The day the music died... where were you?
 

Not meaning to be a drama queen here (well maybe just a little :D) but I was wondering (and this is something that is probably more for the newer fans)... where were you when Smarty lost the Belmont?

I was reading SilverRP's post about Smarty and had that horrible flashback for a split second... Smarty was the first horse I followed. This is why, on occassion, I'll preface something, some post, with my "Smarty era" thing... I'm from the Smarty era. To me though? There is no better way to define when I started following racing.

Post 9/11, needing a hero, Cinderella-story Smarty Jones. It was perfect timing. He was what the country needed and when we needed it. A beloved distraction, a feel-good story... hope on four legs.

How could any sane person with a soul not feel something for this horse?

He was perfection.

So... who wants to go first?

Where were you? How did you feel? Who were you with?

Anything and everything goes.

(That goes for Birdstone fans as well...)

We had just moved into our house and were only there a couple of months. Little Matt had just turned one and I was holding him in front of the TV hoping both of us would witness history. I was just a little kid when Slew and Affirmed won, so I have never really witnessed a TC take place either. The Sports Illustrated with Smarty on the cover was laying on the floor. I had plans on getting Stewart Elliott to sign it and put it in Matt's room. I remember thinking he was in great shape, but as soon as Birdstone entered the picture I had a bad feeling. And the rest is history. The one other thing that sticks out in my mind is the ride Bailey gave Eddington. Little Matt was so distraught, that he made me put on Elmo immediately :rolleyes:.
Obviously I was disapointed, but more for selfish reasons. Sounds crazy, but I felt like I lost out on seeing history. And to this day, I am still waiting to see a horse win the Triple Crown.

I got the news of Jerry Garcia's death as I was getting ready to head over to Saratoga for the day's races.

It was indeed a sad day.

Felt the same about Funny Cide. Hopefully one of these years but then again I'm a Cub's fan. :mad:

The more frustrating loss was Real Quiet losing the TC over victory gallop by a nose. Stewart Elliot took Baileys bait and did not give the best ride Smarty Jones deserved

I watched it with my kids, who were pretty little at the time. (Before my daughter decided that it's cruel. :rolleyes:).

My son liked Royal Assault and Eddington, my daughter Rock Hard Ten and Eddington. It was all Smarty for me.

I took them to the fair that morning, the one that is always the first weekend in May (talk about crappy timing). This is probably why I didn't know about the other news...

I'm sorry but I felt devastated after the race. It was like I could feel my heart sinking in slow motion. One of those moments where you want to go back in time... just 30 seconds... Noooooooooooooooooo.

Birdstone.

Told the kids to go play in the back yard and I cried and cried.

I realized the sprinklers had been on in the front yard for a long time so I wiped away my tears and went outside to turn them off. I was trying to do normal things cause it was painful. I had no idea it could make me feel so much... hurt so much.

One of my neighbors just happened to come outside at the same time. She looked at me and said aww I'm sorry, I didn't know you were such a fan. She touched my shoulder gently, said she really liked him too.

I was surprised... she liked Smarty?

So we had a short conversation... I kept holding my breath so I wouldn't cry anymore, and then, finally, she said something about Nancy.

Huh?

I had noticed the flag was at half staff during the race but didn't know why and forgot about it immediately.

I had no idea Reagan had died and it was a little weird... crying for a horse and not knowing other people were mourning Reagan.

I didn't hate Birdstone but I cringed every time I heard his name for the next few months.

As an aside I had no idea that Jerry Garcia died the same day (I thought that was a year or two later) and yeah MaTH I remember the ride on Eddington...

Don't get me started.

I was high fiving the dude next to me at the track as they hit the wire.

How were the other people around you?

Did you get dirty looks?

Were they Birdstone people?

Most were crying/sad. Except my friend and I who hit the race bigtime.

Yes.....especially when I yelled out "Cha Ching !!!"

No. All Smarty Jones fans.

Oh my God I so would have smacked you. :p

Well I'm glad, since he had to lose, that you were one of the people who benefited anyway.

It's always good when you can look back at something and smile or laugh a little... it sucks being and staying sad.

Still breaks my heart but yeah.... for some reason your "cha-ching" doesn't surprise me nor does it upset me in the least. :D

Well you did ask..................

lf i remember right that was the day president Reagan died?

anyways, i was working at Emerald Downs in the publicity office and i remember we were all so excited and pumped up for the race. the belmont ran after our 2nd or 3rd race at Emd and i remember after the belmont, we were all so deflated and depressed, and then someone says "damn, we still have 7 races to run here"

it made for a long day

I was in the 1st Floor Belmont grandstand, right in front of the starting gate.

