Ten years ago this Friday, 90,000 people rose to their feet and exhaled in catharsis. Even in the shadows of a city that knows how to celebrate big moments, the roar that rose from Long Island on June 6, 2015, rivaled anything a sports fan could conjure. As American Pharoah came around the final turn and bore down on the Belmont Stakes finish line, disbelief gave way to stupor. And when 37 years of Triple Crown futility finally and officially evaporated, the cheers for Pharoah somehow grew louder, the stupor turning into awe for the colt’s incredible triumph.
When, just three years later, Justify matched American Pharoah’s efforts to win his own Triple Crown, it felt like horse racing was entering a golden age.
Instead, not only has the Triple Crown entered yet another dry spell, but no horse has won even two legs of the famed horse-racing gauntlet. Even more, of the 109 horses who have entered the Kentucky Derby since 2019, only two — War of Will in 2019 and Mystik Dan, last year’s Derby winner — went on to race in both the Preakness and the Belmont.
Which leads us to the present day, and a horse named Journalism.
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What would a 2025 Belmont Stakes win mean for Journalism’s legacy?
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