New York Racing Association Mickey and Karen L. Taylor, Tayhill Stable, Jim Hill, etc." 1978: Ridden by Steve Cauthen, Affirmed became the 11th horse to win the Triple Crown in storybook fashion. In all three Triple Crown races, he defeated Alydar, ridden by Jorge Velasquez, by a nose in one of racing’s epic rivalries. Two months later in the Travers, Affirmed finished first but is placed second for interfering with Alydar, who was declared the winner. Affirmed and Alydar would race 10 times in their careers, with Affirmed winning seven times. Cauthen was 18 when he captured the Triple Crown, the youngest jockey in
Triple Crown Productions vehicle to the winning jockey of every Triple Crown race. If the same jockey won a second race during the same annual series then the Chrysler vehicle would be given to the winning trainer. The $5,000,000 Triple Crown bonus was never paid, as there were no Triple Crown winners between 1978 and 2014. An enduring feature of the Challenge was the establishment of a point system to determine which horse had the highest combined Triple Crown total finish. Points were awarded equally in all three Triple Crown races. Ten points were earned by a win. Five points were earned by