Party for Smarty
From the Cheap Seats
by Chris Hahn
The horse racing world is set to explode into cheers, and Smarty Jones is the underdog who has brought it to the edge. If last year's story of Funny Cide and Sackatoga Stables was riveting, this year's hero is too good to be true.
Smarty Jones is a horse who started his racing career at Philadelphia Park. In case you don't know, Philly isn't exactly considered a hotbed for great horses, and with the rest of Smarty's history, it becomes even more improbable. His first trainer, Robert Camac, was murdered by his stepson. Smarty Jones himself nearly lost his life after shattering the left side of his skull after rearing up in the starting gate as a two-year-old. And owner Roy Chapman had to sit during the Kentucky Derby celebration because of his emphysema.
Smarty’s connections are new to the top of the horse racing circuit…both trainer John Servis and jockey Steward Elliott had never participated in the Kentucky Derby before this year. Yet they have handled the success and the attention that goes with it like veterans. They have turned the cynical sports town of Philadelphia into one of hope, ready to celebrate its hometown hero if he can just win one more race.
2004 is the third year in a row that a horse has come to the Belmont Stakes with a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner in over twenty years. For the past two years, the majority of horse racing fanatics seemed to hope it didn't happen. Neither War Emblem or Funny Cide were seen as worthy of being the historic horse to break the dry spell. But this year, the feeling is remarkably different. Fans and aficionados alike seem to be holding their breath in anticipation of history. They're cheering for it to finally happen.
Smarty Jones is likely to go off in the Belmont as an odds-on favorite...but a $2 win ticket might just become an investment with a big payoff for collectors years from now. And with the size of the bandwagon this horse has accumulated over the past month, there will truly be a Smarty Party on June 5 in New York.