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
Affirmed Stakes (FS) Affirmed Stakes (FS) The Affirmed Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually as the third leg of the (FTBOA) Florida Sire stakes series. Inaugurated in 1983 at Calder Race Course as part of the Florida Stallion stakes series the race was named after the Florida-bred Triple Crown winner Affirmed, who was well known for his rivalry with the west coast-bred Alydar. The race was originally run at 6 furlongs but in its second year was increased to 7 furlongs in order to create a gradually increasing set of lengths throughout the series to allow the young horses to step