The 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of the Triple Crown, is set for Saturday night at 6:37 p.m. ET. After winning at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Justify is looking to become the 13th horse to sweep the Triple Crown. The last horse to pull it off was American Pharoah in 2015. There's also prize money on the line. A total of $1.5 million is up for grabs and will be divided among the top eight finishers. The winning horse's owner takes home $800,000. And the winning jockey gets 10 percent of that, or $80,000. That number will get shaved down about 30 percent after the jockey pays his his agent and valet, the person who gets the jockey's gear in place. And that's before taxes.<doc-sep>Mike Smith with the Triple Crown trophy in 2018 With a win in the Belmont Stakes that made Justify the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown, Mike Smith was voted Jockeys' Guild Jockey of the Week for June 4 – 10, 2018. The award is voted on by a panel of experts for riding accomplishments by members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 riders in North America. Jockey of the Week is sponsored by Animal Element's Foundation Detox and Product X Performance Enhancer. Mike Smith became the 12th jockey in history to win the American Thoroughbred Triple Crown on Saturday at Belmont Park. He and heavily favored Justify ($3.60) broke sharply from the inside post, going to the lead as expected and winning by two lengths over the fast-closing runner-up Gronkowski in the 150th running of the $1,500,000 Belmont Stakes (G1). The win gave Bob Baffert his second Triple Crown, joining “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons as the only other trainer to train two Triple Crown champions. Justify is owned by China Horse Club and Winstar Farms and was bred in Kentucky by John Gunther. He is by Scat Daddy, out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic; remarkably, six other Triple Crown winners factor into his pedigree. The 3-year-old colt bucked the supposed curse of Apollo by winning the Kentucky Derby despite not starting as a 2-year-old. Undefeated in six starts, Justify progressed from his maiden special weight debut to winning the Triple Crown in just 111 days. Smith has been Justify's regular rider since his second start, an allowance event at Santa Anita in March. Together, the pair won the Santa Anita Derby (G1), Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) prior to their Belmont appearance. Smith began his day at Belmont Park on Saturday with a win in the $750,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) aboard Abel Tasman. Smith and Abel Tasman($4.00) gained the lead early and extended it into a seven-length victory over a field of five other older fillies and mares. Smith also led Abel Tasman to victory in the 2017 Kentucky Oaks (G1). The Hall of Fame rider has earned $7.8 million in 2018, with 27 wins in 120 starts. His career earnings exceed $313 million. Both of Smith's wins for the week came in Grade 1 events; he was two for seven for the week for a win rate of 29% and finished in the money on 43% of his mounts. Despite the Triple Crown accomplishment, Smith was second behind Irad Ortiz, Jr. by both total and stakes earnings. Smith earned $1,382,500 in seven stakes starts compared to Ortiz' $1,510,166 in stakes and $1,756,536 total earnings. Ortiz won five stakes races over the weekend, including a Grade 1, two Grade 2 events and a Grade 3. New to the Paulick Report? Click here to sign up for our daily email newsletter to keep up on this and other stories happening in the Thoroughbred industry. Copyright © 2021 Paulick Report.<doc-sep>Copy Link Icon Belmont Stakes 2018: Live Updates, Results and Reaction Elmont, New York In the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, Justify became the 13th horse to ever win the Triple Crown. Justify joined the illustrious group that includes American Pharoah, who in 2015 had been the most recent to accomplish the feat. Bob Baffert also trained that memorable horse. Jockey Mike Smith earned his seventh career combined victory at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Gronkowski, named after New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, finished second, followed by Hofburg and Vino Rosso.