Julio Cortez/Associated Press Triple Crown winners are quite rare in thoroughbred racing. When Justify went to the post Saturday at the Belmont Stakes in New York, he had a chance to become the 13th Triple Crown winner in the sport's history. He did not let his supporters down, as he won the 1 1/2-mile race in remarkable fashion. For those who are new to the sport, they may remember that American Pharoah won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 2015, and two winners in a four-year span may not seem that rare. However, prior to American Pharoah's victory, the last Triple Crown winner had taken place in 1978 when Affirmed won all three races. That 37-year interval was a long dry spell and left may horse racing insiders thinking that it might not happen again. But American Pharoah was a super horse, and Justify may be even better. The challenge for the eventual champion came not only from the nine rivals that he faced on the track but also from the grueling distance of the race. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles, while the Preakness is just a tad shorter at 1 3/16 miles. Video Play Button Videos you might like Trainer Bob Baffert had to prepare his charge to run a significantly longer race just three weeks after his victory in Baltimore at the Preakness. Justify drew the No. 1 post, and while that would have been an issue in the crowded 20-horse field at Churchill Downs, it was not a problem at Belmont Park. Justify was able to break quickly and avoid even a hint of traffic or jostling. While that was a good thing, neither Baffert nor jockey Mike Smith could afford to let Justify run too quickly, too soon in such a lengthy race. He ran a fairly sharp quarter-mile, but Smith was able to maintain a clear lead and slow his horse down through the half-mile and three-quarter-mile marks. Justify's time at the four-furlong mark (half-mile) was 48.11 and a reasonable 1:13.21 after six panels. Justify was not challenged running around the far turn, but Vino Rosso was just a length behind at the top of the stretch. Smith asked his horse to run at that point, but not at full speed because the Belmont Park stretch run is so long. He was able to distance himself from that challenger, and when he asked Justify to pick up the pace during the middle of the stretch run, he was in excellent shape. At that point, Gronkowski was charging from the back of the pack, and he was able to run a stellar race and finish second. However, he was not able to get close enough to Justify to give the Triple Crown winner or his connections any anxiety. 2018 Belmont Stakes Results (via NBC Broadcast) Horse—Distance Behind (Post, Jockey, Trainer) 1. Justify (1, Mike Smith, Bob Baffert) Payout: $800,000 2. Gronkowski—1 3/4 lengths (6, Jose Ortiz, Chad Brown) Payout: $280,000 3. Hofburg—3 1/2 lengths (4, Irad Ortiz, William Mott) Payout: $150,000 4. Vino Rosso—3 3/4 lengths (8, John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher) 5. Tenfold—7 1/4 lengths (7, Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen) 6. Bravazo—8 1/2 lengths (3, Luis Saez, D. Wayne Lukas) 7. Free Drop Billy—9 1/2 lengths (2, Robby Albarado, Dale Romans) 8. Restoring Hope—38 3/4 lengths (5, Florent Geroux, Bob Baffert) 9. Blended Citizen—51 3/4 lengths (10, Kyle Frey, Doug O'Neill) 10. Noble Indy—54 lengths (9, Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher) Baffert, who also trained American Pharoah, earned his second Triple Crown. He is only the second trainer in the sport's history to accomplish the feat, and he joined "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons, who trained Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935. It was the first Triple Crown victory for Smith. Both men were ecstatic after the win. Their words were tinged with emotion as they spoke after the race. Baffert credited his team of assistants for doing an outstanding job of preparing Justify for the grueling three-race, five-week grind. Smith was ecstatic with the victory. "This horse ran a tremendous race, he's so gifted," said Smith, on the NBC broadcast, (h/t ESPN.com). "He's sent from heaven. I tell you, it's just amazing. I can't describe the emotions going through my body right now." 2018 Belmont Stakes Payouts (via NBC Broadcast) 1st: Justify 4-5 (Win: $3.60; Place: $3.50; Show: $2.80) 2nd: Gronkowski 24-1 (Place: $13.80; Show: $7.00) 3rd: Hofburg 5-1 (Show: $3.70) $2 Exacta (1-6): $89.00 $1 Trifecta (1-6-4): $229.74 $1 Superfecta (1-6-4-8): $1,051.50<doc-sep>Al Bello/Getty Images Justify's performance at the 2018 Belmont Stakes on Saturday, one that made him just the 13th horse in history to win the Triple Crown, will be shown over and