Justify was favored at the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, and showed why with a fairly dominant performance. Today at a soupy Pimlico, he faced a tougher challenge but still held on to set up a run for the Triple Crown at the Belmont in three weeks.
It was tough to tell whether the air or the track was wetter; the fog made for a difficult race call and a tough-to-follow broadcast on NBC, though it was certainly not their fault.
For most of the race, Justify and Good Magic were side-by-side, which wasn’t a surprise. But it was surprising when Justify hit the stretch, appeared ready to run away with it, and then found himself in a tight finish with three other horses:
That’s a hell of a finish! But in the end, Justify, uh, justified his very short odds, and it sets up one of the more fun, rare occurrences in American sports: a Triple Crown chance. American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, but that was to end a 37-year drought; Justify doing it this year would be somewhat unexpected given that, but hey, it’s a lot of fun.
Maybe we can even get a dry track next time!
