Several times since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978 have horses won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. None could finish the Belmont Stakes on top. That has now changed, as American Pharoah (yes, the spelling is correct) swept all three races this year to become the first Triple Crown winner in a generation.
American Pharoah has become the 12th Triple Crown winner, joining Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978).
High school students could choose to write about the Triple Crown in many different ways. Listed below are four writing prompts we developed around American Pharoah’s winning of the Triple Crown Saturday, but you can come up with others, I’m sure.
(1) Winning the Triple Crown is not easy, given the low number of Triple Crown winners over the last hundred years. What challenges do the horses and their teams have to overcome to win all three races? Be sure to include
- The obstacles to their success and strategies they employed to overcome them
- The effectiveness of their strategies and why they were or were not effective
(2) Pick one of the horses that won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but not the Belmont, including California Chrome last year. What happened? Be sure to include
- What got in their way of winning the Belmont, and why?
- What strategies did they try to overcome the obstacles?
(3) When have you ever failed at something? What happened as a result of your failure? Be sure to include
- Any strategies you used to overcome obstacles on your path to success
- The reasons those strategies were unsuccessful
(4) How can a horse, like a star athlete, political leader, or movie star, serve as a role model for young people? Be sure to include
- Comparisons of horses with people who inspire others
- The qualities that make a good role model
- What American Pharoah might say if he came to your school to speak at an assembly
See Common Core 11th- and 12th-grade English language arts informative/explanatory writing standard W.11-12.2.A for more information.