# Who is the greatest Triple Crown winner in horse racing history?

> Thirteen horses have swept all three classics since 1919. Only a few of them are remembered for it.

*By YPB Team · Published August 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-greatest-triple-crown-winner-in-horse-racing-history*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Secretariat** — score 1000/1000
   Swept the 1973 Triple Crown in record time in all three legs and won the Belmont by 31 lengths.
2. **Justify** — score 611/1000
   Won the 2018 Triple Crown undefeated, having never raced as a two-year-old.
3. **War Admiral** — score 596/1000
   Secretariat's grandsire's rival line: swept 1937 and later lost the famous match race to Seabiscuit.
4. **Omaha** — score 517/1000
   The 1935 winner and the tallest Triple Crown champion, later second in England's Ascot Gold Cup.
5. **Affirmed** — score 517/1000
   Took the 1978 Triple Crown while holding off Alydar in all three legs, the closest series ever run.
6. **American Pharoah** — score 423/1000
   Ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015, then added the Breeders' Cup Classic for a Grand Slam.
7. **Whirlaway** — score 423/1000
   Took the 1941 Triple Crown with a then-record Kentucky Derby and was Horse of the Year twice.
8. **Citation** — score 310/1000
   Won the 1948 Triple Crown and became racing's first millionaire, taking 32 of 45 career starts.
9. **Count Fleet** — score 310/1000
   Won the 1943 Belmont by 25 lengths, the second-widest Triple Crown margin ever recorded.
10. **Sir Barton** — score 172/1000
   The first horse to take all three races, in 1919, before the sweep was even called a Triple Crown.

Tags: sports, horse racing, horses, triple crown