SWC75
Bored Historian
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My series on the Triple Crown winners led me to look at the horses that just missed the triple crown, winning two of the three races. They were not as successful as the TC winners but many of them were probably as good as race horses and their stories are often more compelling.
The following horses have won 2 out of the three Triple Crown Races. Again, the concept of the “Triple Crown” wasn’t formalized until Gallant Fox won it in 1930. First the 22 Horses who won the first two and thus had a shot at the Triple Crown going into the Belmont. Here is a summary from ABC Sports:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSqm0gRGfIc
(I’ll divide even this part into sections, first the horses that won the Derby and the Preakness but not the Belmont prior to 1950).
BURGOO KING
Burgoo King, a lightly regarded horse, won the 1932 Kentucky Derby by 3 lengths and the Preakness by a head but didn’t compete in the Belmont for reasons that have never been fully explained. There was a story about not getting the papers filed in time and one about an injury, (he did take two years off before racing again so this seems more likely).
He was foaled at Idle Hour farm in Kentucky and owned by Colonel Edward Bradley, who claimed to have been a scout for General Nelson Miles and a friend of both Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp. He made a fortune as a gambler and casino owner. He had owned two prior Derby winners, Behave Yourself and Bubbling Over and Burgoo King’s win set a record of three Derby wins for an owner. Bradley had another the next year with Broker’s Tip. (He liked B’s). He also had three Preakness winners and two Belmont winners but never a Triple Crown winner. Herbert J. Thompson was the trainer and the jockey 19 year old Eugene James. James, unfortunately drowned in a swimming accident the next year. Burgoo King’s career record was 8-2-3 in 21 races.
There is a theory that Eugene James was murdered but judging by this article, it doesn’t seem, to have been based on much of anything:
http://www.wave3.com/story/6438540/family-of-teen-jockey-who-won-1932-derby-believes-he-was-murdered?clienttype=printable
BOLD VENTURE
The start of the 1936 Kentucky Derby was a mess. The favorite, Brevity, was knocked to his knees. Granville, who would go on to be horse of the year, threw his rider. Bold Venture a 20-1 shot with an apprentice jockey, Ira Hanford, was bumped but came out clean and took the lead. He barely held onto it as Brevity rallied and was catching up with each stride at the end of the race. A more noted jockey, George Woolf, got the horse for the Preakness. Everybody thought Bold Venture’s Derby victory was a fluke but he nosed out Granville for the win. But he’d suffered a tendon injury and was held out of the Belmont. Bold Venture was sold to the King Ranch and sired the 1946 Triple Crown winner, Assault. He’d been foaled at Greentree stud in Kentucky, was owned by Morton L. Schwartz and trained by Max Hirsch. His career record was 6-2-0 in 11 starts.
PENSIVE
Pensive was another Calumet Farm product who won the 1944 Kentucky Derby by more than four lengths and followed it up with a Preakness win. He became the first horse to lose the Belmont going for the Triple Crown, (since Burgoo King and Bold Venture had not run in the Belmont), losing by half a length to Bounding Home down the stretch. He was trained by Ben Jones and ridden by Conn McCreary. His sire, Hyperion, had won two of the three English Triple Crown races, the Epsom Derby and the St. Leger Stakes. Pensive seemed to fall apart after the Belmont, losing his least 8 races. Maybe he was too pensive. His final record was 7-5-4 in 22 races.
The following horses have won 2 out of the three Triple Crown Races. Again, the concept of the “Triple Crown” wasn’t formalized until Gallant Fox won it in 1930. First the 22 Horses who won the first two and thus had a shot at the Triple Crown going into the Belmont. Here is a summary from ABC Sports:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSqm0gRGfIc
(I’ll divide even this part into sections, first the horses that won the Derby and the Preakness but not the Belmont prior to 1950).
BURGOO KING
Burgoo King, a lightly regarded horse, won the 1932 Kentucky Derby by 3 lengths and the Preakness by a head but didn’t compete in the Belmont for reasons that have never been fully explained. There was a story about not getting the papers filed in time and one about an injury, (he did take two years off before racing again so this seems more likely).
He was foaled at Idle Hour farm in Kentucky and owned by Colonel Edward Bradley, who claimed to have been a scout for General Nelson Miles and a friend of both Billy the Kid and Wyatt Earp. He made a fortune as a gambler and casino owner. He had owned two prior Derby winners, Behave Yourself and Bubbling Over and Burgoo King’s win set a record of three Derby wins for an owner. Bradley had another the next year with Broker’s Tip. (He liked B’s). He also had three Preakness winners and two Belmont winners but never a Triple Crown winner. Herbert J. Thompson was the trainer and the jockey 19 year old Eugene James. James, unfortunately drowned in a swimming accident the next year. Burgoo King’s career record was 8-2-3 in 21 races.
There is a theory that Eugene James was murdered but judging by this article, it doesn’t seem, to have been based on much of anything:
http://www.wave3.com/story/6438540/family-of-teen-jockey-who-won-1932-derby-believes-he-was-murdered?clienttype=printable
BOLD VENTURE
The start of the 1936 Kentucky Derby was a mess. The favorite, Brevity, was knocked to his knees. Granville, who would go on to be horse of the year, threw his rider. Bold Venture a 20-1 shot with an apprentice jockey, Ira Hanford, was bumped but came out clean and took the lead. He barely held onto it as Brevity rallied and was catching up with each stride at the end of the race. A more noted jockey, George Woolf, got the horse for the Preakness. Everybody thought Bold Venture’s Derby victory was a fluke but he nosed out Granville for the win. But he’d suffered a tendon injury and was held out of the Belmont. Bold Venture was sold to the King Ranch and sired the 1946 Triple Crown winner, Assault. He’d been foaled at Greentree stud in Kentucky, was owned by Morton L. Schwartz and trained by Max Hirsch. His career record was 6-2-0 in 11 starts.
PENSIVE
Pensive was another Calumet Farm product who won the 1944 Kentucky Derby by more than four lengths and followed it up with a Preakness win. He became the first horse to lose the Belmont going for the Triple Crown, (since Burgoo King and Bold Venture had not run in the Belmont), losing by half a length to Bounding Home down the stretch. He was trained by Ben Jones and ridden by Conn McCreary. His sire, Hyperion, had won two of the three English Triple Crown races, the Epsom Derby and the St. Leger Stakes. Pensive seemed to fall apart after the Belmont, losing his least 8 races. Maybe he was too pensive. His final record was 7-5-4 in 22 races.
