Justify (horse)

Justify (born on March 28, 2015) is a US Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who is known for being the thirteenth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also was the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year-old. Justify first attracted attention with a win in his debut race on February 18, 2018. He went on to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes to become the 13th Triple Crown winner. He was retired, undefeated, several weeks after the Belmont and became the only American Triple Crown winner in history who was never beaten in his entire career on the track. (In 2024 he was technically, retroactively, disqualified from his 2018 Santa Anita Derby run.) Justify's ancestors include Secretariat via A.P. Indy, Count Fleet via Mr. Prospector 2nd dam, War Admiral via A.P. Indy Dam Weekend Surprise, Omaha via Nijinsky, and Gallant Fox, all of whom also won the American Triple Crown. On September 11, 2019, it was revealed via The New York Times that Justify tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance that can be performance enhancing, in excess of what is normally found in tainted feed. The positive came just a few days after his win in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby. In December 2023, a court judge ordered that stewards issue a new ruling that would effectively disqualify Justify from that race. In March 2024, Justify was disqualified by California racing officials from the Santa Anita Derby, retroactively revoking his undefeated Triple Crown claim and overall career undefeated streak and changing his overall record from 6 wins in 6 starts to 5 wins in 6 starts.