The sky out at Belmont on Saturday wasn’t exactly a brilliant blue, sunshine, in fact, was scarce. But if one looked closely, there was a ray of sunlight shining squarely on Todd Pletcher’s barn. Rags to Riches, trained by Pletcher, became third filly to win the Belmont Stakes, the first since Tanya took it in 1905, and the only filly to win over the current distance of 1 1/2 miles. She beat Preakness winner Curlin by a head, clocking 2:28.74 and paying $10.80 on a $2 bet.

Although it took Todd Pletcher 28 Triple Crown entries to grab a trophy, he and Johnny Velazquez are the one-two-knockdown punch of New York racing, a magnet for purse money. Pletcher’s stable consistently sends out runners that hit the board. Pletcher has set single-season records for stakes wins, taking 57 graded stakes races last year. In 2006 the barn earned $26,820,243. Johnny V is his first call rider, usually up in the irons on the cream.

Their victories are so commonplace In the grandstand at Saratoga, it is often speculated that you could do pretty well not even looking at the form, just betting the Pletcher horse being ridden by Velazquez. So many people, in fact, have subscribed to this very strategy, they’ve ruined the very thing by driving the odds down.

It is an odd quirk of human nature, but the world comes to resent a powerhouse set up like the Pletcher barn, and Pletcher seemed honestly moved by the reception his filly received—on the post parade the fans whooped their approval, and on their return, the 46,870 fans loosely packed into the Big Sandy went nuts. Velazquez, victorious, marched her around, soaking in the love.

“As a rule, we’re probably the one everyone is rooting against,” said Pletcher. “We’re the underdog today; that was kind of sweet. The reception was kind of unbelievable.”

Rags to Riches could have easily mopped the floor with the fillies for the rest of the year. They had warmed the hearts of race fans by making the gutsy decision, the gambler’s call.

Pletcher said: “After we made the decision to run this filly, the reaction from the racing community was very enthusiastic. If nothing else, it was great for racing. Obviously, the end result, it was great for the filly.”

The Test of Champions is a demanding race, and the competition was steep, and rather than balk they showed guts and went for it.

When the gate clanged open, it looked for a moment as if underdog appeal and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with it was all they would glean, for the filly stumbled.

She came back and positioned herself well, on the outside, a few lengths off the pace and free of traffic.

CP West set the early fractions, and they were glacial. No one wanted the lead. CP West ran wide, Slew’s Tizzy right there with him. Imawildandcrazyguy was lumbering along in the back, and all the well regarded horses were right there. Curlin, Hard Spun, and Rags to Riches were each in a good spot, Hard Spun perhaps the best of all.

Larry Jones, the trainer of Hard Spun, indicated that his horse might have benefited from a faster pace. I suppose he might have improved his position if the field had clocked the 3/4 in 1:11 (they were 15 lengths slower than that, clicking that mark in 1:15), but after watching him as he failed to close the deal after gutsy, quick runs in the Derby and the Preakness, I don’t think he has any excuses at all. They said they wanted a slower pace, and him further off of it. They got what they asked for, and it wasn’t enough to put the horse in front.

Rags was running on the outside in fifth. She began putting herself forward while on the turn, just edging up.

Curlin was on the inside. It looks like Albarado, up in the irons on the Preakness winner, saw Rags moving on the outside, and decided to go with her. Albarado asked, and Curlin went. The acceleration was impressive. He muscled his way through, splitting rivals.

Rags and Curlin came up on either side of Hard Spun and shut him down. Suddenly it was a twohorse race.

The throat latch to throat latch battle down the long stretch of the Big Sandy was thrilling. When Curlin opened up a little, Rags had more to give. They ran the final quarter mile in 23 4/5—a real race.

She wouldn’t give up. It’s like she doesn’t know how to lose.

The filly got her picture taken, Pletcher got his first Triple Crown victory, and the fans got racing at its finest. What a Belmont!

Those of you who have followed our coverage in this paper will remember that last year I put my handicapping savvy to the test against a 4-year-old neighbor, and summarily humiliated her, having ended the Triple Crown up 50 cents, while she ended down $33.25. Never one to shy from a fight, I went back in the ring this year, and entered into another Triple Crown handicapping contest. Before each of the Triple Crown races, I rolled up slips of paper with the runners’ names on them and tossed them out my second story office window in the direction of an appropriate commemorative glass. I defied gravity, calling upon Sir Isaac Newton to pick ponies better than an honest-to-god turf hack. Sir Isaac made a couple of very good plays. Frankly, I assumed, and many agreed, that simply throwing paper pills at a glass (or asking a 4-year-old) would be a more successful strategy for picking winners than professional analysis, but the tickets are cashed and the windows are closed, and I am happy to announce my pick of Rags to Riches locked my victory over a higher power. Max Watman: up $12. Sir Isaac Newton: down $41. There you have it folks, in black and white. Turf Hacks: more reliable than gravity.

mwatman@nysun.com