The Closest To A Triple Crown Since 1978

[RollerDoc]

So much has been made (not necessarily by this group) of 3 races in 5 weeks vs. fresh horses vs. the mile and a half distance at The Belmont and thus no TC winner in nearly 4 decades.

While several of the 15 TC possibles were so close since Affirmed was last to win it, the fact remains that The Triple Crown of horse racing remains arguably the most elusive title in all of sports (if you take the Chicago Cubs out of the equation).

My question is which horse in your opinion that ran in all three TC races came the closest to winning it since 1978? I think obvious answers are Real Quiet and Smarty Jones. But I have a different selection and no for the first time ever I won't mention Big Brown in a thread. Oh wait, I just did LOL.

But my actual pick in this scenario is Afleet Alex in 2005. Consider that his jockey took the blame for the Derby loss because he gave him such a bad trip yet still came in 3rd by only 1 1/2 lengths. So ok a loss is a loss and no chance at a TC even before Pimlico.

The combined athleticism by jockey (Jeremy Rose) and horse, Afleet Alex was nothing short of amazing at The Preakness after clipping heels with Scrappy T right before the top of the stretch, only to overcome disaster with a convincing win was nothing short of incredible.

Afleet Alex's performance in The Belmont was even more dominant and one for the ages with a runaway victory of which we haven't seen such a convincing Belmont Stakes win since. So my entry to the question is Afleet Alex. What's yours?