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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Triple Crown winner Justify, 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and jockey Joel Rosario have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

They were elected this week in the contemporary category.

Jockey Abe Hawkins, Aristides, winner of the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, and Lecomte were selected by the pre-1900 Historic Review Committee. The late Harry F. Guggenheim, the late Clement L. Hirsch and the late turf writer Joe Hirsch were selected by the Pillars of the Turf Committee.

The enshrinement ceremony will be Aug. 2 in Saratoga Springs.

Rosario, 39, has won more than 3,600 races in his career, which began in 2003. He won the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Orb and the Belmont Stakes in 2014 with Tonalist and in 2019 with Sir Winston. The jockey from the Dominican Republic also has won 15 Breeders’ Cup races.

Gun Runner competed from 2015 to 2018, with 12 wins in 19 starts and earnings of more than $15 million, second-most all time among North American-based horses. He was trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

Justify swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont to become racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner. He was named Horse of the Year in 2018. He was trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

Hawkins was the first Black jockey to gain national prominence, rising from being enslaved on a plantation in Louisiana to winning 25 documented races from 1864 to 1866 and countless other undocumented events during his career. After the Civil War, Hawkins moved north and achieved success riding at Saratoga and Jerome Park, which first hosted the Belmont Stakes.

Aristides won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in the Belmont Stakes in 1875, when he was considered the 3-year-old male horse of that year. He has a race named for him at Churchill Downs, where a life-sized bronze statue of him stands.

Lecomte had 11 wins in 17 career starts.

Guggenheim was a leading figure in the fields of publishing, mining, government service, aeronautics and philanthropy. He won 540 races as an owner and bred the winners of 1,230 races. Among his top horses were 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star and Hall of Famer Ack Ack.

Hirsch was the founder of Kal Kan Foods for pets and Stagg Foods, a major producer of canned chili. He was a co-founder and president of the Oak Tree Racing Association, which hosted a fall meet at Santa Anita in California.

Joe Hirsch, who was no relation to Clement L. Hirsch, covered the sport for the Daily Racing Form from 1954 to 2003. He was highly influential and played a role in the creation of the Arlington Million in 1981.

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Devils’ Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

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Devils' Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

NEWARK, N.J. — Simon Nemec hasn’t had an ideal start to his NHL career. But in Game 3 of the New Jersey Devils‘ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he finally had his career highlight.

The 21-year-old defenseman scored an unassisted goal at 2:36 of double overtime on Friday night to give the Devils a 3-2 win and new life, cutting the Hurricanes’ series lead to 2-1.

In the process, Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had the most impactful moment of his pro career with his first playoff goal.

“I was so happy,” he said. “Amazing feeling. It’s been a tough season for me, and that’s a really big win for us.”

A native of Slovakia, Nemec spent his first season after the draft in the American Hockey League. He split time between the AHL and the Devils in Year 2, thrust into action because of injuries to the New Jersey defense. He split time between the NHL and the minors again this season. Nemec has played 87 games in the NHL, with five goals and 18 assists while skating to a minus-17.

He was a frequent healthy scratch in New Jersey, including Game 1 on Sunday, and his lackluster play caused many to wonder if Nemec would live up to his lofty draft position. Nemec was last on the Devils in goals above replacement at minus-8.7, according to Evolving Hockey.

Thanks to injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, Nemec was called upon in Game 2 against Carolina and was back in the lineup for Game 3, in which the Devils lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to injury after just 10 shifts. That injury, plus the multiple overtimes, meant massive increases in ice time for veterans such as Brian Dumoulin (36:29) and Brett Pesce (32:25), as well as more responsibility for Nemec.

“You just need guys to step up at the right times,” Dumoulin said. “He knew he was going to be going out there, we’re going to be relying on him, and we needed him. You could see that he took that moment. He wasn’t scared of it, and he took the reins of it.”

Nemec said the overtime goal, which beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen (34 saves), was the kind of boost he needs in his career.

“Yeah, it helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like my confidence is back the last couple games. I’m just trying to play my game and do this stuff. I have to play offense a little bit, too, so my confidence is higher, and I just feel good about myself.”

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that he dreamed about defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 4 and played 27:09, being the Game 3 hero.

“But if I was really thinking, I would have said, ‘Wouldn’t this be something if the young guy who just stepped up so big for us here, if he ended the game?'” Keefe said.

The message the coach gave his team in the overtime intermissions was one of aggressiveness. That apparently wasn’t lost on Nemec.

“We’ve got to go win this hockey game. We don’t want to sit back, we don’t want this game to go on forever,” Keefe said. “Credit Nemo with doing that. To have the mindset to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy. He was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”

Game 4 of the series will be Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.

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Follow live: Kings look to take 3-0 series lead vs. Oilers

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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