Grantland Rice ... the most popular and influential sports writer of the era ... started a modest campaign to get the three races recognized as an American version of the English Triple Crown ... right after Gallant Fox won all three races in 1930.

The campaign didn't get much traction until Gallant Fox's son Omaha won the races in 1935.

After that ... the Triple Crown was almost universally recognized ... and horsemen began preparing their best young horses to win it.

It's tough to say who was the first "real" Triple Crown winner ... definitely not Sir Barton or Gallant Fox ... maybe Omaha ... and certainly War Admiral was trained for it and won it.