So, where exactly does that leave this year's Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown? Is there a "Test of the Champion" this year? Is there a Triple Crown this year?...
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With owner Pat Chapman and two handlers leading him down the stretch from the barn area and into the walking ring; Smarty walked several times around, reacting to the cheers of the huge crowd in attendance by pricking his ears and bouncing along on his toes as if he were running in the next race, aptly named the Smarty Jones Stakes....
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For racing's aristocracy, the tycoons of business and pillars of society who ruled the Sport of Kings back in the early to mid-1900s, it was all about the sport and the glory and seeing horses they bred and raised carry their famed colors to victory. These moguls knew how to win, and more important, they knew how to lose....
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Racing people to Mike were not just figures to photograph. They were sources of information, which he always wanted to absorb. He wanted to get inside of people and that is why his head shots were so revealing....
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People wonder why I often hark back to the horses of the '60s and '70s, and don't reminisce as much about incredibly gifted horses such as American Pharoah, Bernardini, Barbaro, Point Given, I'll Have Another, Big Brown, Uncle Mo and other brilliant horses who were retired at 3. ...
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And then there was 2004 and Smarty Jones, whose defeat at the hands of 36-1 Birdstone still haunts many of those who witnessed it....
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There is one thing, however, Philadelphia can boast that no other major sports city can. They can boast celebrating a horse as a bona fide hero. ...
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With Stewart Elliott being named the winner of this year's prestigious George Woolf Award and with Smarty Jones' birthday this coming Tuesday, it rekindled memories of those glorious five weeks in racing and Triple Crown history that will endure for as long as the sport's great Cinderella stories are recalled....
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Since Affirmed swept the Triple Crown in 1978, there have been a total of 13 horses who have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Of those, 12 failed in the Belmont Stakes and one was scratched the day before the Belmont with an injury. ...
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It sounds as if this could be the last nice morning we get in a while, and fortunately, most of the Derby works have been completed. As typical of Derby works, the good ones drew waves of excitement, while others were overblown as bad works....
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Steve answers the charge concerning the "decline" of the American superstar and the "ascendancy" of the English superstar. ...
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Smarty arrived at Cuatro Piedras in early August after staying 20 days in quarantine near Carrasco Airport....
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Steve Haskin recalls Smarty's Derby victory in Part 5....
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Smarty Says Goodbye. Steve Haskin discusses Smarty Jones' farewell appearance in installment #4. ...
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Hail the Conquering Hero: Haskin's Smarty Jones tribute continues with installment #3....
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Haskin's Smarty Jones Tribute: The second installment recaps Smarty's Preakness victory....
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Smarty Jones: Steve Haskin begins his week-long tribute with reprinted stories each day...
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A look back at Birdstone's Belmont triumph, which ended the Triple Crown dream for Smarty Jones....
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As mentioned, to keep this blog active over the holiday season, I am reprinting a series of race recaps, mainly from the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup, that originally were published on Bloodhorse.com over the past decade. First up...Smarty Jones....
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