PSA.... Triple crown attempt coming up in a few minutes... nfm
- Thread starter Nittany.Lion
- Start date
Justify is just more horse. He seemed to have it all the way today, and he obviously lead wire to wire, but he always seemed that he had more in the tank for whenever he was challenged. No one was going to pass him.
With such a small field, starting out of the #1 spot was no big deal.....there was loads of room for Justify to get a great start and he just settled in on cruise control.
About as good a place as any to put this video. Secretariat with his miraculous Clubhouse Turn at the Preakness. Absolutely breathtaking
Yes. The horse they held out was Audible. He took 3rd in the K. Derby but was closing hard. I for one firmly believe that Audible was held out to increase Justify's chances to win the Triple Crown. Some farm entered into a contract with the owners and agreed to pay upwards of 20 million for breeding rights. I was at Belmont today and it was quite a spectacle.
That was a great race.
Not sure if anyone noticed but an ambulance was 20 yards behind the horses chasing after them.
And 20 yards behind the ambulance was a dozen lawyers chasing after it.
Not sure if anyone noticed but an ambulance was 20 yards behind the horses chasing after them.
And 20 yards behind the ambulance was a dozen lawyers chasing after it.
Thank you RU. Should we put an asterisk next to this triple crown? The integrity of this TC was compromised by the owner of Justify.
George Soros is in this mix somewhere. Big money and big egos.
A Secretive Investor in Triple Crown Contender Justify: George Soros
If the strapping chestnut colt Justify wins the Belmont Stakes on Saturday to become just the 13th horse in history to claim horse racing’s Triple Crown, two of the three groups that have an ownership stake in the horse’s breeding rights will be front and center during the celebration...
Mr. Soros’s connection to Justify, which was not previously reported, has garnered little notice in the sport despite the horse’s rousing success in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes because his group tries to operate almost invisibly. Several officials, who sit atop one of the biggest owners in stallion equity in the world, declined to comment about Mr. Soros’s involvement in horse racing through his fund.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/sports/justify-belmont-george-soros.html
There's a lot more shady shiz than that which goes on in horse racing. And he did beat Audible, after all. It's legit. They send horses from everywhere but Mars in all the time to de-throne the TC contender at Belmont. Keeping a horse on the sidelines to gain an advantage is no worse. My opinion only. Hell, owners will scratch out of a race if they don't get a gate draw they like.
Plus, consider if he did run Audible and Justify won anyway. Maybe you have people saying Audible's jockey tanked the ride. Then again, maybe Audible beats him. We'll never know but Justify looked much the best to me in all three races. Smith didn't even ask him to go until mid stretch, looked like to me.
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Here is my view on horsing today verses yesteryear. Prior to 2000 the industry was predominantly "old money" both from the owners and breeders standpoint. For these individuals (DuPont, Whitney, Firestone, Phipps, Vanderbilt, Belmont, Hancock, Lewis) it was about the thrill of competing against the best and never backing down to a challenge. It was considered a privilege to be introduced at their social gatherings as the winner of a Triple Crown Jewel. Yes, they were extremely wealthy but they were true sportsmen. During this era there would have been consequences both from a social and media (newspaper) standpoint if a horse was deliberately kept out of a high profile race in order to ensure a win. Today it's a different sport because everything hinges on money or should I say making money. It's no longer about the love of the animal or the sport just another way to make a quick buck.
absolutely. Horse racing essentially died with the last triple crown winner. This certainly won't help.
Some techno wiz should take the film of the race yesterday and superimpose Secrtariats run on it. That would give us a real understanding of just how good he was compared to Justify.
No....three horses won it in the 30’s, four in the 40’s, then there were three in five years in the 70’s. We may now go another 35 years without one. It may diminish American Pharaoh’s accomplishment in some people’s eyes, but if anything it helps horse racing. Nothing generates interest like a Triple Crown contender.
Secretariat still holds the 1-1/2 mile Belmont record of 2:24.00, a full two seconds faster than the next fastest time.
Pretty much the margin Big Red won by in 73, give or take (most agree about 30.) No American horse has approached his greatness. Doesn't mean there aren't great horses anymore. Zenyatta leaps to mind. Funny how Mike Smith lands on horses like these. Nineteen wins and a place in 20 starts.
