CHAMPION

Justify Wins Triple Crown After Breezing to Victory in Belmont Stakes

Only the 13th horse in history to win racing’s most prestigious award.

After crushing the competition at the Kentucky Derby and winning by a nose at the Preakness, Justify breezed to victory at the 150th Belmont Stakes, becoming only the 13th horse in history to capture racing’s prestigious Triple Crown. The 3-year-old famously started racing only this year under the tutelage of trainer Bob Baffert, who coached American Pharaoh to the Triple Crown just four years ago and broke the sport’s 37-year drought for Triple Crown winners. The horse’s jockey, 52-year-old Mike Smith, has called Justify an “old soul” and after winning at the New York racetrack on Saturday, he praised the horse as “sent from heaven.” He also admitted he finally felt deserving of his spot in racing’s Hall of Fame, awarded in 2003.