Union Rags Wins 144th Belmont Stakes (VIDEO)

A lot of the suspense was taken out of the third leg of the Triple Crown when I'll Have Another was forced to pull out and retire (due to an injury Friday morning), but the remaining horses more than made up for it with one of the closest finishes in recent history.

Since history was not going to be made anymore the race became all about everyone's favorite thing—money.  With I'll Have Another out of the race the odds favored Dullahan to win (9:5) followed by Union Rags (3:1), Paynter (7:2), and Street Life (8:1).

For much of the race it looked like Paynter had it in the bag. As the horses turned down the final stretch Union Rags began to make a move on the inside. It quickly became clear that the winner was going to be one of those two as the horse ran neck and neck.

The finish was so close that the winner could not be called by the naked eye; a photo finish for sure. As you can see in the video above, it was Union Rags by a literal head.