2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes Winner
February 28 - Smarty Jones
This is one of those horses, that if I had all day, it still wouldn't be enough time for all the stories.
At lunch yesterday, a bunch of long-time breeders were talking about the best road to the Kentucky Derby. Obviously, the path through Oaklawn in Hot Springs Arkansas was at the top of the list for several of the guys. It was also noted that Smarty Jones was the one who made that a popular path to the Derby with his success in the Arkansas Derby before his win at Churchill. Today, you must always put the winners of the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby into the favorite’s lists; it attracts a deep and competitive field as the real horses move forward from the rest. Thanks, Smarty, for showing a new way to get to the dance . . . the Smarty Party Dance.
Smarty Jones was one of the most beloved racehorses of the 21st century, a Pennsylvania bred chestnut who had America rooting for him through the spring of 2004. He was foaled in 2001, a son of the stallion Elusive Quality out of the mare I'll Get Along. He was bred and owned by Roy and Pat Chapman of Someday Farm, and he was trained by Philadelphia native John Servis. Stewart Elliott, a journeyman rider on the Pennsylvania circuit, picked up the mount and never lost it. The whole story felt like something out of a movie.
Smarty Jones nearly never made it to the races at all. As a two year old, he reared up in the starting gate during training and slammed his head against an iron bar, fracturing his skull and nearly losing an eye. Veterinarians fought to save his life, and after a long recovery he came back better than ever. He won his first six starts, capped by a powerful win in the Arkansas Derby, and headed to Churchill Downs as the favorite for the 2004 Kentucky Derby.
He delivered. Smarty Jones rallied through the slop and won the Kentucky Derby under Stewart Elliott, becoming the first undefeated colt to win at Churchill Downs since Seattle Slew. Two weeks later at Pimlico, he turned in one of the most dominant Triple Crown performances ever, winning the Preakness Stakes by 11 and a half lengths, a record margin in the history of the race. The country fell in love. Bumper stickers, T shirts, and homemade signs flew up across America for the brave little colt from Philadelphia Park.
The 2004 Belmont Stakes broke millions of hearts. Smarty Jones took the lead in the long Belmont stretch and looked like a Triple Crown winner with a furlong to go, but the late closing Birdstone ran him down and won by a length. Smarty Jones retired soon after with eight wins from nine starts and was honored as the 2004 Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Male. He went to stud at Three Chimneys Farm and later Calumet Farm, siring stakes winners and remaining one of the most popular horses ever to come out of Pennsylvania racing.
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