Some of my favorite sports events are the three horse races that make up the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. I like these events even more when one horse wins the first two races, which means that there will be a chance for a Triple Crown! So, Justify was that horse, and the Preakness was that race. By the time Justify had taken the posts I was hyped for the possibility that Justify would win the Triple Crown. The three or so weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes could not pass fast enough!
As the time for the Preakness drew nearer and nearer, the talking heads began their nay-saying, right on schedule. First, there was Justify. He had proven himself in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, as a horse that could run a fast race in the rain, and as a sprinting horse. BUT...the Preakness was a long race, in fact the longest in the Triple Crown, at a mile and a half. Sure, Justify could run fast, and could keep his footing in terrible conditions...but, could he pace himself for a long race, not burn out before the finish, yet not fall behind so far that he could not catch up at the end? And the general consensus was that Justify would run himself out at the 1 3/4 mile mark. Well, okay...
Then there was the jockey. Michael Smith, who had ridden Justify in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, was 52 years old. As one reporter put it, Smith was in his "twilight years" as a jockey. Michael Smith, however, was not just any jockey. He had ridden other Crown Jewel winners and was, in fact, a member of the jockeys' hall of fame. Nonetheless, the talking heads declared Michael Smith was too old to ride, at least, too old to ride well enough to win the Belmont Stakes. There were so many much younger men in the race, younger men who had more stamina to endure this, the longest race in the Triple Crown. Apparently Smith's resume and experience were not enough to counter the man's age; at least that's what the talking heads would have us believe.
Yes, the talking heads were persuaded that the Justify/Smith duo had basically a fifty-fifty chance at the Belmont Stakes. But when the gates opened, Justify was the first horse out, got a length ahead, and never looked back. The first quarter mile was fast by Belmont standards, but Justify had a lead and Smith let him settle into a Secretariat-like stride for the next half of a mile. The field behind Justify was very dynamic, as riders jockeyed in and out, battling for second place...because, first place was never in question. In the last half mile only one horse closed to just a few feet behind Justify, but that is when Michael Smith let Justify have his head, and Justify really kicked in the after-burner! The race was over at that point - Justify crossed the line with a clear lead and plenty of power to spare. What a race!
Justify, ridden by a jockey in his "twilight years," was the newest Triple Crown winner, the first since 2015, when American Pharaoh won all three races. Incidentally Justify and American Pharaoh were both trained by the same person, Bob Baffert. With today's Triple Crown win, Baffert becomes the only trainer to have TWO Triple Crown winners in his curricula vitae.
Congratulations to Bob Baffert, Michael Smith, and most of all, to Justify, for bringing in the Triple Crown! Although it was only three years between American Pharaoh's Triple Crown and Justify's win of the Triple Crown today, there was a drought of THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS from the previous Triple Crown win by Affirmed. Will there be a Triple Crown winner in 2019? That stats say that's not likely. But today, what a great race! And I am already geared up for next year's Triple Crown of horse racing!
May God bless all of you
And God bless America
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