Horse racing has been around since the domestication of horses. Here in America, there are three major races that can be seen nationwide. The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes. On May 5, 2018, the thoroughbred, Justify, took home the Crown of Roses. Justify is a 3-year-old colt who began his career this last February without previous experience as a 2-year-old.

In horse racing, there are many terms, such as furlong, trifecta, and jockey. One term that I recently learned about is The Curse of Apollo. In 1882, Apollo won The Kentucky Derby as a 3-year-old, and only horse that started at 2-year-olds have won. 136 years later, Justify was able to break the curse. Not only has Justify won The Kentucky Derby, but he took home the Crown of Black Eye Susans on May 19. To this day, only 24 horses have won both The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes (including Justify). A total of 12 horses have ever won The Triple Crown.

The only jewel left to complete the crown for 2018 is The Belmont Stakes. This is the longest race of The Triple Crown at one and a half miles long. On the day of The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes the weather was not ideal. With both tracks covered in puddles and the dirt turned to mud, however, Justify did not seem to mind. Even with the not so ideal conditions at the time of the races Justify pulled through and came out victorious.

On June 9, 2018, The Belmont Stakes will take place in Elmont, New York. Justify will have the opportunity to prove himself and become the 13th Triple Crown winner. The weather conditions are yet to be determined but many believe they will have a large impact on the results. With The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes being rainy days it allowed Justify to show off his versatility but some of the other horses did not get to show how they run on a dry track.

The conditions at The Belmont Stakes will play a large role in who is the winner but Justify's trainer and jockey are very confident in his abilities. Legendary trainer, Bob Baffert, had also trained previous Triple Crown Winner, American Pharaoh, and compares the two. “What they have in common is they’re both superior horses, so there is wiggle room," according to the New York Post.

On June 9, 2018, tune in to see if Justify can rise to the challenge and become the winner of the 144th Kentucky Derby and the 13th Triple Crown winner.