The Amanxing Racers have trotted around the world, across five different continents.

They’ve run through museums in Spain and Holland, crawled across England and Scotland, flew across the Grand Canyon, ridden up and down mountains in Norway.

They’ve visited a lost city, a Sun City, a Forbidden City, a Star Wars city, Panama City, and Mexico City.

They met the world’s most famous guitarist, a pioneer for human rights, a bluegrass trio, and Braveheart.

Who will win, place, and show in this final Globetrotters leg?
 
But first, it’s time for Bella and Douglas, Ernesto and Fermin, and Monty and Holly to remember their Amanxing Race friends.

A line of flags stretches across the backyard of Graceland, where Elvis used to keep his horses.

First, they come to the Japanese flag, and remember Akira and Toshiro, the snow monkeys.

The Australian flag is nearby, as they remember the always combative Adelaide and Sydney.

The red and white flag of Peru is flown in honor of Bonita and Geraldo.

The hippos Bela and Victoria, the largest ever competitors in the Amanxing Race, are remembered under the South African flag. But next up are two flags...

...the blue and white striped flag of Cuba, and the American stars and stripes, in honor of the brave Cuban pair Desi and Celia, who defected in Vienna and now live in Naples, Florida. All three pairs salute the American flag remembering the heroism of Hercules and Maxx who helped the Italian police foil a drug smuggling operation – help that cost them the Race.

The pairs find the Antarctic flag, sitting in a block of ice, and remember Burgess and Meredith,

Then the flag of another cold place, Russia, honors the other cat team, Stravinsky and Zhivago. Two flags remain: the Madagascar flag, for Joey and Larry, and the Palestinian flag, for Ibrahim and Omara.
 
The pairs return to the beginning of the flag course, and find four flags: The United States, Spain, Great Britain, and… Scotland? Yep, as they walk around to the front of the Graceland mansion, here comes Sean Connery, riding up on a white horse, symbolizing the hope for world peace and understanding among nations modeled by the Amanxing Racers.

“Congratulations, Racers! Dooglass, I see ye lost yer tartan scarrrf agin. Yer clues are under yer flags. We’ll see ye at the finish line. GOOO!”

The Racers run over and get their clue: Fly to Baltimore, Maryland, and find your next clues in the Black Eyed Susans at Pimlico Race Track home of the Preakness Stakes.

It’s a mad rush to the Memphis airport, but all three teams get on the same flight to Baltimore. Douglas and Bella sleep; the bulls are planning strategy, and a very confident Monty and Holly trot up and down the aisles looking for food.

Uh oh – there’s a security breach at BWI Airport, and all the teams are stuck behind a barrier. Bella tries to weasel through, but the guards won’t let her go.

Finally, they get clearance, and the bulls crash through everyone and get to their cab first, followed by the cats and the corgis.
 
Once they arrive at Pimlico, the teams have to search through a field of Black Eyed Susans to find their clue. Monty and Bella look, but what is Fermin doing? Oh, no, Fermin, you can’t sit down and sniff at the flowers now! You have to find your clue! You can’t waste time this late in the race!

Monty is the first one to find his clue, which directs him to fly to New York City and run to the finish line: the statue of Secretariat at Belmont Park. Bella gets her clue, but Fermin is still sniffing flowers! Finally, he sniffs out the clue and he and his Papa, Ernesto, go back to BWI.

All three teams are now making their way by plane to New York City. Bella and Douglas, and Monty and Holly, are aboard a plane landing at LaGuardia. Ernesto and Fermin will be landing at Kennedy.

And here they come, out of their planes. They’re getting into the cabs; Fermin is balking. They’re riding through New York City.

At Belmont Park, the other Racers are waiting.

There’s Sean, of course, and Antonio Banderas. Eddie Van Halen, in a jockey outfit, is riding Victoria around the track.

Is that Morgan Freeman waiting with the penguins? Of course, and Mel Gibson is discussing a future movie with Nelson Mandela, who is petting Ibrahim. Desi and Celia are wearing American flag collars, and Celia is doing what now is the Cuban-American dance. Lisa Marie cheers with Peter Rowan and the Telluride boys.  Joey and Larry, and Akira and Toshiro are trying to be the first to spot the Racers.  Herc and Maxx are running crowd control, of course.
 
