The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, or simply the Triple Crown, is one of the most prestigious awards in the world of horseracing. A thoroughbred can only claim the Triple Crown if and only if it has won three prestigious horse races in the United States - the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes - in the same year.The Kentucky Derby, held at the Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, is the first leg of the Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby is held every first Saturday of May. Two weeks after the Kentucky Derby the Preakness Stakes transpires, which serves as the second leg of the Triple Crown. The event is hosted at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. The final leg of the Triple Crown is the Belmont Stakes, which is held three weeks after the Preakness at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. In terms of distance, the racecourse at Belmont Park, measuring 1.5 miles, is the longest. This is followed by the track at Churchill Downs (1.25 miles) and then at the Pimlico Race Course (1.18 miles).Winning the Triple Crown is considered as one of thoroughbred racing’s greatest achievements that a horse can achieve. That aside, being named the Triple Crown victor is a rarity in itself. The last Triple Crown was given in 1978 to a stallion named Affirmed. Since then, no thoroughbred has ever garnered the Triple Crown honors.Big Brown, the victor of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and the 2008 Preakness Stakes, will win the Triple Crown if he will get the championship at the Belmont Stakes on June 2008. If successful, Big Brown will be the 12th thoroughbred to win the Triple Crown — a feat last achieved in 1978 — and end a 30-year Triple Crown drought, the longest in the award’s history.