Twelve horses have won the American Triple Crown – composed of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes – which was patterned after the English Triple Crown that dates to 1809. When Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, it was not considered a Triple Crown feat. The three races were not acknowledged as being tied together as the Triple Crown until the 1930s. The Thoroughbred Racing Associations commissioned Cartier to craft a Triple Crown trophy – with three sides representing the three jewels – in 1950, and the trophy retroactively was awarded to the eight previous winners of the three races. In 1973, Secretariat was the first horse to be awarded the trophy after he accomplished the sweep.   AFFIRMED - 1978 Ch. c., 1975, by Exclusive Native—Won’t Tell You, by Crafty Admiral Owner-breeder: Harbor View Farm (Fla.) Trainer: Lazaro Barrera Jockey: Steve Cauthen Race record: 29 starts ages 2-4, 22 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third, $2,393,818. At 2: Won Laurel Futurity, Belmont Futurity, Hollywood Juvenile Championship, Hopeful, Sanford, Youthful. At 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Hollywood Derby, Santa Anita Derby, San Felipe Handicap, Jim Dandy. At 4: Won Hollywood Gold Cup, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Santa Anita H., Californian, Charles H. Strub, Woodward. :: View lifetime PPs Defined nearly as much by a two-season, 10-race rivalry with Alydar as his Triple Crown sweep, the career of Affirmed was one of sustained quality. At the end of his 3-year-old season, only one foal from his crop ever had finished in front of him – Alydar, on two occasions. In the Kentucky Derby, Harbor View homebred Affirmed held off the stretch run of Alydar to win by 1 1/2 lengths, and in the Preakness, the pair battled the length of the stretch, with Affirmed winning by a neck. In an epic Belmont, Alydar shadowed Affirmed from the start and took a slight lead inside the furlong grounds, but Affirmed battled back to win by a head. Affirmed was voted Horse of the Year in 1978 and repeated in 1979 when winning six Grade 1 races, including a meeting with the year-younger Spectacular Bid. Only once in 29 starts did Affirmed ever finish worse than third, when his saddle slipped in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup. At stud, Affirmed sired two Canadian Horses of the Year, Peteski and Quiet Resolve, and the Eclipse Award winner Flawlessly. He died Jan. 12, 2001, at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky.   :: View a complete list of Triple Crown profiles