I saw Smarty load into the gate, but once they opened, so many people were on the outside of the track and packing the grandstand, jumping up and down, I could barely see the race, even on the TV. I managed to see Smarty take the lead and the crowd roared, then between the bodies I saw a yellow saddlecloth coming up towards Smarty in the final strides. Unsure of whether or not Smarty was passed, I figured it out once I heard the deafening silence of the crowd, and one woman saying, simply: "He lost."

I heard that. Had Birdstone all the way in it (winner ATB, exacta) and was at AP.

Never cared for Smarty as much (bet against all 3 TC races, finally hit in the belmont). Was hoping that War Emblem would be the one that would get it... but not to happen.

I was never a fan of the horse either.

But I was driving through a desert in Arizona and some how got the Dave Johnson call of the race on AM radio. The only station that was coming in. Weird

Post 9/11???? Listen, that's only slightly ironic....with the amount that you root for godolphin and company...anything 9/11 seems silly.

I know I don't post alot, every so often.

I also know how much they contribute to the sport and greatly promote the sales, but did you watch the 2001 classic? "Tiznow wins it for AMERICA????"
I'm sorry, I just couldn't let that go.

I was at, of all places, Thistledown in Ohio. My niece had come to visit from N.C.. We went up early, got one of the low-rent motel rooms across from the track and proceeded to party and have a good ole time. Until the race. We went back to the room to watch the race, so I wouldn't miss anything. What an unhappy shocker!! I was stunned. Afterwards, went back to the track. I was wearing a "Smarty" t-shirt. A couple of complete strangers hugged me. They were all crying. It was very emotional. Sounds corny, but actually I'll never forget it. Then I proceeded to meet a super cool guy. (shout out to Mitch!) And ended up having a very good time anyway. Despite the fact that I was broken-hearted.:( Well, thats my story and I'm stickin' to it!!)

I remember your Artie posts... you seem like a nice person and are obviously passionate about what you believe in.

I hope this doesn't sound rude cause I don't mean it to.

I don't want to have another Godolphin fight. It's not my job in life to defend them. I have in the past and very vocally but there comes a point when you just get tired... you know? I don't want to fight period so I'm choosing to keep my mouth shut. I don't like my patriotism questioned, I don't like the nasty pm's, I don't like the implication that I'm somehow un-American. It's absurd.

The only (and last) thing I have to say is that I don't know what that organization has to do with 9/11 except for the millions of dollars they donated to the families of the firefighters and other victims.

You're smarter than to suggest that because they're arab they're somehow evil.

Okay that's it.

It's nice to see you posting and I hope you answer the question and tell us where you were, who you were rooting for, what your reaction was, how you feel about it now.

If you want to fight instead I just won't be responding... I am officially retired from that argument.

Hope you understand and that we can talk about Smarty.

...and Birdstone.

I went to Thistledown the day after my mother's funeral. Of all places.

I hit a nice perfecta with a double digit bet that day. No help from my mother.

Well if she did help, she hasn't helped since!

I was wrapping my Belmont viewing around an obligatory wedding and reception.

California time.

After the wedding ceremony, we raced to a Mexican restaurant I knew nearby with a lounge that would be showing the race.

I had no wagers that day, so my only sentiments were sentimental.....

I remember very well the gracious words of the owner of Birdstone in that post race interview.

I wasn't too upset we didn't get the Triple Crown that year though. But I would have liked to have seen it.


After the race we went to the reception. A strongly ethnic Irish guy had married a strongly ethnic Portuguese girl.

I just remember really good food, lots of beer and wine to drink, and some dance performances of the cultures that I couldn't replicate in a million years.

Being mostly Irish, I'm usually a beer drinker......for the most part.....but the reception was at a winery.


They had some mighty fine wine.

So I partook.

(from the Book of Jeremiah)

:-)

I wasn't born when the plane crashed near Clear Lake, IA.

I did visit the monument in the late '80's though.

I was a sardine packed in the clubhouse apron at Belmont with two friends that flew in from Tacoma for the weekend. All we kept muttering on the long ride home was "F'ing Birdstone"

BTW....the music died on February 3, 1959.

1st floor grandstand standing on a bench at about the eighth pole so I could see over all the people. The loudest roar I ever heard at a sporting event when he took the lead. Pretty quiet less than a minute later. Still was a great race to witness. The train back to the city not so great.

In the summer of 1994 I was sent to San Fran for a meeting. The first day I was there they had an amazing free concert in tribute to Bill Graham who died two days earlier in a similar accident to Buddy and the Bopper.

