[Ads-l] Antedating of "Triple Crown" (Horse Racing)

[Shapiro, Fred]

The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest citation for the horse racing term "Triple Crown" is dated 1946.  That surprisingly late date is due to the fact that the horse racing term does not have a separate entry in the OED, it is subsumed in a "Triple Crown" entry that also covers the pope's tiara, the classic British horse races, and even the major tiddlywinks tournaments (I wonder who contributed that one).  The baseball trio of home runs, runs batted in, and batting average is not even mentioned.

The earliest citation I have found for the Triple Crown of prestigious American races for three-year-olds is the following:

1923 St. Louis Star 5 Apr. 21/2 (Newspapers.com)  Sir Barton was a maiden until he won the [Kentucky] Derby in 1919 ... Sir Barton, however, went on to win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico and later won the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, distinguishing himself as the only "triple crown" winner of the American classics.

Fred Shapiro

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