Triple Crown

noun

1
: an unofficial title in horse racing representing the championship achieved by a horse that wins the three classic races for a designated category
2
: the unofficial title signifying the achievement of a baseball player who at the end of a season leads the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in
3
often not capitalized : a set of three noteworthy awards, wins, or achievements in a particular field

Examples of Triple Crown in a Sentence

a horse that won the first leg of the Triple Crown Who was the last player to win the Triple Crown in the American League?
Recent Examples on the Web Seize the Grey seizes the day in Preakness: Seize the Grey ended the Triple Crown bid of Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan on Saturday with a wire-to-wire victory in the 149th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 19 May 2024 The week started with the highly unusual situation where the winner of the Kentucky Derby was not the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2024 In recent years, good times and carefree vibes have been hard for Baffert to find on the Triple Crown trail. Joe Drape, New York Times, 17 May 2024 Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown season began as wonderfully as imaginable Saturday at Churchill Downs in the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, with 18-1 longshot Mystik Dan winning a three-way photo finish. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 5 May 2024 McPeek now has a career Triple Crown having won the Preakness in 2020 with Swiss Skydiver and the Belmont in 2002 with Sarava at 70-1 odds. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024 The final leg of the Triple Crown – The Belmont Stakes – will be run on June 8 at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY. Chris Morris, Fortune, 4 May 2024 McPeek's only other victory in a Triple Crown race was also a shocker: 70-1 Sarava won the 2002 Belmont Stakes — the biggest upset in that race's history. CBS News, 4 May 2024 The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby features 20 horses and jockeys participating in the first race of the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Triple Crown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Triple Crown was circa 1897

Dictionary Entries Near Triple Crown

Cite this Entry

“Triple Crown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Triple%20Crown. Accessed 23 May. 2024.

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