The Dead closed the show playing a 40 minute set that culminated in a musical eulogy that had a dozen superstars from the Bay Area performing like Bill Graham clockwork with the day ending at 4PM as the permit declared with not a single piece of litter on the grass by 6PM.

About a year later Jerry was dead and the music did truly die but I'll never forget that afternoon listening to "It must have been the roses..." as thousands of rose petals fell from the sky courtesy of Mr Jagger. A million people came and went without a single arrest or reported fight or crime. How does it go so right some times....

We were home. We had invited a few people over for a "Smarty Party". Problem was they weren't that much interested in it other than watching the 2+ minutes it took to run the race.

Prior to the race, the announcement that President Reagan had died seemed like a bad omen.

I was very sad but couldn't seem to articulate how I felt because our company didn't seem to care that Smarty lost. Bill and I went outside and commiserated with one another and then returned to feed the party goers.

It was August 2nd 1979.......just another summer day for a 15 yr.old youth in Fort Plain, until I saw the 6 o'clock news on WTEN-10 and then sportscaster; Rip Rowan announced that Thurman Munson was killed just a short time ago in a plane crash. I could not believe what I heard and was devasted. At that time in my life, I didn't have any close members of my family or friends die suddenly or could I believe that someone this young could be gone. It was a feeling that I never had until this point.

we were in the turf club dining room at charlestown. there was ALOT of blue and white at CT that day. Smarty was the first horse mrs d. followed so she was very excited. i didn't "dislike" Smarty just played to beat him. belmont day it paid off........ finally.

i'm a Secretariat and Afleet Alex fan.

Redboarder!

beat you and your friend to the ground and taken you winnings, sorry, just a reflex action.

I was out to dinner at Mori Moto's in Philly. I left dinner and my party to go to a bar across the street and watched. Pandemonium when Smarty took the lead that turned into stunned silence. I however was estatic as I had boxed 4-9-6-5 in the Superfecta and was looking at a huge payday. I waited forever for the result but alas it wasn't coming from NBC and I had to get back to dinner. I threw a hundred of my soon to be new wealth on the bar and told the bartender to use it till it was gone on my disappointed Philly friends. I returned triumphently back to Mori Moto's only to meet Mori Moto himself as he was making the rounds and had stopped at our table. I had him bring me a bottle of Dom Perignon and I raised a toast Nick Zito who hit with a 36/1 and 27/1 shot.. Enjoyed a wonderful dinner and made the long journey back home. Ran upstairs to log in and see how much my account had grown, was it 20 K, 30 K or more.... Alas there was no additional coin in my account? WTF was there a mistake? Was the system down??? I logged into Equibase and brought up the results... **** YOU Jerry ****ING Bailey and the horse your rode in on ****ing Eddington... A Nose a ****ing Nose and **** you NBC, if you'd given me the result in a timely fashion I wouldn't have bought those losers a round and would've saved a couple hundred on the Dom... Other than that, dinner was great.

I was at home celebrating. I hit every exotic bet and that was my 14th winner in a row that day.

No seriously I hit the exacta and had a few dollars on Birdstone because of his mudder ped.

Plus I hated Smarty Jones. His name alone was not deserving of a Triple Crown.

Well it got your attention, didn't it?

You've had some awesome titles too...:p

Seattle Killed my Computer and Darley's Plan for World Conquest Continue, Mate. Those were good ones.

* * *

This has been bugging me, Andy, so I looked it up (he died on Aug. 9th, 95). Who were you thinking of?

I think there's too much info in your brain... that's why you got mixed up.

* * *

2Hot...

I understand. :D

I will always believe that Smarty Jones was our last Triple Crown winner. From the Rebel to the Arkansas Derby, the Five Million Dollar bonus win at Churchill and the crushing win at Pimlico he was a true champion. Of course it's easy from me to have Oaklawn bias. We were hosting a "Smarty Party" in our home with Smarty Favours, a Smarty Cake and free carnations for the ladies. Serving Belmont Breezers and laptop wagering. Devastating defeat.:(

Sorry you didn't have Birdstone as well. You attempting to "beat me up" is hilarious though. Gotta love the internet.

I'm an idiot, I thought 2Hot was talking to me.

Friendly payback for the Mine that Bird thing... in good humor, of course. (It's not important).

Can we all play nice in the sandbox, kids?

(That wasn't directed at you, Stone Gossard. You know I'm a fan). :p :{>: :eek:

Liked smarty ok but was no more disappointed with his loss than any other horse faiing to win all three. Was more upsaet after the barbaro preakness, the bigbbrown derby and pine islands distaff. Hell, smarty lost-but it was far from tragic.