over again. Bob Baffert's colt backed up excellent showings at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes earlier in the year with another win at Elmont Park. It was the kind of performance befitting a Triple Crown champion too, as Justify set the pace, laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the field and outlasted his rivals. Gronkowski was in second, just under two lengths behind Justify, while Hofburg was came third. Justify Dominant in Triple Crown Triumph The Kentucky Derby Twitter account provided footage of the final stages of the Belmont, when Justify put the hammer down to leave his rivals trailing: Video Play Button Videos you might like As ESPN Stats & Info noted, Justify reached this accomplishment without having lost a race in his career: The footage emphatically illustrates that, in Justify, we have one of the most impressive horses of this generation. The chestnut colt showed many different strengths on his way to the box set of titles. In Kentucky and Preakness, he won in mudbaths, as the rain tipped down before each race. At Belmont, in fairer conditions, Justify simply showed his exceptional pace. There were some fears the longer distance in the third Triple Crown race may have hindered Justify on Saturday, having already won two gruelling races in recent weeks. But jockey Mike E. Smith clearly had huge confidence in his ride, entrusting him to set a tempo the rest of the field wasn't able to match. As At The Races noted, the winning jockey said after the win that this was the pinnacle of his long racing career: Given Justify hadn't ran a race until February this year, it's been a remarkable rise for Baffert's horse. It's easy to forget Justify bucked a 136-year trend by breaking the Apollo Curse to win the Kentucky Derby, becoming the first horse since 1882 that hadn't debuted as a two-year old to win the Run for the Roses. But that freshness clearly benefitted Justify, as in the final stages of this one, there was never any danger he would be reeled in. BloodHorse's Jeremy Balan praised what has been an incredible start to Justify's racing career: Although Justify has earned his place in history with these three wins, some will dispute whether he's one of the best ever. Sports analyst Darren Rovell calculated how far behind Secretariat the 2018 champion would have been if they had gone head-to-head at Belmont: Even so, that's unlikely to sour the celebrations of Justify's camp—and especially those of Baffert, who has now trained two Triple Crown winners in the past four seasons. It's also worth considering just how rare this treble of triumphs has been in the modern era despite American Pharoah's success in 2015. Prior to that, no horse had won the Triple Crown for 37 years; for Justify to do so and in this manner makes him a special colt indeed.<doc-sep>ELMONT, NY - JUNE 09: Justify #1, ridden by jockey Mike Smith leads the field to the finish line to win the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 9, 2018 in Elmont, New York. Justify becomes the thirteenth Triple Crown winner and the first since American Pharoah in 2015. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Relive the Belmont Stakes race and Justify’s historic Triple Crown victory. First, he won the Kentucky Derby. Then, he won the Preakness Stakes. On Saturday, June 9, Justify started the Belmont Stakes as the heavy favorite — both to win the New York race and to become the second Triple Crown winner in four years since American Pharoah won in 2015. History was on the line. Justify came through and for the third time, it wasn’t really close. The Belmont was the first of the three races to be run on a fast track on a sunny day — meaning, no mud, no rain, no fog. It’s also the longest race of the Triple Crown, though jockey Mike Smith asserted before the race that it was one of Justify’s favorite tracks. Justify led for the entire race but at times it was a short lead, with Vino Rosso and later Gronkowski — the English horse in which the New Englands Patriot has part ownership — hot on his tail. Ultimately, the title was never really in doubt and Justify became the 13th Triple Crown winner in history. Watch Justify win the Belmont Stakes — and the Triple Crown in the process — below. Witness history! Justify becomes the 13th horse to win the #TripleCrown! Watch the full #BelmontStakes race replay, presented by @rocketmortgage. pic.twitter.com/NA6MkfWBdY — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 9, 2018 Before the race, the odds for the ten horses running the Preakness were as follows: 1. Justify (Mike Smith), 4-5 2. Free Drop Billy (Robby Albarado), 30-1 3. Bravazo (Luis Saez), 8-1 4. Hofburg (Irad Ortiz Jr.), 9-2 5. Restoring Hope (Florent Geroux), 30-1 6. Gronkowski (Jose Ortiz), 12-1 7. Tenfold (Victor Espinoza), 12-1 8. Vino Rosso (John Velazquez), 30-1 9. Noble Indy (Javier Castellano), 12-1 10. Blended Citizen (Kyle Frey), 15-1 The first place team will take home $900,000 of the $1.5 million purse, while second, third, fourth and fifth place finishes yielded $300,000, $165,000, $90,000 and $45,000, respectively. Trainers and jockeys typically get a 5 percent cut while the winning trainer and jockey take home 10 percent. For more from the Triple Crown make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our horse racing hub for all the latest news and results.