There is no thing as a sure thing, a reality that was reaffirmed when Audible finished second as a 1-10 favorite to 25-1 Sir Anthony in last Saturday’s Harlan’s Holiday Stakes. The Grade III Harlan’s Holiday was contested on Gulfstream Park’s sloppy main track. Audible went into the 1 1/16-mile race having won five […]
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Are you ready for 2019? You’d better be. It’s coming. Like it or not. And, as they say, ‘Time, like the subway, waits for no one.’ This past season was a good one. We had Justify, a Triple Crown winner, only the 13th in history. What’s that you say? Not a big deal? OK. […]
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Can you answer the following trivia question? From the first Daily Racing Form poll in 1936 and continuing on through the Eclipse Awards era that began in 1971, just one 3-year-old male champion has not been sent away as the favorite in at least one of his races at 3. Who was it? It’s […]
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VENUE: Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3. Main Track: dirt, fast Friday and Saturday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase on Friday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase for Saturday’s Turf Sprint; Turf Course listed as good by Equibase for Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf, Saturday’s Mile and Saturday’s Turf. $6 MILLION CLASSIC (NOV. […]
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The 2018 Horse of the Year is going to be either Justify or Accelerate. This is indicated by the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll this week in which these two horses received 39 of the 41 first-place votes. Justify received 30 first-place votes this week, compared to 9 for Accelerate. However, because the NTRA Top Thoroughbred […]
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More than halfway through the 2018 Thoroughbred season, the entire picture has changed. Wonder horse Justify is stopped in his tracks. Out of the race. On ‘E’. Done. Gone. Retired. His departure abandons an assortment of rich and prestigious Grade 1 races, ripe and juicy for others to ‘carpe diem.’ Justify, apparent cinch 2018 Top […]
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The other shoe finally fell. It’s official. Unbeaten 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify is through racing. Done. Kaput. Retired. The unlucky 13th Triple Crown winner and earner of nearly $3.8 million will parade for fans Saturday at Del Mar, Where the Turf Meets the Surf, and then ship to Kentucky to begin a second and […]
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On June 9 at 6:50 p.m. Eastern Time at Belmont Park, the 2018 Belmont Stakes began. Ten 3-year-olds, including Justify, broke from the starting gate. That would be the final time Justify will ever leave a starting gate. Exactly 2:28.18 later, Justify crossed the finish line, a winner by 1 3/4 lengths to become the […]
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Turns out the real reason Bob Baffert ‘backed off’ on Triple Crown winner Justify’s recent training had little to do with searing SoCal heat and more to do with a possibly elevated temperature in the Triple Crown winner’s ankle. According to a Tuesday press release from Winstar Farm, reported by Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman, […]
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We find out things in oh so many different ways these days. I learned about Justify’s current plight via a BloodHorse “News Alert” email. When I read the following in the subject line of the email, I immediately thought, “Oh no.” Subject: Justify to Undergo Evaluation, Racing Plans on Hold The BloodHorse in the email […]
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Now that calendars have been flipped over to July, it is time for this column’s rankings of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin […]
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The Los Angeles area is well known for bad traffic, good weather and earthquakes. It’s also become a hotbed for Triple Crown winners. There have been only two Triple Crown winners in the last 40 years, American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Both horses have been based in Southern California with Hall of […]
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Justify did it. He won the Triple Crown. That’s all you need to know. Save the corny, word-play headlines. ‘Justification!’ ‘Just Awesome!’ ‘Just-Amazing!’ They’re so pre-Belmont. Now, his achievement speaks for itself. Loud and clear. He’s the 13th Triple Crown winner in history. ONE THREE A baker’s dozen. ‘History,’ as we know, is a long […]
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Three words said it all. Prior to the post parade for last Saturday’s 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, three words trainer Bob Baffert said to Mike Smith, the seemingly ageless 52-year-old rider of Justify, pretty much spelled doom for the other nine starters in the race. Justify was just minutes away from attempting to […]
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Below is the Pick 4 ticket for June 9th, 2018 at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 8 Off Limits (#3, 7-2) has done her best work at a mile and adores Belmont Park’s turf course. She makes her third start off a layoff and seems to be […]
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