Witnessing History: A Triple Crown Moment
I still can’t believe that I witnessed history and saw Justify win the Triple Crown!
On June 9th, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes horse races, Justify, ran in the Belmont Stakes. Winning all three races is something only 12 other horses have accomplished. Justify was lucky number 13.
Daniel and I have a love of horse racing. My dream since I was little was to go to the Kentucky Derby, as my mom and I watched it every year at home in Michigan. That dream came true for me in 2014, when Daniel surprised me with tickets to the Derby and to the Oaks. Little did I know, that wasn’t the only surprise. He proposed on May 4th, 2014 at Churchill Downs. Standing in front of the Barbaro statue, he got on one knee and I said yes! California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby that day.
Since, it has become a tradition for us to head to Louisville the first weekend of May. This year, we spent a sunny Friday under the Twin Spires for Oaks Day once again, then witnessed the most rainfall in the history of the Derby (144 years) on Derby Day. Miserable and wet? Yes. Worth it? Also yes. Justify ran away with the title of Derby winner and some seriously muddy legs. It was a wonderful weekend of mint juleps, big hats, fascinators, and $2 bets.
We watched on t.v. as this huge and camera-loving horse created the same magic at the Preakness Stakes. He came through the insane fog that day and kept the hope of a Triple Crown alive. The middle jewel was captured. That very night, Daniel and I bought tickets to Belmont Park.
Three weeks later, Daniel and I boarded a plane to New York thinking maybe, just maybe, we would see history come alive. We spent Friday in NYC taking in the sights and mastering the subway. We have both been a few times before, but not in awhile. It was such a fun day drinking wine in Battery Park as we listened to the water and watched the Statue of Liberty stand tall in the setting sun. We shopped, we ate, we walked. After making the rounds of touristy sights in Manhattan, we ended the day with amazing sushi with a view to match. Eating on a rooftop overlooking the NYC skyline was incredible.
Saturday morning rolled around and we anxiously made our way to the Long Island Railroad. A train ride later, we arrived at Belmont Park. This was so interesting to me because of how it varied from Churchill Downs, the historic and beautiful place I love. Belmont is huge, first of all. The “infield” is not open to people- instead of a place to mingle with food trucks and Vineyard Vines tents like at Churchill, the middle of the track looks like a golf course complete with ponds and fountains. It is so pretty! Their version of an “infield” is behind the grandstand. We checked it out, as I was dying to see the back of the building after watching it on t.v. for years. It is entirely brick and ivy-covered. It is a gorgeous park, filled with benches, shady spots to sit, and the paddock. We ventured out to the food truck area and i may have eaten an entire pizza myself, oops. It was interesting to get to compare the Belmont and Churchill parks!
Our seats were lovely; the wind was perfect that day and the sun was shining. While we generally choose grandstand seats close to the starting gate at Churchill (my personal love of seeing the horses load in), our seats at Belmont were more at the center of the middle tier (the grandstand is three stories high). We guessed a bit when we ordered our tickets on what would be a good spot. While we didn’t have a best view of the starting gate or finish pole, we did get to see Justify barrel around the last turn and completely dominate as he pulled ahead and made his way to the finish line. We both got incredible videos of the race so I was thrilled with our view and our seats.
The horses were brought out to the track to warm up and Justify had such a special air about him- Mike Smith did, too. You could tell that they both felt confident.
When the race began, I found myself muttering nervously aloud. Justify immediately pulled ahead and I was scared that he was in the lead entirely too soon. But, as the race kept going and the horses kept running, he stayed there. When the group came around the last turn, I started crying because I knew he was going to do it. I swear that this horse knew that 90,000 people were cheering him on and put on a little show once he was in front of the crowd. He not only kept his lead but pulled ahead even more. It was indescribable to watch him run right in front of us and see him gracefully make his way to the finish line among screams and cheers. It took me awhile to stop crying and shaking. It was the neatest thing to be a part of a crowd all wishing for the same dream to come true. I love Mike Smith and was so happy for him, as I think he is a very deserving jockey. You can tell he loves this horse. He was proud to parade around the track as all of us cheered and clapped. Quickly after the race, Justify was hosed off and covered in a Triple Crown blanket. It was ready for him.
Witnessing something so rare and uncommon was amazing. It felt like life came full circle for Daniel and I with how much we have come to love racing and the gorgeous athletes that horses are. There were two more races in the day left after the Belmont, so we stayed and soaked up the feelings before boarding the train and leaving.
We will forever cherish our day at Belmont Park, watching Justify do something only the most special of horses can do. And yes, I kept my winning ticket.
