Bob Baffert on Justify’s Retirement, Injury and Impending Pay Day

For all the thrills and memories Triple Crown-winning Justify provided the world of horse racing, his Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, his Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and his owners, the retirement of the three-year old legend isn't made any easier by that success.

Actually, maybe that's what makes this all so difficult. From the grandstands to the barns to the winner's circle, there isn't one person who didn't want to see Justify run again beyond the Belmont Stakes. Even with a reported $75 million on the table from Coolmore to stud Justify, Bafftert says the money was never a motivating factor in retiring only the second horse ever to win a Triple Crown undefeated.

In his interview with us on Big Board Sports, Baffert says there was a plan in place to run Justify a couple of times before the Breeders' Cup Classic. Retirement, as plush as it will be for the second horse in history to win the Kentucky Derby without racing as a two-year old, was never a thought prior to 2019.

Check out the full interview below with details on the decision to retire Justify, his injury and whether or not there was a plan to run him in Saratoga: