Baffert was the trainer of the last Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah in 2015, and followed a similar training regimen with Justify at Churchill Downs until shipping to New York a few days before the Belmont.
Baffert noted that one of the main differences between the two horses was their attitude: American Pharoah is known as a kind, easy going horse whereas Justify is more dominant. "
You have to watch him," said Baffert. "
He likes to push you around.
He's not a mean horse, but his patience level with people is, like, five seconds."

The 2018 Belmont Stakes was run on June 9 over a fast track before a sold-out crowd of 90,000.
Justify drew post position one, which meant that a poor start would have resulted in him getting trapped on the rail.
However, Justify broke well and Smith sent him to the lead with a quick opening quarter of 23.37.
He then slowed down the pace as they moved around the first turn and down the backstretch, leading by two lengths over Restoring Hope as he completed the mile in 1:38.09.
Around the far turn, Vino Rosso mounted a drive to move into second place, while Gronkowski and Hofburg started closing on Vino Rosso from far back.
Despite drifting out slightly in the stretch, Justify increased a one length lead over the challengers after the final turn to win by ​1 ³⁄₄ lengths over Gronkowski.
He completed the mile and a half race in 2:28.18.

Baffert was elated following the race. "
It's just amazing, I'm so proud to be an American, very emotional and a lot of help upstairs," he told Forbes. "
It never gets old.
American Pharoah was my first love, but wow, Mike Smith deserves something like this.
This horse is just amazing, he could have won every race on the undercard today."

The win made Justify the thirteenth winner of the American Triple Crown, and just the second horse to accomplish the feat while still undefeated.
Justify's owners received a total of $2.94 million for winning all three Triple Crown races.
Baffert was the trainer of the last Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah in 2015, and followed a similar training regimen with Justify at Churchill Downs until shipping to New York a few days before the Belmont. Baffert noted that one of the main differences between the two horses was their attitude: American Pharoah is known as a kind, easy going horse whereas Justify is more dominant. "You have to watch him," said Baffert. "He likes to push you around. He's not a mean horse, but his patience level with people is, like, five seconds."
The 2018 Belmont Stakes was run on June 9 over a fast track before a sold-out crowd of 90,000. Justify drew post position one, which meant that a poor start would have resulted in him getting trapped on the rail. However, Justify broke well and Smith sent him to the lead with a quick opening quarter of 23.37. He then slowed down the pace as they moved around the first turn and down the backstretch, leading by two lengths over Restoring Hope as he completed the mile in 1:38.09. Around the far turn, Vino Rosso mounted a drive to move into second place, while Gronkowski and Hofburg started closing on Vino Rosso from far back. Despite drifting out slightly in the stretch, Justify increased a one length lead over the challengers after the final turn to win by ​1 ³⁄₄ lengths over Gronkowski. He completed the mile and a half race in 2:28.18.
Baffert was elated following the race. "It's just amazing, I'm so proud to be an American, very emotional and a lot of help upstairs," he told Forbes. "It never gets old. American Pharoah was my first love, but wow, Mike Smith deserves something like this. This horse is just amazing, he could have won every race on the undercard today."
The win made Justify the thirteenth winner of the American Triple Crown, and just the second horse to accomplish the feat while still undefeated. Justify's owners received a total of $2.94 million for winning all three Triple Crown races.
Justify (horse)