<doc-sep>Justify arrives at Belmont Park hoping to become the next Triple Crown winner. Who will be on the line trying to stop Justify’s bid in the Belmont Stakes? The biggest story entering the 2018 Belmont Stakes is the horses that are not racing as much as it is about the horses that are going to be at the race. Specifically, Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Audible will not be racing at Belmont Park on June 9. This has drawn speculation about whether or not Audible is actually dealing with injury or fatigue, or if the decision was based on competitive gamesmanship. Those accusations stem from the fact that Audible is owned by the same consortium that owns Justify. The theory posits that Audible would have been the biggest threat to a Triple Crown close-out by Justify, so the group shut down Audible’s bid before it could destroy the profits. It probably isn’t much of a conspiracy theory, and the ownership group is well within its rights to run or not run any of their horses in the grueling 12-furlong slog on Big Sandy. It is frankly the smartest economic decision they could make. And should Justify win the Triple Crown, it will not be any less legitimate for Audible’s absence. That won’t necessarily sit well with fans of sport more generally, who would love nothing more than to see the best compete against the best at all times. But there are still plenty of legitimate challengers that will line up looking to take down Justify. Read on for the post positions and more information on each horse in this year’s Belmont Stakes. 1. Justify JOCKEY: Mike Smith Mike Smith OWNER: China Horse Club/Head of Plains Partners/Starlight Racing/WinStar Farm China Horse Club/Head of Plains Partners/Starlight Racing/WinStar Farm TRAINER: Bob Baffert Bob Baffert BREEDER: John D. Gunther Justify arrives at the Belmont Stakes as the heavy favorite to win the second Triple Crown in four years. Bob Baffert’s horse was pressed at the close of the Preakness, and it will be interesting to see how the added length of Belmont Park affects the pacing of this race. The finish of the Preakness will leave some second-guessing the horse’s chances of joining American Pharoah as 21st-century Triple Crown winners, but until further notice it is going to be hard to bet against Justify. The horse drew the inside post, historically the most frequent winning position in the Belmont Stakes. 2. Free Drop Billy JOCKEY: Robby Albarado Robby Albarado OWNER: Albaugh Family Stables Albaugh Family Stables TRAINER: Dale Romans Dale Romans BREEDER: Helen K. Groves Revokable Trust Free Drop Billy is a longshot at Belmont Park after finishing 16th in the Kentucky Derby. The horse entered his three-year-old campaign with high hopes after winning the Breeders Futurity at Keeneland in October 2017. But top-three finishes at the Holy Bull, Gotham, and Blue Grass Stakes did little to prepare Free Drop Billy for the tougher competition and expanded field. In a smaller field at Belmont Park, might this horse’s pedigree set it up for a surprise? 3. Bravazo JOCKEY: Luis Saez Luis Saez OWNER: Calumet Farm Calumet Farm TRAINER: D. Wayne Lukas D. Wayne Lukas BREEDER: Calumet Farm Bravazo went to the Kentucky Derby and finished a respectable sixth as a longshot on the Churchill Downs track. The horse followed up the performance by pushing Justify at the finish of the Preakness to take second. Bravazo has been hit or miss at a variety of distances, so it is hard to project a natural learning curve that might portend future results at the 12-furlong distance. Bravazo will either get the jump and spoil the Triple Crown or fade out of the money. 4. Hofburg JOCKEY: Irad Ortiz Jr. Irad Ortiz Jr. OWNER: Juddmonte Farms Juddmonte Farms TRAINER: William I. Mott William I. Mott BREEDER: Juddmonte Farms Hofburg is hoping that a five-week rest is enough time to recharge and turn the tables on a poor performance at the Kentucky Derby. Entering the Triple Crown season as one of the Derby favorites, Hofburg put in a disappointing seventh-place finish at Churchill Downs. William Mott and Juddmonte Farms immediately refocused the horse toward the Belmont Stakes. Will the added recovery time provide the winning difference as Hofburg gains attention once again? 5. Restoring Hope JOCKEY: Florent Geroux Florent Geroux OWNER: Gary L. West and Mary E. West Gary L. West and Mary E. West TRAINER: Bob Baffert Bob Baffert BREEDER: Gary and Mary West Stables Restoring Hope is the wild card in the Belmont Stakes. When many of its Belmont opposition was preparing for the first leg of the Triple Crown, Restoring Hope was also at Churchill Downs. But instead of racing in the Kentucky Derby, the Bob Baffert-trained horse left the gate two races earlier in the Pat Day Mile. Restoring Hope finished 12th in the 14-horse field. Though the No. 5 post has historically done well at Belmont Park, Restoring Hope is unlikely to challenge the favorites. 6. Gronkowski JOCKEY: Jose Ortiz Jose Ortiz OWNER: Phoenix Racing Phoenix Racing TRAINER: Chad Brown Chad Brown BREEDER: Epic Thoroughbreds The New England Patriots tight end has a minority ownership stake in the horse that bears his name. Like his namesake, this Thoroughbred is a well-built athlete in his own right. Gronkowski, however, has spent his three-year-old career on the synthetic surfaces of British tracks. How will this horse fare on the dirt of Belmont Park? The Belmont Stakes is Gronkowski’s first encounter with a dirt track in competition. 7. Tenfold JOCKEY: Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza OWNER: Winchell Thoroughbreds Winchell Thoroughbreds TRAINER: Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen BREEDER: Winchell Thoroughbreds After missing out on the Kentucky Derby, Tenfold went to Pimlico and scored his first top-three finish in a stakes race at the Preakness. Now, the horse sets sight on the Belmont Stakes and another showdown with Justify. Jockey Victor Espinoza was atop American Pharoah in 2015 when the horse became the first Triple Crown winner in over three decades. Now he will look to upset another horse’s bid for immortality. 8. Vino Rosso JOCKEY: John Velazquez John Velazquez OWNER: Repole Stable/St. Elias Stable<doc-sep>