<doc-sep>USA TODAY Sports Justify made it look easy. After a clean break at the start of the race, Justify never looked back, leading wire-to-wire at the Belmont Stakes to capture the 13th Triple Crown in history and second for trainer Bob Baffert. American Pharoah completed the feat in 2015 with Baffert. Justify won in 02:28:18. Here’s a look at how the 1½-mile Belmont Stakes unfolded in Elmont, N.Y., on Saturday.<doc-sep>
Julie Jacobson/Associated Press Justify went to the post at Belmont Park carrying the hopes of horse racing fans across North America and around the globe who wanted to see history made, and the powerful superstar delivered in grand fashion. Justify won the 150th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, and he became the 13th Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred racing history. Starting from the No. 1 post position, Justify was able to break cleanly, and he went right to the front. While avoiding traffic was a good thing for the big, red colt, the one thing that trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith wanted to avoid was a speed duel. Justify's opening quarter was fast, but none of the other nine horses challenged him, and Smith was able to slow him down after the quarter mile. Once that happened, the race set up perfectly for Justify, and he was never headed in this race. Every step was a winning one, as Justify won the 1 ½-mile race in wire-to-wire fashion. Baffert also trained American Pharoah, the horse who won the 2015 Triple Crown. "It's just amazing," Baffert said on the NBC broadcast. "It's very emotional for me. American Pharoah will always be my first love, and this horse is very special. Video Play Button Videos you might like "He has so much ability. He could have won every race on the undercard, that's how good he is." Baffert credited his staff for helping to prepare Justify for the grueling Triple Crown run. "I have the most tremendous team working for me," said Baffert. "It was really tough getting him ready because of the amount of work it took to win three races in such a short period of time." The stretch-running Gronkowski came from last place to finish second in the race, while Hofburg ended the race in third place. Vino Rosso missed getting on the board, as he finished fourth. 2018 Belmont Stakes Results (via NBC Broadcast) Horse—Distance Behind (Post, Jockey, Trainer) 1. Justify (1, Mike Smith, Bob Baffert) Payout: $800,000 2. Gronkowski—1 ¾ lengths (6, Jose Ortiz, Chad Brown) Payout: $280,000 3. Hofburg—3 ½ lengths (4, Irad Ortiz, William Mott) Payout: $150,000 4. Vino Rosso—3 ¾ lengths (8, John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher) 5. Tenfold—7 ¼ lengths (7, Ricardo Santana Jr., Steve Asmussen) 6. Bravazo—8 ½ lengths (3, Luis Saez, D. Wayne Lukas) 7. Free Drop Billy—9 ½ lengths (2, Robby Albarado, Dale Romans) 8. Restoring Hope—38 ¾ lengths (5, Florent Geroux, Bob Baffert) 9. Blended Citizen—51 ¾ lengths (10, Kyle Frey, Doug O'Neill) 10. Noble Indy—54 lengths (9, Javier Castellano, Todd Pletcher) Justify had a one-length lead over Vino Rosso at the top of the stretch, and while the eventual winner was running well, Smith had not yet asked him to run at full speed. That's because Belmont Park features the longest stretch run in horse racing. Smith rated his horse efficiently, and he let his horse go as he neared the midway point of the stretch. At that point, it seemed clear that Justify was going to win, but Gronkowski had a powerful stretch run himself. He finished 1 ¾ lengths behind Justify, and the horse named after the New England Patriots' star tight end had a clear advantage over the rest of the field. Justify paid $3.60 to win, $3.50 to place, and $2.80 to show. Gronkowski paid $13.80 to place and $7.00 to show, while Hofburg paid $3.70 to show, according to NBC's graphic. The $2 1-6 exacta paid $89.00, while the $1 trifecta brought home $229.74 to those who played the 1-6-4 combination. The four-horse $1 superfecta of 1-6-4-8 paid $1,051.50.