One surefire distraction from harsh reality is the sight of a great horse on parade. Strolling majestically in front of fans, free of parimutuel responsibilities, the great horse is allowed to be appreciated in real time, up close and personal.

Santa Anita Park will provide such an experience Saturday, when Justify, the freshly minted Triple Crown winner, ambles over from his studio apartment in the Bob Baffert barn for a turn in the afternoon sun. The San Carlos Stakes also is on the program, but the big red colt is the real draw.

Racing’s most unusual, inspiring reunion will take place at Canterbury Park Saturday evening, when the yin and yang of the riding profession gathers to celebrate the fifth annual Jockeys and Jeans fundraiser.

It was a humbling evening for some highly regarded horses at Churchill Downs Saturday night.

Ax Man, who appeared poised to pick up many of the not-so-insignificant crumbs rejected by Triple Crown winner Justify the second half of this season in the 3-year-old division, started the trend with an empty performance at 1-2 in the Matt Winn.

World Approval, last year’s champion male turf horse, kept the negative roll going with an equally empty effort at even money in the Wise Dan.

Lying in a hospital bed in Iowa, Marlon St. Julien had just finished watching Justify take the Belmont Stakes last Saturday to become the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. He was tired, emotionally drained, and the meds were kicking in. As he began to drift, St. Julien heard the familiar voice of his pal, Mike Smith, and he smiled, at peace with the fact that despite his own situation something very good in racing had just happened. Then this:

At some point in the relatively recent past, it was decided that horses can no longer do what Justify has done, and therefore, what Justify has done is amazing. And yet horses once could do what Justify has done, if not in the literal sense of winning six races in 111 days at the beginning of a career, ending at the apogee of the sport, then in the spirit of Derby and Preakness winner Carry Back running nine races at 3 before hitting a wall in the Belmont, or of Tim Tam, who raced once at 2 and then 12 times at 3 before going wrong in his attempt to win the Triple Crown.

ELMONT, N. Y. – Remember when there was all this handwringing in American racing that the Triple Crown had become too tough to win?

Remember when some very influential people insisted something needed to be done to bring the Triple Crown more into line with the realities of today’s game, which really was just a euphemism to dumb the Triple Crown down, and make it easier to win by doing something silly like putting more time between these races?

Seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? But it really wasn’t that long ago. Just a handful of years, actually.

And so another colorful Triple Crown mystery presents itself, served up fresh on a platter and begging for insight. Will he or won’t he? Is Justify the real deal, a champion to follow in the footsteps of fellow redheads Sir Barton, Omaha, Whirlaway, Secretariat, and Affirmed? Or will he be another chestnut disappointment, close but no tiara, joining sad old reds like Charismatic, Smarty Jones, and California Chrome.

In the 25 years since Julie Krone won the 1993 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair, there have been 74 runnings of the Triple Crown classics, with a 75th coming up Saturday when the Belmont Stakes is run for the 150th time.

Since Justify will try to do on Saturday what only one horse has done before, his attempt to become a Triple Crown winner while still unbeaten boasts an added layer of historical zest.

Seattle Slew did it in 1977, when he made the 109th Belmont Stakes his ninth victory in nine starts. Winning the Triple Crown needs no embellishment, but reaching such heights while cultivating a perfect record always has set Slew apart.

Others, though, have come very close.

It’s understandable if some folks wondered, after Unique Bella won Saturday’s Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita, if last year’s champion female sprinter might have been sending signals that she has some distance limitations. After all, the unheralded La Force, who after 19 starts going into the Beholder Mile was still eligible to a second-level allowance race, slashed 4 1/4 lengths off the advantage Unique Bella had at the top of the stretch to finish second, losing by a diminishing 2 1/4 lengths.