Justify’s Triple Crown Bid Endangered by This Trio of Horses

The favorite has at least three serious rivals to watch for at this Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

Justify with Humberto Gomez aboard gallops in preparation for the 150th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 07, 2018 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images)
Justify with Humberto Gomez aboard gallops in preparation for the 150th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 07, 2018 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images)
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In the last 16 years, the only race-day favorite to win the Belmont Stakes was American Pharoah.

While recent history’s 1-out-of-16 chance for victory certainly ain’t good, backers of this year’s favorite, Justify, should be comforted that, like Justify, American Pharoah had also won the Triple Crown’s first two legs.

After his victories at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, Justify currently enjoys 4-5 odds, so to win any real money betting on him, you’ll have to wager quite a bit.

If you’d rather place a wager on a contender with longer odds, there are three horses—Bravazo, Hofburg, and Tenfold—to consider.

At 8-1, Bravazo wasn’t great at Churchill Downs but impressed in Maryland and finished second in the Preakness. The offspring of two distance horses, Bravazo is well-suited to the Belmont Stakes’ 1.5-mile distance.

Hofburg, the second-favorite behind Justify at 9-2, comes from a pedigree of speed and stamina, a combination that bodes well for his finish at the Test of Champions.

The longest shot of this trio at 12-1, Tenfold is the foal of a mare that birthed three of the past four Stakes winners (American Pharoah is the exception). Notably ,Tenfold’s speed splits have increased in all of his races.

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