I could be wrong but I believe Laz Barrerra is an island just south of Kokomo.

He's more deserving of having an island named after him than Smarmy Jones is of having a major race named after him.

LMAO

I believe there are two mountains on that island... one is named Bold Forbes and the other is named Affirmed. Are we talking about the same island?

The man got Bold Forbes to win the Belmont....as unbelievable a feat as one may ever see in racing. Cordero didn't hurt either.

I had the chance of seeing Bold Forbes at the Kentucky Horse Park in 93' or 94'. Cranky fellow he was. I think I still have some pictures somewhere.

Once again I could be mistaken but Bold Forbes is the Great Uncle of Steve Forbes.

I saw him make his US debut in Saratoga in the Sanford or Saratoga Special in 1975. Honest Pleasure was 2:5 when Bold Forbes beat him in the Derby the next year.

That is an unintentional slur on Bold Forbes. He was much smarter.

I wasn't born yet. :o

I wish I had been. It must have been amazing to see the racing back then...

Did you ever see Forego run? He was at the Horse Park when we went too... huge horse and very friendly. He was the only one I remember coming over and letting us pet him.

It's all about the flat tax Andy!...Forbes needed another pitch....I hope Nader runs again so I can vote for him.

Sure, but not that many times. The first time I ever went to Belmont was when Wajima beat him in the third Marlboro Cup in 1975 and I was there when Forego beat Honest Pleasure in the 1976 Marlboro thriller. The only other time I saw him was when he was basically eased in the sloppy Whitney.

I watched that 1976 Marlboro with one of the few great old-timers left in this game, the legendary jockey agent Ralph Theroux Sr. He is a wondeful man.

I would vote for Bill for any office he ran for.

So would I. But Ralph will have to do. Wonder if they are related? "Unsafe At Any Speed"---by Bill Nader --a journey into the mind of jockey Mike Smith

I have to defend the Chapman's decision. Not because retirement was the right thing initially (after further medical exams 3 months after the retirement, it turned out to be the right decision) but because of how the whole thing played out. It was simply based on the vets recommendation. It wasn't until the conference call when Larry Bramledge made the comments he made that put the Chapmans in a bad spot. Was there money involved? Absolutely! You had investors paying big numbers to purchase a share of the 50% that was available. Was money the deciding factor? No. It was for the love of the horse that the decision was made.

How so? The fact that he was the single reason for the largest on site attendance in New York sports history says something for what his run did for the industry. It was a good horse, a better story, and an unbelievable 5 weeks. Whether you liked him or not, the industry is still realizing the benefits of Smarty Jones.

Was Peat Moss, the great uncle of Randy Moss?? Despite being gelded??

How exactly is " the industry is still realizing the benefits of Smarty Jones "?


And, by the way, calling it the largest on site attendance in New York Sports is a skewed approach, as while leaving out the fact that the announced attendance was a lie, it is only a " record " because of the amount of people Belmont is able to hold as opposed to other sports arenas. I think if Yankee Stadium held 250,000 people that Belmont record would certainly not exist and easily the same thing could be said for Madison Square Garden for, at least, the first Ali/Frazier fight. Or, perhaps you would like to argue with me that Smarty Jones had more popular and worldwide appeal than that heavyweight bout.

Remember, I am not the one who tried to skew this arguement with a misleading statistic.

Heh it's Philadelphia Park...who cares if they name a race after Smarty.


Even headphone kitty doesn't care...

There are horse racing fans that exist now mainly because of the media explosion that Smarty Jones created during his TC try. I'm online or at the racebook at least once a week, and Smarty was the main catalyst to me becoming interested in the sport. I'm positive that I'm not the only one.

Smarty Jones? Are you serious? Hey, whatever gets people interested.

Well I am certainly glad to hear that. I hope that every nice horse that comes along entices more people to this great game. I would like nothing more than to be wrong in my belief that Smarty Jones did very little good for the game. I sincerely hope that you are the rule, and not the exception, for those that jammed Belmont in 2004. One thing is for sure....we need all the help and new fans we can get.

Best of luck.

cg - your kidding me right??

smarty was a very very good horse and a great story and got LOTS of people interested.

Cajun,

Is it that big of a stretch to say that I had my interest piqued by a horse going for the triple crown? I'm still a young buck, and he had been the biggest story in horseracing that somebody not involved with the sport would know about at the time.

By no means am I saying that he is the greatest of all time, but he did bring attention to the sport, and he should be honored by PA. Without him, they may not have that big, shiny, new casino.

Ahahahahaahha!! What?!?!?!

Well, while I am happy that he helped bring you on board, I can guarantee you he has NOTHING to do with slots being at Phili Park.

But, it's far more important if he created even one new fan, which he certainly seems to have.

There are horse racing fans that exist now mainly because of the media explosion that Smarty Jones created during his TC try. I'm online or at the racebook at least once a week, and Smarty was the main catalyst to me becoming interested in the sport. I'm positive that I'm not the only one.
---------------------------

Then you cough up the names of all the others.




I want them ALL.

Ok, maybe not big, but shiny and new.

That would be great.....and I could give them all your phone number.

Oh.

I forgot.





See ya 'round Captain.

I didn't realize that Smarty Jones gave horseracing such a black eye. I'm sure that some people make him out to be more than he was, and it probably gets a little tiresome to hear. However, Philly Park had been pushing for slots for quite some time without any luck, and then a lot of legislators changed their stances on keeping the track afloat right around the same time that Smarty Jones was hitting his stride. Perhaps it was a coincidence, I can't prove or disprove that.

I don't think he in any way gave racing a black eye, but he created quite a dychotomy among fans, in that the hysteria surrounding him created a lot of hype, and many long time racing fans simply never saw it.

He was a good horse, and his Preakness was terrific, but for some of us it gets tiresome being told things like " if you don't think Smarty Jones is great you don't know anything about horseracing. "

I saw a lot of good horses, and saw them prove it on the racetrack, and I will never apologize for excluding Smarty Jones from their elevated status. Hell, he wasn't even in Skip Away's league.

Skippy!!!

LOL!!!

I wonder how many people got that and knew the original. A young board here, not sure how well read either.

My apologies for not knowing who Laz Barrerra was. I was one when he made his mark on the sport. And that still doesn't mean he's meant more to horse racing than Smarty Jones did. There is at least anecdotal evidence on this very board that Smarty Jones directly brought more fans to the game than Laz Barrerra ever did.

We will never forget!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZcK-A8gpI8

[quote=blackthroatedwind]Not to be overly critical, but if you don't know who Laz Barrerra was, I find it hard to even have a discussion that in any way involves the history of the game. You simply have a myopic view of the game that centers around one OK horse while ignoring the plentitude of players in this game that deserve at least as much attention....and in many cases more.

By the way, that attendance, while substantial, was phony.[/QUOTE]

Just curious, what was the attendance that year? I was at Belmont back in 2002 for the "SARAVA STAKES", Not a seat in the stands and not a blade of grass to be found to set up camp as there was 103,000+(if accurate). Luckily no one used the Budweiser tent with its 3 Big screens that day!!:D

[quote=estreetposse]I think they called it 120,000 something.

It's not a question of apologizing, it just speaks volumes that you are championing Smarty Jones's supposed place in history, while having never heard of one of the most successful and big name trainers in recent history. The truth is this is exactly why the Smarty Jones hysteria is misplaced. It is being done primarily by people with little to no perspective on the game.

You like him, fine, but don't tell others he was great when you have never even heard of, much less seen compete, some of the truly good horses of even recent history. Nothing personal, but you aren't qualified.

Why was it phony though? I was there, and that place was f'ing packed.