Justify A Heavy Favorite Again
The NBA playoffs are at a critical juncture. The Stanley Cup playoffs could be over soon. The screaming about the Philadelphia Eagles and their aborted White House trip overwhelms nearly all and involves almost no civil discourse at all.
And somewhere in the suburbs of New York City, a horse is being shown to his comfortable stall, keeping his thoughts to himself.
The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will play on Wednesday night in Cleveland. The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights do their thing on Thursday night in Vegas. In Elmont, New York, Justify will munch some hay, have a few workouts and run in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park.
The Triple Crown was not such a rarity in horse racing’s heyday (ok, bad pun). There have been 12 winners of three key races and it happened in 1930, 1935, 1937, 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1948. There was a drought in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and then the ‘70s saw Triple Crown winners in 1973, 1977 and 1978.
After another lengthy dry patch, American Pharoah won in 2015. It seems almost inconceivable that Justify won’t join him. And it hasn’t been an easy or clean road, with muddy conditions at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
The Belmont is the sternest test, at 1 ½ miles. Justify looked a bit tired at the end of the Preakness nearly three weeks ago, but he’s installed as the 4-5 favorite for this endurance test.
Post time Saturday is 6:46 p.m. ET. For horse racing fans, the possibility of a Triple Crown winner also adds allure and teases us with its hint of greatness.
At the end (I promise you), the horse will say nothing controversial, win or lose.
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman
Ariana Grande Brings Awareness To PTSD
iHop Flips Their Name
-
The rookie player shot 8-under 64. At the 150th Open Championship in St. Andrews, Scotland, an up-and-coming golfer made...
-
The Browns will receive a draft pick in exchange. Today, the Cleveland Browns announced that they would be trading...
-
Williams was beaten by Harmony Tan after a lengthy match. Yesterday, tennis star Serena Williams took on Harmony Tan...
-
Cole’s streak lasted until the eighth inning. Last night saw the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay...
-
Mayweather called the induction one of the highlights of his career. Over the weekend, retired professional boxer Floyd Mayweather...
-
Brady will join up with Fox Sports when he retires. Earlier this year, superstar NFL player Tom Brady temporarily...
-
Zalatoris said watching Woods made him feel something akin to imposter syndrome. Last week saw the first few rounds...
-
The three will play in a featured group in the first two rounds. Since recovering from a severe car...
-
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic criticized the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players. Recently, the organizers of this...
-
Owen Woodward has been removed from the college team after tackling a player. This week, the baseball teams of...
-
Coach Steve Nash wants to try integrating Ben Simmons into the lineup in the heat of the season. After...
-
Woods is planning on competing in this week’s tournament. The 2022 Masters Tournament is set to begin tomorrow, April...