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

> 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.

*By YPB Team · Published April 26, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-greatest-kentucky-derby-winning-horse-of-all-time*

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## Current results (0 votes)

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Tags: usa, sports, historical, classics, legends