This Battle was for the Birds!

The Belmont Stakes came down to an exciting finish...Of course it did...Mine That Bird (6-5 favorite) was in it...And jockey Calvin Borel was on his back, going for a personal triple crown...

Borel used his traditional Mine That Bird strategy...Hanging at the back of the pack and letting his horse creep up on the field...Then turn on the jets and blow them away...But today he was in for a battle...

Dunkirk held the lead for a large portion of the race...Which I didn't like...I had money on Dunkirk and didn't want to see him run out of gas trying to set the pace...

Just as Borel was making his move Charitable Man was making his...Charitable Man who was undefeated at Belmont had Mrs. Beeze money on him...The three horses...Dunkirk, Mine That Bird, and Charitable Man all were going full tilt down the stretch...All three jockeys were trying to get everything out of there horses...

Then...Almost out of nowhere...coming up the outside is Summer Bird (11-1)ridden by Kent Desormeaux...Summer Bird began pushing the three leaders...Charitable Man who got a slight bump from Dunkirk ran out of steam...It was down to Dunkirk and the two Birds...The problem was Summer Bird didn't loo to be working as hard as Mine That Bird and Dunkirk...

Afterwards Borel said...."I thought I was home free, but the other horses galloped by."

What did Desormeaux say..."The colt broke like a rocket. "He absolutely dragged me around the race track. I had an armchair ride until I found some room. I found room."

(pictures from the AP)
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How they finished...

Summer Bird...

Dunkirk...(My pick)

Mine That Bird...(My daughter's pick)

Charitable Man...(Mrs. Beeze's pick)

Luv Gov...

Flying Private...

Brave Victory...

Mr. Hot Stuff...

Chocolate Candy...(My son's pick)

Miner's Escape.

I guess the Beeze family better find another way to make a quick buck!

Later, the Beeze