Triple Crown 2018: Schedule for Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes

Here’s the 2018 schedule for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes at the Triple Crown.

It’s Triple Crown season, horse fans! From the first weekend of May through the second weekend of June (give or take), horse racing is at its most exciting, as the best in the world race for three titles — to win any one of which is an accomplishment, to win all three is simply elusive. Follow along with the specific race dates from the schedule below.

The Triple Crown pursuit begins with the Kentucky Derby, the best known and most widely watched horse race in the world on Saturday, May 5. Two weeks later, the horses take the track once again for the Preakness Stakes on May 19. Then, the field gathers once more for the Belmont Stakes on June 9. By Belmont, horse racing fans know the stakes: If a horse has won the Derby and Preakness, then a Triple Crown is very much in play.

Kentucky Derby: Louisville, Kentucky, Saturday May, 5, 2018 

Preakness Stakes: Baltimore, Maryland, Saturday, May 19, 2018

Belmont Stakes: Elmont, New York, Saturday, June 9, 2018

Only 12 horses have ever won all three races in a single season — i.e. won the Triple Crown. Of those, the most famous is Secretariat, who won in 1973 and was the subject of a 2010 movie, and the most recent was American Pharoah in 2015.

All of the races are part of weekend-long racing festivals that include minor posts and social events — so many occasions for hats! so many custom (bourbon-based) drinks! — leading up to the marquee race. The Kentucky Derby is also part of what’s known as Derby week, which takes over the entire city of Louisville and features both the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, at which everyone wears pink, and also a performance from Lil Wayne.

Next: 20 short stories about the 2018 Kentucky Derby horses

For more from the Triple Crown, starting with the Kentucky Derby, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our horse racing hub for all the latest news and results.