Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches was retired yesterday after re-injuring her right front leg, the filly's trainer said.

Rags to Riches beat eventual 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin down the stretch in the Belmont Stakes last June to become only the third filly to win the Triple Crown event.

"It's a sad day for racing and all of her fans," her trainer Todd Pletcher said in a statement. "She will go down in the history books as one of the best fillies ever to run."

Rags to Riches was sidelined last September after suffering a hairline fracture to her right front pastern during the $250,000 Gazelle Stakes at Belmont Park. The filly returned to Pletcher's barn at Palm Beach Downs earlier this year and resumed training.

Rags to Riches had five wins from six starts in 2007 and amassed career earnings of more than $1.3 million. She will be retired to Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky, and will be bred with leading sire Giant's Causeway, said Rags to Riches' owner Michael Tabor.

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