Belmont Stakes 2012 Results: Familiar Finish in Triple Crown's Final Leg

Union Rags rode the rail beneath John Velazquez for the majority of the Belmont Stakes before winning the race on a sensational sprint down the backstretch.

Does that premise sound familiar at all? If you have watched the previous two Triple Crown legs, it should.

Union Rags first-place finish may not shock you, but the rest of the top three might.

Here are today's top three finishers, according to ESPN.com.

Finish	Horse
1	Union Rags
2	Paynter
3	Atigun

The Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes both saw I'll Have Another run down Bodemeister in the race's final lengths. I'll Have Another was absent from this contest, but Union Rags understood this year's trend.

Horse racing fans were concerned about the Belmont's excitement with no real significance attached to the race. I'll Have Another's Triple Crown dreams were ruined, and the race could have been destroyed along with them.

But Union Rags' finish saved the day.

The first half of the race was, mostly, ho-hum. Paynter led from the beginning, but the other favorites were stuck behind the leading pack.

Dullahan spent most of the race dwelling in the back. Union Rags was stuck against the rail and could not find any open space to maneuver.

Instead of staying on the rail, Union Rags found a way to fight through the adversity. Paynter's jockey, Mike Smith, handed him inside position and allowed Velazquez to kick his colt at the perfect time.

If things had stayed this way from the starting gate until the finish line, this race would have been extremely disappointing. Watching Paynter lead from end-to-end is not what horse racing's spectators want to see.

Luckily, Union Rags saved the day. His sprint down the backstretch provided this year's Triple Crown observers with a familiar spectacle.

Taking historical significance away from a race like this can completely destroy any excitement attached to the race. An action-packed finish is the only remedy to that situation.

Despite the Belmont's surprising excitement, we must wonder how I'll Have Another would have fared. The Daily's Dan Wolken summed it up perfectly.

"

The final time 2:30 and 2/5 is SLOW...Real slow. Will always wonder what might have been.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) June 9, 2012"

Watching I'll Have Another defend his Preakness title and make a run at horse racing's most coveted prize would have been incredible. But Union Rags' finish wound up being just fine.

Drama is drama. It doesn't matter who is involved. Union Rags proved that in this year's Triple Crown culmination.