Belmont Stakes 2018: Did Justify get sold?

Justify will wear new colors in the Belmont. Generally that indicates a change in ownership.

Justify may well become the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown, and the second in the past three years on June 9. In the first two races in the Triple Crown he ran under the mostly white silks of WinStar farms. However when he goes to post in the Belmont it will be under radically different colors.

You see, Justify actually has two co-owners: WinStar and China Horse Club. The WinStar silks, that he used in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness are fairly simple: white with a minimal logo. The China Horse Club silks are not. These reflect the Chinese flag, and are a very bright red with yellow stars, pretty much the polar opposite.

The silk rotation is actually something that the two partners worked out well in advance. Justify is not the only horse they own together, just the most prominent.

The Vice President of China Horse Club, Eden Harrington, spoke to Thoroughbred Daily News last week about the silks situation:

"The China Horse Club and WinStar Farm share the use of colors on the horses we race in partnership. Every fourth start, a horse will race in China Horse Club silks. The sharing of silks ensures both the WinStar brand and China Horse Club brand are promoted."

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The Kentucky Derby was actually Justify’s fourth start, but he wore the China Horse Club silks in his second, so this is four races from there. Hopefully Justify can pull it out. Because if he doesn’t I promise you there will be people blaming his loss on the change in silks. Racing people are a superstitious bunch.

Justify being sold during the Triple Crown wouldn’t be totally unprecedented, but I don’t think any of the horses trying to sweep the series have been. In nothing else, Justify will surely be worth a whole lot more money on Sunday if he wins the Triple Crown, but not that much less if he loses it.