On Saturday (9 June 2018), Justify, trained by Bob Baffert, will be the latest horse to attempt to achieve the Triple Crown. This prestigious honor is only held by 12 horses since 1919. Winning all three races to achieve the Triple Crown has technically been possible since 1875 when the Kentucky Derby was started. American Pharaoh, also trained by Bob Baffert, won the Triple Crown in 2015 becoming the first to do so since Affirmed in 1978.

The Triple Crown Series of races comprises the Kentucky Derby (1 ¼ miles) run on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 miles) run on the third Saturday in May and the longest race, the Belmont Stakes (1 ½ miles)  traditionally run on the first Saturday in June. The honor of the Triple Crown is a tremendous achievement. Horses prove they are the best by winning races of different lengths. Some horses perform better running short distances and others excel at enduring in longer races. The Triple Crown affords a horse the opportunity to prove themselves in three different settings. Many horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and then lost the Belmont Stakes due to the length of the race and a lack of endurance. Anyone who watched the Preakness Stakes, saw that Justify won the shorter race by a very narrow margin. He will need stamina to keep the other horses behind him in the Belmont.

Justify won the Kentucky Derby (1 ¼ miles) with a time of 2:04.20 by 2 ½ lengths. He won the Preakness Stakes (1 3/16 miles) with a time of 1:55.93 by only half a length. Both the Derby and the Preakness were very wet and muddy track conditions. Justify seemed to have no problem with the mud. However, after the Derby, Justify did pick up a minor lameness issue in his left hind leg. At first, it was mistaken as a case of scratches but later it was diagnosed as a heel bruise. Between the Derby and Preakness Justify was shod with a three-quarter horseshoe. The bruised area was left uncovered by shoe so that it would not take pressure and be allowed to heal.

Race horses require a great deal of care, including hoof care, to ensure that they may perform at their maximum potential. Race horses typically wear aluminum shoes, called plates, because they are lighter weight for the horse to carry at speed down the track. In the United States, most race horses wear aluminum plates with toe grabs, similar to an athlete’s cleats, to give traction on dirt tracks. In Europe, horses are run on turf tracks and they do not wear traction devices on their shoes.

During training, race horses wear a steel horseshoe called a training plate. It is estimated that steel absorbs more shock than aluminum. Before races, horses are switched to aluminum shoes. This is similar to baseball players practicing with a weighted bat or swinging many bats before using a normal bat in a game. Many race horses wear a bonded rim pad between the shoes and feet to absorb shock when they are racing. This rim pad between shoe and foot provides a deeper “cup” or concave shape to the bottom of the foot for traction. Race horses are shod more frequently (about every 3 to 4 weeks) to keep the horses in balance and because aluminum wears out so quickly. Size 3 ½ nails are typically used to apply the shoes.

Race horses are some of the greatest athletes alive. They deserve good care to be able to perform at their best. This is an exciting time. On Saturday, we will watch to see if Justify can make history and become the 13^th horse to achieve the Triple Crown!

Triple Crown Winners

1919 – Sir Barton

1930 – Gallant Fox

1935 – Omaha

1937 – War Admiral

1941 – Whirlaway

1943 – Count Fleet

1946 – Assault

1948 – Citation

1973 – Secretariat

1977 – Seattle Slew

1978 – Affirmed

2015 – American Pharaoh