Thoroughbred racing is popular in many different countries in the world and each nation has their own Triple Crown series.
England has the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the Epsom Derby and the St. Leger Stakes. Australia has the Randwick Guineas, The Rosehill Guineas and the AJC Australian Derby. Canada has a Triple Crown series, as does Argentina, India and many more.
The final stage of the U.S. Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, will take place this weekend in New York and everyone is wondering, will there be a Triple Crown winner this year?
The last time there was a U.S. Triple Crown winner was in 1978, when Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
1. How many years ago was the last U.S. Triple Crown winner?
In the 1970s, there were three Triple Crown winners: Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. Since then, a dozen horses have come close.
Math Talk – dozen: a group or set of 12.
All Triple Crown races are for three-year-old horses only. California Chrome was born on:
2011 02 18.
2. In what month was he born?
This year, California Chrome won the first two races of the U.S. Triple Crown. Twenty horses competed in the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the series, which was held on Saturday, May 3.
Eleven horses are entered in this coming Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
3. How many weeks has it been since California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby?
4. How many more horses ran in the Kentucky Derby than are running in the Belmont Stakes?
The Belmont Stakes is the longest of the three U.S. Triple Crown Races at 1½ miles.
The Kentucky Derby is 1¼ miles.
5. How much farther will the horses have to run in the Belmont Stakes?
The Preakness Stakes is 1 3/16 miles.
6. Is the Preakness Stakes longer or shorter than the Kentucky Derby?
A week ago, in preparation for the Belmont, California Chrome ran four furlongs in a time of :47.69.
7. How would you speak this time aloud?
Horse Talk – furlong: a furlong is a measure of distance in horse racing where 1 furlong = 200m or 1/8 of a mile
He continued to run and was clocked at :59.93 for five furlongs.
8. How long did it take him to run the fifth furlong?
His trainer, Art Sherman said the team has done everything possible to have Chrome ready for the challenge of three races in five weeks.
“It’s up to the horse. I think the horse is good enough,” he said. “We will find out Saturday.”
Sherman didn’t appear concerned that the long-term forecast calls for rain.
“They all have to run on the same track,” he said. “If it rains, it rains.”
I don’t know about you, but I’ll be very interested to watch what happens this coming Saturday. The U.S. could have another name to add to its list of Triple Crown champions.
If you haven’t watched the 2014 Kentucky Derby already, check out California Chrome’s winning run before you racing on to check your answers.
Will There be Another Triple Crown Winner – Answers:
1. How many years ago was the last U.S. Triple Crown winner?
Answer: 2014 – 1978 = 36. The last U.S. Triple Crown winner was 36 years ago.
2. In what month was he born?
Answer: This date is written in metric notation, with the year written first, followed by the month and day of the month. California Chrome was born in the month of February.
3. How many weeks has it been since California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby?
Answer: There will have been five weeks in between the races.
4. How many more horses ran in the Kentucky Derby than are running in the Belmont Stakes?
Answer: 20 – 11 = 9. There were nine more horses in the Kentucky Derby.
5. How much farther will the horses have to run in the Belmont Stakes?
Answer: 1½ – 1¼ = ?
Step 1: convert the mixed numbers to improper fractions.
1½ = 3/2 1¼ = 5/4
Step 2: make the bottom numbers of the fractions (the denominators) the same
The common denominator is 4; 3/2 becomes 6/4, 5/4 remains the same.
Step 3: subtract the numerators
6/4 – 5/4 = 1/4.
The Belmont Stakes is ¼ of a mile longer than the Kentucky Derby.
6. Is the Preakness Stakes longer or shorter than the Kentucky Derby?
Answer:
Step 1: To more easily compare the distances, make the denominators the same. Sixteen is the lowest common denominator.
Kentucky Derby distance: 1½ converts to 1 8/16
Preakness Stakes distance: 1 3/16
Now it is easy to see which race is longer, The Kentucky Derby!
7. How would you speak this time aloud?
Answer: forty-seven and sixty-nine hundredths of a second.
8. How long did it take him to run the fifth furlong?
Answer: 59.93 – 47.69 = 12.24. It took him 12.24 seconds to run the fifth furlong.
Photos:
Kentucky Derby 2014-0186, California Chrome by Bill Brine; CC BY 2.0
Biplane 1917 AJC & VRC Derby winner by Les Haigh; public domain
Kentucky Derby 2014-0214 by Bill Brine; CC BY 2.0
California Chrome Preakness finish by Jay Baker; CC BY 2.0
Kentucky Derby 2014-0217 by Bill Brine; CC BY 2.0