanently into sports history.

Citation - ranking option ranked #1

Citation

The 1948 Triple Crown champion who went 19-for-20 as a three-year-old, widely bracketed with Secretariat and Man o' War as one of the three greatest American racehorses ever.

1/10
Seattle Slew - ranking option ranked #2

Seattle Slew

The 1977 Triple Crown winner and the only horse to win the Triple Crown while remaining undefeated, purchased for only $17,500 before becoming a legend.

2/10
Affirmed - ranking option ranked #3

Affirmed

The 1978 Triple Crown champion whose legendary rivalry with Alydar — who finished second in all three races — produced the most dramatic Triple Crown campaign in history.

3/10
American Pharoah - ranking option ranked #4

American Pharoah

The 2015 Triple Crown winner who ended a 37-year drought, becoming the first horse since Affirmed to capture all three jewels of the Crown.

4/10
Spectacular Bid - ranking option ranked #5

Spectacular Bid

The 1979 Derby winner who won 26 of 30 career starts and is considered one of the greatest horses never to win the Triple Crown after a safety pin injury derailed his Belmont bid.

5/10
Whirlaway - ranking option ranked #6

Whirlaway

The 1941 Triple Crown winner nicknamed Mr. Longtail who won the Kentucky Derby by a record eight lengths, trained by the legendary Ben A. Jones.

6/10
Justify - ranking option ranked #7

Justify

The 2018 Triple Crown winner trained by Bob Baffert who became the first undefeated Triple Crown champion since Seattle Slew and never raced after winning the Belmont.

7/10
Count Fleet - ranking option ranked #8

Count Fleet

The 1943 Triple Crown champion who won the Belmont Stakes by an astonishing 25 lengths and won all six starts as a three-year-old before injury forced his retirement.

8/10
Northern Dancer - ranking option ranked #9

Northern Dancer

The 1964 Derby winner who became the most influential sire in Thoroughbred history, his bloodlines now running through an estimated 75% of modern racehorses.

9/10
California Chrome - ranking option ranked #10

California Chrome

The 2014 Derby winner and two-time Horse of the Year who captured the public's imagination with his underdog story and near-miss Triple Crown bid.

10/10

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