If undefeated Justify is going to become horse racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner, he’ll have to do it from trainer Bob Baffert’s least favorite post position. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner drew the No. 1 gate for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, a spot Baffert typically enjoys as much as rancid milk. Though Justify has plenty of natural speed, drawing inside means jockey Mike Smith is pretty much locked in to putting his horse on the lead to avoid getting pinned in down on the rail heading into the first turn. That possibility is why Baffert typically prefers a post position further outside, especially with a smart jockey like Smith who can use the first 200 yards of the race to find a comfortable spot in the clear, allowing his horse to run free. And with Justify now likely committed to the early lead, you can bet the other jockeys will attempt to gang up on Smith, trying to press him into a fast pace. “I never do like the rail,” Baffert told reporters at the Belmont draw Tuesday. “We have it. We can’t change it. We’ll just deal with it.” MORE:Belmont 2018 post positions, draw, jockeys, odds MORE:American Pharoah didn't turn around racing's fortunes MORE:Lukas is poised to spoil the Triple Crown again with Bravazo MORE:Trainer Bob Baffert says Justify 'looks great' ahead of Belmont Justify, who won the Preakness by a diminishing half-length over Bravazo, will have nine challengers in the Belmont, signifying that rival trainers believe he can be beaten at 1½ miles following a grueling schedule this spring to get him ready to the Triple Crown. The Belmont will be Justify’s sixth race since his debut Feb. 18, which would make him the first horse to win the Triple Crown without a race as a 2-year-old. And while Justify has purportedly showed positive physical signs during his training at Churchill Downs — he’ll ship into New York on Wednesday — there’s plenty of reason to believe the Belmont will be his biggest challenge yet. Some of that is the field. Bravazo, who closed fast and just missed in the Preakness, is back for another try under the tutelage of legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Tenfold, a lightly raced colt who was third in the Preakness, is fresh and improving. Hofburg finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby after a rough trip but is a son of Tapit, who sired three of the last four Belmont winners. Wood Memorial Stakes winner Vino Rosso, who finished ninth in the Derby, stands to put in an improved performance after a five-week rest. And Blended Citizen, a newcomer to the Triple Crown, won the Peter Pan Stakes over the Belmont track recently. But many of the questions around Justify come down to whether he’s really as good as American Pharoah, who roared out of his Preakness win and dominated the Belmont in 2015. Baffert hasn’t been shy about comparing the two horses, but he also knows how hard it is to win the Triple Crown, having fallen short with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2001) after winning the first two legs. “You have to prepare yourself for disappointment,” Baffert said last week. “We were quietly confident (with American Pharoah), but you still have to do it. You don’t know how the race is going to play out, but I just think he still looks like he’s strong and he came out of the work really well. A mile and a half is going to be tough, but he’s doing really well.” Having the rail is likely only going to increase Baffert’s anxiety. On one hand, it makes the game plan pretty straightforward. On the other, having the lead will put a lot of pressure on Smith to judge how fast his horse is going early. In 2015, American Pharoah was able to settle in on a relaxed lead, running moderate fractions for the first half-mile (48.83 seconds) and 6 furlongs (1:13.41) that left him plenty in reserve for Belmont’s long stretch run. But if Smith senses the pace is too fast, he’ll have to make a choice: Let Justify run or try to restrain him, which horses with natural speed typically don’t like. We won’t know the answer to that until they’re halfway down the backstretch on Saturday afternoon. But if nothing else, drawing the No. 1 post adds to the drama as Justify tries to make history.