Winning the Triple Crown is one of the hardest achievements in all of American sports. It’s earned by racehorses who win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes all in the same year.
Only 13 horses have accomplished such a feat in 150 years of racing. There won’t be a 14th name added to that list this year, as Sovereignty won the Kentucky Derby and Journalism took home the Preakness.
That means Justify will continue his seven-year run as the most recent Triple Crown winner. Jockeyed by Mike Smith and trained by Bob Baffert, Justify beat Gronkowski to win the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown in 2018.
Horse Racing: Belmont Stakes: Mike Smith in action aboard Justify (1), leading during race at Belmont Park. Elmont, NY 6/9/2018 CREDIT: Simon Bruty (Photo by Simon Bruty /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X161972 TK1 )
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Justify began his racing career on Feb. 18, a scant 77 days before the Derby. He won his first three races by a combined 19 lengths, making Baffert a believer.
The big chestnut colt with the appetite to match burst onto the national scene with a 2½-length victory on a sloppy track in the Derby. Two weeks later, he survived a challenge in the fog-shrouded Preakness, winning by a half-length, again in the slop to set up a Triple Crown try.
On a cloudy 80-degree day at Belmont Park, Justify proved a cool customer.
He didn’t flinch when greeted by 90,327 roaring fans as he walked onto the track. He stood so quietly in the starting gate that Smith wondered if he’d respond when it sprang open.
Did he ever?
Justify led all the way in achieving one of the sports world’s toughest feats 45 years to the day that Secretariat won the Belmont by a record 31 lengths. Baffert called Justify one of the all-time greats.
For the 2025 Belmont Stakes, Baffert trained a horse named Rodriguez. Rodriguez is 6-to-1 odds to win the race. Journalism, winner of the Preakness, is an 8-5 favorite, while Sovereignty, winner of the Derby, has 2-1 odds to win.
Sovereignty, with jockey Junior Alvarado aboard, holds off Journalism, with jockey Umberto Rispoli aboard, to win the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Both will race in the 157th Running of the Belmont Stakes, but neither can win the lauded Triple Crown. (Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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