A Filly wins the Belmont Stakes (Wizbang)

Her name is Rags to Riches and today she made history. Twenty two fillies have raced in the Belmont Stakes, the longest of the Triple Crown races at a mile and a half, but only two have ever won. The most recent was in 1905.

Lots a hype surrounded Rags to Riches before the race, so it felt like a big let down when she stumbled out of the gate. Then she was four wide at the first turn and, for most of the race, she remained at fifth place. At that last turn, however, she turned on the speed, soared past the other horses, ran neck and neck with Curlin in the home stretch, and nosed him out for the win. What an incredible race. Way to go, girl!

Update: Thanks to commenter Steve Crickmore who pointed me to the video of the race on ESPN. It's on the right side of the screen. This race is a must see, folks. By the way, as the announcer says at the end of the video, the filly who won back in 1905 did so when the race was just a mile and a quarter, making Rags to Riches' win that much more historic.

Update II: The video of the race has been posted on YouTube. This version has much better sound:

Comments (13)

You know, I've been thinkin... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by D.Dore | June 9, 2007 7:31 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

D.Dore:

You know, I've been thinking that there's been an awful lot of unequality among the animals that we subjugate for entertainment purposes. Rag's win just goes to show it! I think it's high time we institute affirmative action to make sure that endeavors such as the Belmont can't discriminate unfairly against the down trodden equestrian females!

Posted on June 9, 2007 19:31

Yes, I'm dismayed that fill... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by George | June 9, 2007 7:36 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

George:

Yes, I'm dismayed that fillies are so underrepresented and undersupported as you pointed out. I've had enough with this misogynistic horse race world. We need a Title 9 for the race track!

[tic]

Posted on June 9, 2007 19:36

You can watch the <a href="... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Steve Crickmore | June 9, 2007 8:41 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Steve Crickmore:

You can watch the video of the race on the right. The Mahablog also has a good commentary on the breeding Of Curlin and Rags to Riches and the video and background of the fastest Belmont ever by Secretariat in 1973.

Posted on June 9, 2007 20:41

One of the better races I'v... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by THIRDWAVEDAVE | June 9, 2007 8:58 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

THIRDWAVEDAVE:

One of the better races I've seen.

Posted on June 9, 2007 20:58

Both the Preakness and the ... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by vnjagvet | June 9, 2007 9:04 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

vnjagvet:

Both the Preakness and the Belmont were thrillers this year.

This one had nearly a quater mile stretch run nose to nose with a photo finish.

Posted on June 9, 2007 21:04

WOW.What a great r... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by jdavenport | June 9, 2007 10:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

jdavenport:

WOW.

What a great race.

Posted on June 9, 2007 22:07

Thanks for the link, steve.... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by bryanD | June 9, 2007 10:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

bryanD:

Thanks for the link, steve. It was a great race.

Wasn't the same on radio. On radio (FOX and ABC) the filly was called a "girl". Again and again.

They said "filly" once, and from then on, the horse was a "girl".

Like the commercial where an opthamologist is called an "eye doctor".

IRS-NEA plot. (Proof? Compare McGuffey's to "Dick and Jane", or the Constitution to the PATRIOT Act. OY!)

Posted on June 9, 2007 22:22

Don't forget that the filly... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Bob | June 10, 2007 8:06 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Bob:

Don't forget that the filly carried 5 less pounds around that mile and a half.

Posted on June 10, 2007 08:06

Bob, I bet many, if not eve... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by Kim Priestap | June 10, 2007 9:35 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Kim Priestap:

Bob, I bet many, if not every horse, in yesterday's race had different weights that they were carrying. Sometimes it's to make up for a jockey weighing less than a required weight. It's done to make the playing field as even as possible. Here's more information:

SCALE OF WEIGHTS: Fixed weights to be carried by horses in a race according to age, distance, sex, and time of year.

So the fact that the filly carried five fewer pounds is not a big deal.

Posted on June 10, 2007 09:35

The five pounds I don't thi... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by nehemiah | June 10, 2007 10:40 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

nehemiah:

The five pounds I don't think was what made the race (as Rags to Riches also stumbled a bit at the start and went wide most of the way on the turns -- both disadvantages), but in Triple Crown races, all males carry the same weight (126 pounds). All fillies would be allowed to carry 121 pounds. It is only when they get to the "handicap" division (usually for older horses), that they get assigned different weights according to ability as well as sex. Thus, yesterday all horses were carrying 126 pounds except for Rags to Riches, who carried 121.

By the way, she did a great job and beat a very good horse in Curlin. She also won the Kentucky Oaks (a major filly race), and has a good chance to be considered the champion three year-old of the year.

Posted on June 10, 2007 10:40

Nehemiah,You make ... (Below threshold)

11. Posted by Kim Priestap | June 10, 2007 11:14 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Nehemiah,

You make very good points. Rags to Riches won in spite of a stumble (most horses wouldn't recover as well as she did) and for being on the outside, which means she actually ran a slightly longer race than Curlin did since he was more to the inside.

And thanks for the reminder on the Triple Crown race weights. I forgot about that.

Posted on June 10, 2007 11:14

Thanks...great race!... (Below threshold)

12. Posted by Paul | June 10, 2007 12:02 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Paul:

Thanks...great race!

Posted on June 10, 2007 12:02

I was far more entertained ... (Below threshold)

13. Posted by Jason | June 10, 2007 12:44 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Jason:

I was far more entertained by hearing the announcer yell
"I'm a wild and crazy guy" a couple times.