As you likely know, Big Red still holds all 3 Triple Crown records (after the Preakness came to its senses)
I feel bad for poor Sham. Truly great horse who ran one of the 5-10 fastest times in both the Derby and Preakness then got injured trying to stay with Secretariat in the Belmont.
Yup, Sham was a great horse. Also somewhat overlooked was that Forego was fourth in the '73 Derby.
I follow the racing game closer than most although not with the ferocity of @Victor E. Bell and @sluggo72.
To minimize what Justify did yesterday is just silly. His 2:28.18 is the fourth-fastest TC winner of all time. He beat 35 horses in three races - most all time. He beat more runners at Belmont than any other TC winner ever. Justify is - in a word - spectacular. He's a LOCK for the Eclipse Award and who's going to beat him in the BC Classic?
You don't see a horse like this very often. Greatness on hooves.
Justify ran wire to wire and was never in doubt. You could have Audible or any 3-yo you like in the field and it would have made no difference. Just way too much horse.
Shout out as well to Bob Baffert, who passed out D. Wayne Lukas - 15 TC race wins and 2 TC's in four years. Only one other trainer has ever done that.
Comparing any horse, even a TC winner, to Secretariat . . . We've seen that once in 118 years, and it's safe to say it will be another 118 years before we see a reprise of that magical Spring of 1973.
To minimize what Justify did yesterday is just silly. His 2:28.18 is the fourth-fastest TC winner of all time. He beat 35 horses in three races - most all time. He beat more runners at Belmont than any other TC winner ever. Justify is - in a word - spectacular. He's a LOCK for the Eclipse Award and who's going to beat him in the BC Classic?
You don't see a horse like this very often. Greatness on hooves.
Justify ran wire to wire and was never in doubt. You could have Audible or any 3-yo you like in the field and it would have made no difference. Just way too much horse.
Shout out as well to Bob Baffert, who passed out D. Wayne Lukas - 15 TC race wins and 2 TC's in four years. Only one other trainer has ever done that.
Comparing any horse, even a TC winner, to Secretariat . . . We've seen that once in 118 years, and it's safe to say it will be another 118 years before we see a reprise of that magical Spring of 1973.
It would be among the best ever IMO (providing of course we're including it with great human achievements).
Possibly on such a list -- Jim Thorpe's amazing multi-sport excellence more than a century ago, and Usain Bolt's clear designation as best sprinter ever.
Not to mention thecoolestfish’s and ericstrattan-rushchairman’s respective achievements.
Secretariat ran the Belmont in 2:24 and it is estimated that a full second is equivalent to 5 or 6 lengths.
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That horse had an incredible achievement considering that the Belmont ended up being a sea change different race than the previous two crowns. Not only is the Belmont much long (which often leads to horses in their third race fading) but the previous two races were very wet and muddy. That tells me that this horse has many different talents and gears. Great race.
1. 1973 Secretariat 2:24 Triple Crown Winner-His winning times in all three races still stand today
2. 1989 Easy Goer 2:26
3. 1992 A.P Indy 2:26.1
4. 1988 Risen Star 2:26.4 (Secretariat's Son-Won Preakness & Belmont)
5. 2001 Point Given 2:26.6 (Won Preakness and Belmont)
6. 1957 Gallant Man 2:26.6 (Held best record until Secretariat)
7. 2015 American Pharoah 2:26.7 (Triple Crown Winner)
8. 1978 Affirmed 2:26.8 (Triple Crown Winner)
2. 1989 Easy Goer 2:26
3. 1992 A.P Indy 2:26.1
4. 1988 Risen Star 2:26.4 (Secretariat's Son-Won Preakness & Belmont)
5. 2001 Point Given 2:26.6 (Won Preakness and Belmont)
6. 1957 Gallant Man 2:26.6 (Held best record until Secretariat)
7. 2015 American Pharoah 2:26.7 (Triple Crown Winner)
8. 1978 Affirmed 2:26.8 (Triple Crown Winner)
I feel like Secretariat was the greatest horse of all time....but give Justify his just deserts. He ran on two really bad, muddy tracks. Secretariat had three clean tracks. Not to say he would have beaten Secretariat but to say this horse was tested in a way Secretariat was not.
