Hillary Filly

I can't begin to describe the irony of being a political guy at the Belmont Stakes today.

The jokes went around the trailers where I worked all day. A female horse trying to beat six males. Gee, sounds like Hillary, doesn't it?

I fell into the trap. I placed a bet on her because I thought "If the filly wins Belmont, maybe it means Hillary could win the Presidency."

Watching the race from my sweet spot atop the third floor of the Belmont grandstand, politics didn't come into my mind, but in hindsight, I suppose we all saw Curlin as the Rudy in this race.

I won about $25 on Rags to Riches' shocking win. I knew she had a chance, but counted her out among the more powerful colts, who have had an unbreakable century-long tradition of winning Belmont. A filly could never hold up to a colt, more or less six, in this race.

The moment when the results of the race became official, and the grandstand at Belmont erupted in a euphoria only matched in my experience by Game 4 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, the first thought that ran through my mind was this;

An omen? If a filly can win Belmont, can a Hillary win America?

It's frighteningly possible.