John F. Abate is a Monmouth University MBA alumnus who has more than 30 years of experience in programming and business management. As the sole owner of the New Jersey-based Marketforce, John F. Abate creates and distributes guides that include best-practice strategies relating to horse racing.
In July, it was announced that the most successful racehorse in 2018, Justify, is retiring due to an ankle filling. Justify became just the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown the month prior, when he led the Belmont Stakes wire-to-wire and won with a time of 2:28.18. He was also only the second horse to win the coveted trophy in four decades. The three-year-old chestnut colt only started racing this past year and was the first horse in more than 130 years to win the Kentucky Derby without having prior racing experience as a juvenile.
Justify also retires as the only Triple Crown winner to have never lost in his racing career, although his was much shorter than the 12 others. He competed in only 6 races. American Pharoah, who won 9 of 11 races, completed the second-fewest races of all Triple Crown winners. Justify's owners had planned on the last race of his career being in the Breeders' Cup Classic, but concluded it wasn't worth the risk. He amassed earnings of nearly $3.8 million in his lone racing season and his breeding rights were recently estimated to be worth $75 million.
