When most people think of the Triple Crown, they think of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes for Thoroughbreds; however, there is also two different Triple Crowns for harness racing Standardbreds. The Triple Crown for trotters begins with the Hambletonian and is followed by the Kentucky Futurity and the Yonkers Trot.

The idea for the Hambletonian began in 1923 when John Bauer, Joe Markey, John Hervey and Harry Reno met to sort out the details of a new harness race for trotters that would be the richest race ever for three year olds. The idea behind the race was to create a stakes race that would be the largest in the world and attract the most talented horses from around the United States. After all of the details for the great stakes race had been discussed, the men still needed to create a name0 for the soon to be historic race.

John Bauer suggested a name for the stakes race that would soon become a reality. He proposed that the race be called the Hambletonian, in honor of the great stallion Hambletonian. Hambletonian was a bay stallion that was born in 1849, which was a time in which there was no fixed trotting breed. He soon proved that his foals possessed the heart and talent to shape the sport of trotting harness racers into what it is today.

The Hambletonian was first held in August of 1926 and had an estimated purse of $50,000. The prestigious race is currently hosted by the Meadowlands racetrack in East Rutherford New Jersey; however, this has not always been the home for the Hambletonian. When the race was first created, three different racetracks placed bids to be the host. In the end, the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse won the bid and was allowed to be the host. The racetrack offered an added $8,000 dollars to the purse of the race, which made it the richest race for trotting horses in the sport. To this day, the Hambletonian is still the richest harness race for trotters. Due to the great success of the first Hambletonian, the Syracuse racetrack was granted the rights for the race for the next three years; however, bad weather and five days of rain would cancel the 1927 Hambletonian at Syracuse. That year's race was postponed and later held at Lexington instead.

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