The Triple Crown

Today's subject is "Triple Crowns."

TigerBlog will start with the four-legged variety. He's not a huge fan of horse racing in general. He's never even bet on a horse race in his life, though he did grow up about five miles from Freehold Raceway.

TB did learn something this past weekend about horse racing though - quarter horses can run a lot faster than thoroughbreads, and there was a time when the All-American Futurity paid the winner more than the three Triple Crown races combined.

As of which, TB couldn't remember the name of the horse that won the Triple Crown a year ago. Turns out it was Justify, who became the 13th Triple Crown winner and second in fourth year, after American Pharaoh in 2015.

TB will watch the Kentucky Derby is nothing else is on, and he didn't pay close attention to the one that was run this past Saturday. He did think "Maximum Security" was a good name for a racehorse.

It made him wonder what he'd name a horse if he had one to name. Guess he'd just go with "HorseBlog."

Anyway, TB noticed that Maximum Security won, news that left him unmoved. It wasn't until after the race ended that it became interesting.

It started on Twitter with some curious comments about drama at the Derby, which got TB to look into it further and see that Maximum Security was disqualified. TB has no idea why or if it happened to be a good call.

He does now that it was a decision that made millions and millions of dollars change hands, over what apparently was a very ticky tack foul.

The winner then became a longshot, Country Kitchen or Country House or something like that. TB senses for no reason that Country House has little chance to win the Preakness, which will take all of the juice out of the Belmont.

Doesn't matter. TB wasn't going to watch anyway.

So that's the four-legged Triple Crown part.

Then there's the two-legged variety.

Princeton won the Ivy League Heptagonal Outdoor Track and Field championship this weekend on Weaver Track, rolling up 182 points to outdistance runner-up Penn, who had 123. There are 22 events at Ivy Heps for men's track and field, and Princeton earned points in an astonishing 21 of them.

Speaking of astonishing, the win at Outdoor Heps gave Princeton a sweep of the three Heps titles this year, for the Ivy Heps version of the Triple Crown.
This was the first time Princeton has won the Triple Crown since ... last year. In fact Princeton has now won eight straight Heps events, sweeping this year and last year and winning the two track and field titles the year before that.

It's also the ninth Triple Crown for Princeton in its history. No other men's team has ever done it even once, and the only women's program to do it is Princeton, who has done it twice.

Adam Kelly, the NCAA runner-up in the weight throw indoors, was named the co-Most Outstanding Field Performer after he won his second-straight hammer throw. 

The Tigers really started to take control of the meet in Saturday's last event, the 10,000 meter run. Connor Lundy came from way back to finish second, and the Tigers had 14 points in the event after Viraj Deokar and Matt Grossman followed Lundy in fourth and fifth.

Princeton also scored 55 points between the triple jump, high jump and and long jump. It was more than just one event, though, as Princeton had a dominant weekend.

You can read the entire recap HERE.

As for the Princeton women, they finished fourth. Sophomore Obiageri Amaechi was named the Most Outstanding Field Performer as well, with her Princeton and Ivy record 190-1 discus throw, sixth-best in the NCAA so far this season.

Fellow sophomore Rylie Pease won the javelin. Another sophomore, Alexandra Munson, smashed her previous best to finish second in the pole vault at 12-7.5

Lastly, anytime Princeton wins another Heps, you have to take a step back to once again marvel at the career that Fred Samara has put together as Tiger head coach. Between cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, that's how many championships for Samara?

Oh yeah. This weekend made 46.

That's a ridiculous amount of winning.