A halter worn by Triple Crown Winner Justify and autographed by trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith is being auctioned for the benefit of Remember Me Rescue — a thoroughbred aftercare alliance organization and a 501(c)3 charity. Since it was founded in 2008, Remember Me Rescue has successfully retrained and re-homed more than 750 off-the-track-thoroughbreds into new homes and careers.

This auction is particularly poignant as Justify’s owners announced last week that the stallion will be retired from racing after swelling in his ankle did not respond quickly enough for treatment to allow for a fall campaign as planned.

“The timing is bad for another start in 2018, and therefore, we have to retire him,” said WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden. “Like American Pharoah, we can’t take the risk of running Justify as a four-year-old. We all wanted him to finish his career in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but it was not meant to be. As has been reported, there is a possible sale to Coolmore in place, but that won’t be finalized until a later date. We are excited to share him with our fans starting the middle of August after he gets acclimated.” — The Paulick Report

Justify earned all six of his career starts earning 3,798,000. He will return to WinStar Farm early next month.

As for the halter? Bidding currently stands at $2,550.00. Let’s see how much Justify can earn for his fellow OTTBs.