It is very rare to see a Triple Crown Champion nowadays thanks to the high competition making it very hard to win all three races over the course of five weeks. That is why when we get a Triple Crown winner like Justify we all love to see him compete in other races like the Breeders’ Cup or maybe the Pegasus World Cup.
However, even though Justify had a bright future and was only at the beginning of his career when he won all three Triple Crown races, his professional horse racing career was short-lived due to an ankle injury.
Justify fell in the hands of legendary horse trainer Bob Baffert which was one of the reasons behind his success in the Triple Crown races. However, soon after winning the Belmont Stakes and claiming the Triple Crown achievement, Baffert said that Justify’s racing career is in question due to a serious ankle injury.
The horse owners both on his breeding and racing rights booked him a spot to compete in the Breeders’ Cup, that last year happened in Del Mar. You can read more about the race track where the competition was held here: https://www.twinspires.com/race-tracks/del-mar
Still, unfortunately, Justify wasn’t recovering quickly enough and Baffert stated that it is his top priority to make sure that the horse stays healthy and not race for the sake of the paycheck.
The injury made Justify retire as an undefeated champion with only six races behind its name and entered an exclusive club of Triple Crown winners that retired as undefeated champions.
So, what’s next after Justify’s retirement?
Retiring from professional racing doesn’t mean that Justify’s involvement in the sport is gone.
In fact, he is bringing now a lot more money to the owners than when he was racing professionally.
After Justify had retired from horse racing, the owners of the horse will still make a lot of money out of his stud fees. Since he is an undefeated champion and a Triple Crown winner, his stud fees should be sky-high.
The next year after Justify’s retirement his stud fees started at $150,000, which gives him a more than $60 million value based on stud fees alone. If he books 150 mares per breeding season, which his owners at WinStar say is reasonable, and maintains his fee, in four years he would reach close to $90 million in revenue.
Even though experts said that his stud fees would be around $75,000 to $100,000, Justify’s stud fees were actually $150,000 and were recently reduced to $125,000, making the owners a lot of money.
Justify is a horse with incredible potential and in some ways, it reminds me of the legendary Secretariat. The Secretariat was an imposing equine specimen with incredible masculinity, very similar to Justify.
However, it is important to mention that there are few guarantees in racing and even fewer in breeding. With that said, all horsemen can agree that success on the track does not guarantee success as a stallion.
Breeding Process and Stud Fees
One thing is for sure, success on the racing track, especially winning the Kentucky Derby will guarantee a lot of money in the breeding process through the horse’s stud fees.
So, even though Justify has retired from professional horse racing, he is very much present in the horse racing world, and in a few years maybe we will see a horse with Justify genes climbing back to the throne and winning the Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown winner Justify, who had a $150,000 stud fee was trimmed to $125,000 and continues to have an interest. The imposing chestnut has seen his foals born this year, and they are selling for up to $3.2 million.
Like it or not, horse racing is all about making money, which is why the career of Justify is not over even after his retirement. We just hope to see another champion born that will get a chance to win the Triple Crown series.
