The Belmont Stakes is the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown. You know the setting....
Mine That Bird (the previously unknown "little gelding from New Mexico") won the Kentucky Derby as a 50-1 longshot. Bird finished 2nd in the Preakness. Jockey Calvin Borel rode Bird in the Kentucky Derby, but chose to ride filly, Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness. They finished first in that race.
For the Belmont, Rachel isn't running, so Borel is hoping back onto Bird. He's looking to be the first jockey to win the Triple Crown atop different horses. This 1-1/2 mile track, the longest of the 3 races, suits Bird well. In the previous races, the "litte guy" started off slow, but gained speed as the race went on. To add to the drama, Jockey Calvin Borel already guaranteed a victory...
Go Bird!!!
Mine That Bird (the previously unknown "little gelding from New Mexico") won the Kentucky Derby as a 50-1 longshot. Bird finished 2nd in the Preakness. Jockey Calvin Borel rode Bird in the Kentucky Derby, but chose to ride filly, Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness. They finished first in that race.
For the Belmont, Rachel isn't running, so Borel is hoping back onto Bird. He's looking to be the first jockey to win the Triple Crown atop different horses. This 1-1/2 mile track, the longest of the 3 races, suits Bird well. In the previous races, the "litte guy" started off slow, but gained speed as the race went on. To add to the drama, Jockey Calvin Borel already guaranteed a victory...
Let this be the place we root on the little guy, Mine That Bird. He's the one who's been the underdog throughout his career. He doesn't have big money behind him and is from a sleepy ol' town in New Mexico. He was a 50-1 shot that won the Derby, yet in the 2nd leg of the Triple Crown, his jockey jumped off him and onto another horse. Bird still finished 2nd. Let this be the race that Mine That Bird seals his legacy among Horse Racing's greatest!!!"We're going to win it, no questions asked, Calvin Borel said. "
"I wouldn't trade places with anybody."
Go Bird!!!