The Forgotten, First Triple Crown Winner – Sir Barton’s Clean Sweeps

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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From the moment the concept of American Triple Crown was incepted, a wait started to identify the first most deserving candidate for the crown. It was not until 1930 that the term Triple Crown was formerly accepted and brought into use by the much renowned racing magazine, the Daily Racing Forum, but these three races were still very much referred to by the name Triple Crown since much earlier. However, a winner was yet to be found even though the Belmont had been running since 1867, Kentucky since 1875 and Preakness since 1873.
During the years post annual commencement of all three races as a yearly event, no horse won the trio until 1919 when Sir Barton, a Kentucky foal, won all three races in a row despite the fact that he wasn’t participated in the first leg as a potential candidate. The Derby contention for Sir Barton was schemed by his connections, owner J.K.L.Ross and trainer H. Guy Bedwell, who participated him in the race as a rabbit candidate to set the pace for the field. Their actual winning contender was Billy Kelly, a race horse known for his stamina and speed. However the events didn’t go as planned ...
... and Sir Barton ended up leading the whole field of 12 contenders and won the race by a lead of five lengths.
What followed was an immediate series of three more races, the Preakness, the Wither Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. Sir Barton won the Preakness, once again leading the field throughout and finishing undefeated to Eternal who closed second. Wither Stakes also witnessed a clean sweep by him following an easy winner’s finish in the Belmont Stakes soon after. The incredible performance exhibited by Sir Barton won him the American Horse of the Year award for 1919.
Despite his winning streak in 1919 and being awarded the horse for the year, the second racing season when Sir Barton was four didn’t go as expected. He won only five out of the 12 races he participated in but he sure won the Saratoga Handicap against the great racehorse of those times, the Exterminator that later resulted into a match test held between Sir Barton and the his contemporary Man O’ War. It’s unfortunate how the Triple Crown winner was defeated by seven lengths and later retired to stud. Sir Barton was never returned to active racing and went almost off the media radar following his match race defeat.
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