In 2015, American Pharaoh thrilled fans across the world by winning horse racing's Triple Crown, one of the most coveted, elusive, and celebrated achievements in sports. Every Thoroughbred racing season over the past 140 years has opened with the hope of unearthing the next Triple Crown winner, but the prestigious Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes have been awarded to a single victor only 12 times since 1875. The members of this exclusive club are forever immortalized in racing lore, and their individual stories are as remarkable as their incredible athletic feats. This book is a fascinating account of the races that led to each horse's coronation. It is also a true biography of the champions--detailing what preceded and what followed their amazing victories; how each Triple Crown winner was bred, trained, and raced; and how each fared at stud and in retirement. From Sir Barton in 1919 through American Pharaoh in 2015, each Triple Crown winner has exhibited a charisma befitting of superstardom, and those attributes unique to each champion come alive on these pages. In the course of this history the men and women--owners, trainers, and jockeys--who inhabit the colorful world at this pinnacle of American sport are also unforgettably brought to life. And because the journalism of the turf has been used as a primary source, their utterances--of despair, hope and joy, have the immediacy of today's sports pages, as well as the patina of classic stories well told. The authors also devote an entire chapter to the most notable Triple Crown aspirants to fall excruciatingly short or to be otherwise derailed. The book includes the most complete collection of photographs of the Triple Crown champions ever assembled in a single book. It also includes a concise history of the Thoroughbred breed and of Thoroughbred racing in England and the United States, a glossary of racing terms, and a wealth of statistical and technical information. This is indisputably the definitive work on this rare achievement.--Adapted from dust jacket.