Smarty Jones Classic

[Thoroughbred Fan]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Smarty Jones deserves NOTHING. He raced, he won, he raced, he lost, he got a mild injury and his owners took the money and ran....and then blamed others.

He is the most glaring recent example of people's lack of knowledge of the history of the game.

Amen!

[slotdirt]

I don't know, the 120,000 or whatever it was on Belmont Day in 2004 would tell me Smarty Jones meant something to somebody in the greater NYC region.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I don't know, the 120,000 or whatever it was on Belmont Day in 2004 would tell me Smarty Jones meant something to somebody in the greater NYC region.

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.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

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.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

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

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?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

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.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

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

[Samarta]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Samarta

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.

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...

[mes5107]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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

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.

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by mes5107

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.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by mes5107

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.

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.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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.

I have been to all the belmonts since 1996 and 2004 was PACKED! I dont know if there were 120,000 but there were sooo many people there. That was before they blocked the college kids from bringing in beer.

Also, Smarty Jones very much increased the population of horse racing "casual" fans. At least for that 5 week period of the triple crown. I was living in PA at the time. Everyone was having Smarty Parties for the Belmont.

Even now when I talk about horse racing to the average Joe who has never been to the track they bring up Smarty Jones.

He was and will be one of my favorite horses of all time. I bought a nice painting of him from Nick Martinez over the summer. I wish i could use it as my avatar!

[slotdirt]

The weather in 2004 wasn't great either. Spotty rain all day, temps in the low 60's. All I know is that having been to the Belmont a couple of times, I had to claim some space around the duck pond in order to even have a foot to set up my chairs and tailgate. That isn't normal for Belmont.

Q: Did he win all of those as a front runner? He must have been like War Emblem on a steroid program or something...

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

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....

Well isnt that true of any attendance record???

ANd it was a record for Belmont, therefore it certainly means something in terms of the history of racing at that venue. Right? I mean the above reasoning cannot diminish the record in terms of BEL's history right?

It sure seemed like a lot that day in 2004, I was there in 2002, and 2003 and the crowd seemed noticeably bigger for 2004. The bathroom lines while even more crowded now had female guests, which is always upsetting when you are holding your pecker in your hands.

They announced it as 110,000+ I believe, not 120,000.

It was also a different type of crowd, down near the rail, we chanted "FUnny Cide, Funny Cide.." as he got to the track but w/ Smarty it seemed like a foregone conclusion we sort of were just expecting the TC and wanted to be there. The tension wasnt nearly so much..

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by easy goer

Q: Did he win all of those as a front runner? He must have been like War Emblem on a steroid program or something...



Well isnt that true of any attendance record???

ANd it was a record for Belmont, therefore it certainly means something in terms of the history of racing at that venue. Right? I mean the above reasoning cannot diminish the record in terms of BEL's history right?

It sure seemed like a lot that day in 2004, I was there in 2002, and 2003 and the crowd seemed noticeably bigger for 2004. The bathroom lines while even more crowded now had female guests, which is always upsetting when you are holding your pecker in your hands.

They announced it as 110,000+ I believe, not 120,000.

It was also a different type of crowd, down near the rail, we chanted "FUnny Cide, Funny Cide.." as he got to the track but w/ Smarty it seemed like a foregone conclusion we sort of were just expecting the TC and wanted to be there. The tension wasnt nearly so much..

120139 in attendance at Belmont Park that day---

[estreetposse]

[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!!