The 157th Belmont Stakes is Saturday at Saratoga, and the respective Winners of the Kentucky Derby (SOVEREIGNTY) and Preakness (JOURNALISM) will be participating.
That duo will certainly be one and two in the betting pools but be not afraid to wager against either at the graveyard of favorites.
The Belmont is the oldest of the three Triple Crown races, so during its 156-year history this contest has seen its fair share of upsets.
The majority of those have come in roughly the last third of the race’s 156-year history, and as far as the Daily Racing Blog is concerned, this one was the most mind numbing:
The 2004 Belmont Stakes may have not set the parimutuel record for biggest upset, but it holds top status among modern-day horse racing fans as the most heart-wrenching finish, without question.
That June, anticipation for the Belmont Stakes was at a level not seen since the sport’s heyday of the 1970s – not even the Triple Crown bids of fan favorites SILVER CHARM and EASY GOER in the 1990s or the rivalry of SUNDAY SILENCE and EASY GOER in 1989 could compete.
This multitude of heart-felt devotion was due to SMARTY JONES.
The Pennsylvania-bred had captured the attention of a nationwide sports audience after going undefeated through eight starts, the most recent Wins coming by 2 ¾ lengths in the Kentucky Derby and an amazing 11 ½ lengths in the Preakness.
He was the proverbial little guy’s horse with Keystone state connections. But his talent was anything but small.
SMARTY towered above a Belmont field that included BIRDSTONE, a well-bred colt owned by Saratoga icon MARYLOU WHITNEY and trained by NICK ZITO.
But regardless of his connections BIRDSTONE disappointed his backers on the track, coming into the Belmont off of an 8th-place Derby finish, 15 ¼ lengths behind SMARTY JONES.
As such, SMARTY JONES was sent off as the 0.35-1 favorite in the nine-horse Belmont field, while BIRDSTONE was 36-1.
Before a (still standing) record crowd of 120,139 eager to witness history, SMARTY JONES broke well from the outside post but was kept just off the early lead by jockey Stewart Elliott until the field hit the backstretch.
He took over after the half-mile marker and continued on well through the long backstretch despite being pressured, and midway through the far turn Elliott let his colt run freely and SMARTY opened up on the field.
As SMARTY JONES entered the homestretch, only one horse had a chance to catch him – BIRDSTONE, who had grinded and gutted his way into 2nd place under Edgar Prado.
For a few fleeting moments, it appeared that SMARTY JONES, while running on fumes, just might have enough left in the tank to hold off his challenger and become the first Triple Crown Winner since 1978.
But in the final strides, SMARTY JONES gave up the lead and the legion of desperate cheers suddenly stopped.
BIRDSTONE prevailed by a length, and such was the disappointment that Zito, Prado, and Whitney tempered their post-race remarks with offers of consolation for the army of SMARTY JONES fans.
SMARTY never raced again, but all these years later, he conceivably, remains the most popular North American racehorse of the 21st century.
SMARTY JONES is a pivotal player in Belmont Stakes history, and no one who watched the 2004 edition will ever forget.
