Race library
Major races,
clearly mapped.
Conditions, context, and practical reading notes for the races that shape the American season.
Triple Crown, first leg
Kentucky Derby
The opening race of the Triple Crown and the best-known two minutes in American racing.
Triple Crown, second leg
Preakness Stakes
The middle jewel of the Triple Crown, staged two weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
Triple Crown, final leg
Belmont Stakes
The final Triple Crown test, traditionally known for its demanding 1 1/2-mile distance.
Breeders' Cup championship
Breeders' Cup Classic
A season-ending championship at 1 1/4 miles that brings leading older horses and three-year-olds together.
Three-year-old filly classic
Kentucky Oaks
The premier American dirt race for three-year-old fillies, held at Churchill Downs on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby.
Saratoga summer championship
Travers Stakes
Saratoga's 1 1/4-mile championship for three-year-olds, widely known as the Midsummer Derby.
Breeders' Cup championship
Breeders' Cup Distaff
The Breeders' Cup dirt championship for fillies and mares aged three and older.
Older dirt championship
Stephen Foster Stakes
Churchill Downs' major summer race for older dirt horses and a Breeders' Cup Classic qualifying event.
New York mile championship
Metropolitan Handicap
A prestigious one-mile dirt handicap for horses three and older, commonly called the Met Mile.
Midseason three-year-old championship
Haskell Stakes
Monmouth Park's Grade 1 summer test for three-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.
Road to the Kentucky Derby
Fountain of Youth Stakes
A major Gulfstream Park prep that sends three-year-olds around two turns on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
Saratoga Travers prep
Jim Dandy Stakes
Saratoga's principal local prep for the Travers Stakes, run at 1 1/8 miles for three-year-olds.
Saratoga older-horse championship
Whitney Stakes
A Grade 1 Saratoga summer championship for horses three and older at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.
Series and reference
Hubs for the bigger picture
Series guide
The Triple Crown, race by race
Order, spacing, distances, and every horse that swept all three.
Open the series guideChampionship guide
Every Breeders' Cup race
All 14 World Championships races with surfaces, distances, and divisions.
Open the championship guideReference
The US graded stakes list
How the 2026 list breaks down and how races earn, keep, and lose grades.
Open the reference