Report: Justify worth record $75 million after Triple Crown

[June 11, 2018]    It was an awfully profitable day for the owners of Justify, the 13th horse in history to capture the Triple Crown.

Jockey Mike Smith celebrates aboard Justify after winning the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, U.S., June 9, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

After he banked a $15 million purse for winning the Belmont Stakes, Justify's breeding rights were sold by the horse's owners to Coolmore for $60 million, according to an ESPN report.

Elliott Walden of WinStar Farm, one of the primary owners along with China Horse Club & SF Racing, declined to comment on the deal to ESPN.

The combined value of $75 million tops Fusaichi Pegasus, who won five of seven starts and was sold for $70 million to Coolmore in 2000. Adjusting for inflation, that figure would be $104 million today.

Justify was purchased as a yearling for $500,000 and debuted less than four months ago on Feb. 18, going on to win all five races he started.

Per ESPN, Coolmore will breed Justify in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, which could mean more than 250 times in his first year.

A division of Coolmore also bought the rights to American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown in 2015, snapping a 37-year drought. None of American Pharoah's first crop of horses has yet to race.

--Field Level Media

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