Jason Decrow / AP

Rags to Riches, ridden by John R. Velazquez, wins the 139th Belmont Stakes. Curlin, ridden by Robby Albarado, finished second.

Rags to Riches almost lost her chance at the start, stumbling out of the No. 7 post as the gates opened. But Velazquez and the filly quickly regained their cool and caught up to the pack. Meanwhile, long-shots C P West and Slew’s Tizzy were setting a slow pace. By the time the field hit the far turn, Rags to Riches and Curlin was getting ready to give it all they had. The filly got the early jump and never gave in.

“Curlin is a competitor, he’s got a lot of fight in him,” Asmussen said. “To the last jump, I thought he’d win and I thought he’d come back.”

Not only Rags to Riches the undisputed queen of racing, she’s also a head above the boys. Pletcher said the filly may try to beat the boys this summer, in either the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park or the Travers at Saratoga. He also mentioned two filly races as possibilities, the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama.

Velazquez got to ride Rags to Riches because her regular rider, Garrett Gomez, had committed to Hard Spun and was unable to change.

While there was no Triple Crown on the line for the third year in a row, the races produced some sensational performances. Street Sense made a daring run up the rail to win the Derby, then was edged at the wire by Curlin in the Preakness. Rags to Riches finished off the series with a championship performance in the “Test of the Champion.”

Rags to Riches earned $600,000 to boost her bankroll to $1,292,528 for owners Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who bought the filly for $1.9 million at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

After finishing fourth in her only race as a 2-year-old, Rags to Riches is unbeaten in five starts this year, the first four with Garrett Gomez, who was unable to ride the filly in the Belmont because he had committed to Hard Spun.

Perhaps her three-quarter length win in the Las Virgenes was her most impressive as she raced five-wide around the first turn and four-wide around the second turn but still managed to win. The race was similar to the way she ran in the Belmont.

Then it was on to 5½-length win in the Santa Anita Oaks and a 4¼-length win in the Kentucky Oaks.

And now, a Belmont champion.

“It was really giving me goose bumps thinking about the crowd, getting so pumped up about the filly running against the colts,” Velazquez said. “In the race, people were yelling and screaming. It was a great thing to see the crowd enjoying the races. Afterwards, it was even better.”

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California board suspends O'Neill

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Mike Stewart / AP

Chasing the Crown

  Slideshow: I'll Have Another one win away from becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Headlines

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