And…DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME! Rounding the corner of the Racetrack, heading for the finish line, it’s Ernesto and Fermin!

The bulls from Pamplona, Spain, run past the crowd, through the cheering Racers to the finish line to meet their final greeter with Phil: Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“Congratulations, Ernesto and Fermin! You’ve won the Amanxing Race 3! Spain will be proud of you!” Fermin lets out a loud MOOOOO, and everyone else cheers. Then, Kofi gives them both blankets similar to those worn by Kentucky Derby winners and Fermin sits down and sniffs, to everyone’s delight.

Koko raises the red and yellow Spanish flag behind the statue.

“Koko love cows. Cow love flowers. Koko love race.”

But wait, the LaGuardia cabs are just arriving, and around the corner come Monty and Holly, not victorious, but happy and glorious, placing second. “Congratulations to Monty and Holly! Koko, put up that British flag."

"Come on in, Bella and Douglas, you’re the show finishers in the Amanxing Race. And do you know what that means? Bella and Douglas, you are the first team in Amanxing Race history to finish first, second, and third!”

Everyone cheers, and then Alejandrito starts a recording of the Spanish national anthem as the flags are raised to the top of the flagpoles, Olympics-style. They play the British and American anthems, too, as everyone congratulates the Final Three.
 
Of course, the party’s not over yet. Hercules and Maxx have invited everyone to their restaurant, K-9, to celebrate the end of the Race. The lemurs lead the dancing to their favorite song, “I Like to Move It,” and even Sean Connery joins in. But all dancing stops when Monty and Holly’s owners arrive to pick them up. Their owner makes a speech:
 
“Congratulations to all the Amanxing Racers for competing. We are amused that Monty and Holly made it to second place, and we congratulate the Spanish bulls for winning.. Monty and Holly would like to invite you all to join us at our country cottage at Balmoral next summer.”

“Now, Bella, where are you?” Bella, who was asleep, comes up to the podium. “In my capacity as Lord of the Isle of Man, for your outstanding finishes in three Amanxing Races, and for publicizing the Manx cat and the Isle, we are pleased to award Bella the honorary title of Dame Commander of the British Empire. And no, you don’t have to push the pram a lot.”

She gives Bella her honorary title sash, as all the Racers cheer. Koko came up and said, “Koko love hat lady.” “Thank you. Hat lady love you too, Koko.  And now, if you will excuse us, Phillip, Monty, Holly and I have to move it, move it back to London.”

More cheers, more lemur dancing, more hugs for all the Amanxing Racers.

The camera pans out of K-9, up to the New York skyline, over the United Nations building, and up to a pale blue sky full of puffy white clouds.

 

The camera pans back down again, with an almost imperceptible jump cut, to Central Park, and zooms down over the John Lennon memorial which is surrounded by many Amanxing Racers.

---

“As many of you know, Bella T. Manx, half of the only Race team to finish first, second and third, passed away last October while we were showing the Amanxing Race 3.

Bella’s Amanxing Race friends, including Koko, Sean Connery, Douglas, Heidi, Barney, Hercules and Maxx, Ernesto and Fermin, Monty and Holly, Taffy, Desi, Pierre, Army Mule and Navy Goat, and Fancy Feast and Chef’s Blend, met in Central Park, in New York City, at the John Lennon “Imagine” memorial to remember and share stories about Bella. Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and their cub Tai Shan sent a bouquet of white flowers; Ibrahim and Omara, Joey and Larry, Stravinsky and Zhivago, Alejandrito, and Burgess tuned in via satellite.

We all left flowers, which Fermin enjoyed, and Bella's soccer ball, at Imagine.

We miss Bella very much, and we will continue the Amanxing Race series in her memory.

Douglas will return, along with a whole group of new Amanxing Racers, in The Amanxing Race 4: Agriculture Shock.

For Koko and Alejandrito, I’m Phil Kiwi.”

WRITTEN BY BECKY BANFIELD
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DAVE HUNTER & BELLA T. MANX
Inspired by The Amazing Race on CBS
Dedicated to Bella T. Manx

Special Midseason episode > | Racers react to Bella