I am glad it's - Triple Crown 2004 - Smarty Jones earns largest payoff ever for race win "Being second in the Belmont ain't all bad," Pat Chapman said. Smarty Jones remains fourth among leading money-earners in North America with $7,613,155. Smarty Jones' owners Roy and Pat Chapman failed to collect a $5 million Triple Crown bonus, but still came away with $200,000. With his fourth victory in seven starts, Birdstone earned $600,000 to boost his bankroll to $975,600. "We love Smarty Jones and think he has done more for the racing community, and I think it gives everyone a chance to think `This can happen to me.'" I wanted Smarty Jones to win," Whitney said. The New York trainer was much happier with the victory, while Whitney also apologized for denying Smarty Jones a place in history. Instead of joining Seattle Slew as the only unbeaten Triple Crown winners, Smarty is in the same company as Majestic Prince, who was undefeated until his loss in the 1969 Belmont.Įarlier in the week, Zito all but conceded the race and Triple Crown to Smarty Jones, saying he'd be happy with second place.
Last year, New York-bred Funny Cide couldn't handle a wet track and was beaten by Empire Maker two years ago, War Emblem stumbled at the start and finished eighth. And Smarty Jones is now the 18th horse to come tantalizingly close to winning it all, only to be tripped up in a race known as the "Test of the Champion." Winning time for the race was 2:27.50, well off 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat's record of 2:24.Īnd so, the exclusive little club of 11 Triple Crown champions remains the same. Smarty Jones, the 3-10 favorite, paid $3.30 and $2.60. Smarty Jones was second, followed by Royal Assault, Eddington, Rock Hard Ten, Tap Dancer, Master David, Caiman and Purge.īirdstone, owned by socialite Marylou Whitney, returned $74, $14 and $8.60. Two years ago, he spoiled War Emblem's Triple try by winning aboard 70-1 shot Sarava, for the biggest payoff in Belmont history - $142.50.īirdstone went off at 36-1, and gave trainer Nick Zito his first Belmont win after five second-place finishes.
I'm very sorry that I had to win."īirdstone, who ran eighth behind Smarty Jones in the Derby, gave Prado his second huge upset in the Belmont. "I'm very sorry, of course," he said, "but I had to do my job, that's what I'm paid for. Prado, aware the crowd desperately wanted Smarty Jones to win, was apologetic afterward. Losing hurt, he said, "but we had a really good run." "The one thing I was worried about was him being too sharp, and I just couldn't get him settled." "I wasn't feeling good down the backside, he wasn't settling like he had," trainer John Servis said. With jockey Edgar Prado urging on Birdstone, Smarty Jones had nothing left and lost for the first time in nine races. He was coming pretty strong.'"īy the time the nine-horse field rounded the final turn on a fast track, Smarty Jones had already worked harder then he had in winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. "When I peeked over and saw Birdstone," he said, "I thought we might be in trouble.
This time, it might have been jockey Stewart Elliott who asked Smarty Jones to move too soon, with about a mile to go.
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