Union Rags wins Belmont Stakes

The 144th running of the Belmont Stakes lost some luster with the stunning scratch of Triple Crown-hopeful I’ll Have Another, but the roar of Saturday’s crowd of 85,811 was nonetheless deafening as pacesetter Paynter turned for home leading a field of 11.

But much like I’ll Have Another ran down Bodemeister in the closing stages of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Union Rags stuck a neck in front of Paynter just before the wire to earn his place in thoroughbred racing history.

“The main concern with him was I wanted to break well and get a good position,” winning jockey John Velasquez said of Union Rags, who five weeks after a troubled seventh-place finish in the Derby became the ninth Belmont winner in 10 years that skipped the second leg of the Triple Crown. “I just wanted him to get in a good rhythm,” he added.

Paynter, with Mike Smith aboard, bolted out of the gate and led under a moderate pace, with Unstoppable U and Optimizer on his heels. Union Rags ran along the inside in the middle of the pack through a mile and then made a move with a sixteenth to go, squeezing through an opening on the rail to create a thrilling finish to a race that will be long remembered for the absence of I’ll Have Another.

Trained by Michael Matz and owned by Phyllis Wyeth, Union Rags covered the mile-and-a-half in 2:30.4 and paid $7.50 to win. Longshot Atigun finished third to complete a trifecta that brought back $896 on a $2 wager. Favored Dullahan, who was a hard-charging third in the Derby, never threatened and ran a dull seventh.

“We always thought this horse had Triple Crown potential when we trained him,” Matz said. “We gave him four races as a two-year-old and we gave him a rest and we had a good plan. He never missed a beat.