ATHENS, Ga. — "And down the stretch they come."
That's typically heard on the first Saturday in May as 3-year-old thoroughbreds make the final turn in the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown at Louisville's Churchill Downs.
It's the most important part of the biggest race in the sport every year, and routinely starts with that six-word phrase, famously uttered by Larry Collmus, the play-by-play television announcer for the Triple Crown.
Missouri football now looks ahead at its own stretch run of the 2021 season. There are three games left, with 75% of this year's regular season gone.