Two Queens....

The Sports of Kings is having a golden season, and the newest crown is fit for a queen.

On a Hollywood scripted Saturday, Rags to Riches became the first filly in over 100 years to win the Belmont Stakes. She’s the first filly ever to win at the modern distance of 1 1/2 miles.

Rags to Riches’ victory was also the first Triple Crown win for the nation’s leading trainer, Todd Pletcher. Pletcher was 0-for-28 in Triple Crown races before Saturday’s Belmont. His post-race euphoria made it ever-so-clear how much this race meant.

But it wasn’t an easy trip to the winner’s circle. The race started in horrific fashion for Pletcher’s star filly.

Rags to Riches stumbled badly as the horses left the starting gate. You could sense the crowd gasp as if to say, “not again.” Beloved champions like Ruffian, Pine Island, and Barbaro all came up fatally lame during illustrious, televised races. Their mortality is permanently etched in horse racing’s rear view mirror.

Thankfully, Rags to Riches bounced up on all fours after her lock-kneed start and quickly found her stride. The early fractions were slow, and the filly had plenty of time to regroup and nestle in behind the leaders.

The crowd shared a seismic sigh of relief.

After an uneventful run along the backstretch, jockey John Velasquez angled Rags to Riches to the outside for a clear running lane as the field turned for home. The filly pulled even with the leaders at the top of the stretch: history had a chance.

But the Preakness winner and betting favorite, Curlin, wasn’t about to let the filly steal the show. Curlin’s jockey, Robby Albarado, had yet to ask his colt for top speed. When a small hole opened up in between pace setter C.P. West and Hard Spun, Albarado down-shifted and Curlin grabbed the lead.

Curlin’s time on the front would be short lived.

Rags to Riches accelerated with an incredible turn of foot, quickly overtaking Curlin. Then, with 1/8 of-a-mile to run, she found another gear as Curlin tried to come back. Rags to Riches ran the final two furlongs in a blazing 23 ¾ seconds, a colossal display of speed and fortitude, to hold off the Preakness champ by an outstretched head at the wire.

Some horses start to lose focus once they get the lead in a race. The Derby winner, Street Sense, was noticably distracted during the final furlong of the Preakness. Observers won’t use that term (distracted) when describing Rags to Riches. She was singularly minded once on the lead, refusing to be denied.

The Belmont is horse racing's throw-back day: a twelve furlong test of endurance which feels somewhat out of place. The richest races on every other day are ten furlongs or less. Accordingly, most owners and trainers gladly sidestep the Belmont, preferring to allow their young thoroughbreds more time to mature.

Starting a filly in the Belmont is even more atypical. Colts can earn exponentially more at stud with a Triple Crown victory, but a filly’s upside is nominal. A would-be dam (mother) can only give birth to so many foals, but a sire can be paired with countless fillies and mares.

Luckily, Rags to Riches’ connections weren’t thinking about breeding rights or a century of failure when they entered their filly in the Belmont. Owner Michael Tabor and trainer Todd Pletcher merely wanted to prove their filly’s worth. Their unabashed willingness to try also hinted at a genuine love for racing.

And for that, I am immensely grateful.

Horse racing has produced its share of legends over the past two decades, but their stardom has mainly been on display when most viewers are elsewhere. Busted Triple Crown bids, critical injuries, and eight-digit breeding sales have worn out racing’s headlines. The sport needed a new storyline, if only for a day.

On Saturday she arrived.

A diva took the stage and delivered an aria that will be remembered long after racing’s final song. Even Todd Pletcher, the stoic trainer, was overcome by the moment: offering fist-pumps in every direction. It was as if Pletcher was saying, “we finally did it...the drought is over...and we did it with a FILLY!”

Not just any filly: one for the ages.

How appropriate that Belmont race track is the final resting place for another legendary filly, Ruffian. ABC gets the “timing of the century” award for airing a TV movie about Ruffian merely hours after Rags to Riches’ historic win. I haven’t seen it yet (Tivo here we come), so I can’t offer a review.

This is how the story goes.

On July 6, 1975 the undefeated, unchallenged Ruffian sauntered onto the Belmont track for a match race with that year’s Kentucky Derby champion, Foolish Pleasure. The match race offered $400,000 to the winner, the largest purse ever at the time, and was aired live on CBS. 18 million viewers tuned in to see the “equine battle of the sexes.”

It would be for not.

Ruffian’s right foreleg snapped approximately two furlongs into the race. By the time jockey Jacinto Vasquez could pull her up, she’d done irreparable damage to the leg. Ruffian was put to sleep the following day.

They buried Ruffian beneath the Belmont track with her nose pointed towards the finish line. Ruffian’s tomb is the lone burial at Belmont; her spirit looms over the gigantic oval and every entrant that takes to the track.

Ruffian’s brilliance on the track earned her the nickname, “the queen of the fillies.” It would be hard to argue with the coronation: she was a perfect 10-for-10 in her career. If you picked up a racing form with Ruffian’s past performances, you would see a “1” in every row and every column. She never trailed in any race.

No other race horse in history can say the same.

Hopefully Ruffian will rest easier knowing that another queen has captured our hearts. How fitting that Rags to Riches' epic victory took place yards from Ruffian’s resting place.

The heiress laying claim to the throne.

Michael Tabor and Todd Pletcher deserve all the credit. They defied the odds and a century-long list of colts. In truth, I gained a new respect for Tabor and Pletcher well before Rags to Riches came home first.

They won me over when they entered her in the race.