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Union Rags Wins Belmont Stakes

Posted: 5:00 PM Jun 9, 2012
Reporter: The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Union Rags nipped Paynter at the wire in a photo
finish to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, beating a field
without Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another who was retired with
an injury.

The finish was another thriller in the final leg of the Triple
Crown, and hard luck trainer Bob Baffert was on the losing end each
time.

I'll Have Another used two stirring stretch drives to beat
Baffert's Bodemeister in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. In the
1½-mile Belmont, it was Union Rags who provided the thrills.

A crowd of 85,811 cheered as the horses battled down the
stretch, and Union Rags barely caught the front-runner at the end.

Union Rags, trained by Michael Matz, finished a disappointing
seventh in the Derby and skipped the Preakness.