Secretariat: Horse Racing Greats
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Trifecta Box
A trifecta wager in which all-possible combinations using a given number of race horses are bet upon. The total number of combinations can be calculated according to the formula (x3)-(3x2)+(2x), where x equals the amount of race horses in the box. The sum of the formula is then multiplied by the amount wagered on each combination.
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Exacta Box
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Kentucky Derby News Update May 2, 2004
Smarty Jones wins Kentucky Derby
by RICHARD ROSENBLATT AP Racing Writer The Associated Press
Splashing his way past Lion Heart in the stretch, the 3-year-old chestnut colt won America's premier horse race and is well on his way to winning racing fans' hearts.
"He seems to be the people's horse," Derby rookie rider Stewart Elliott said, echoing the sentiments of those who watched Funny Cide go for the Triple Crown last year.
The victory triggered the biggest payday in the sport, with the undefeated favorite earning a $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park along with the Derby winner's share of $854,800.
Smarty Jones ran his record to 7-for-7 and became the first unbeaten Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977. Seattle Slew went on to win the Triple Crown, a feat Smarty Jones will attempt when he heads to the Preakness in two weeks.
"I don't think this horse has ever got the respect he was due," 77-year-old owner Roy Chapman said.
Probably because his story is a doozy.
Smarty is a Pennsylvania-bred who nearly died when he slammed his head on an iron bar; his trainer and jockey are based at a small-time park; his owners refused a blank check to sell him.
He doesn't have the regal bearing of a champion. He's smallish and has goofy bangs that brush the top of his eyes. But nothing has stopped him so far.
Even over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs -- the first in 10 years -- Smarty Jones raced just behind pace-setter Lion Heart. As the 18-horse field came off the final turn, the colt moved up to challenge for the lead. Under Elliott, Smarty Jones staged his patented stretch surge with an eighth of a mile to go and pulled away.
He won by 2 3/4 lengths over Lion Heart, with Imperialism, trained by 21-year-old Kristin Mulhall, third.
"At the three-eighths pole I was biding my time," Elliott said. "I knew I had a loaded gun beneath me. He straightened up, switched leads and I figured it was time to go.
"When I had the chance, I took it. I was pretty confident when we passed Lion Heart," he said.
The winning time for the 11/4-mile Derby was a slow 2:04.06 over the fourth sloppy track in Derby history. Though it didn't rain during the race, there was a downpour two hours earlier that left the track a muddy mess and filled the infield with small lakes.
That his first Derby was raced over slop hardly mattered to winning trainer John Servis: "That was a beautiful race. Picture perfect."
Mike Smith, aboard Lion Heart, concurred: "I had a great trip, but Smarty Jones just had another gear."
Servis and Elliott, a pair of Philadelphia Park regulars, became the first trainer-jockey duo to win the Derby on their first try since favorite Spectacular Bid won in 1979 for trainer Bud Delp and jockey Rodney Franklin.
And even though the favorite won, until the gates opened, the race was considered a wide- open affair with at least a half dozen horses capable of winning, including Blue Grass Stakes winner The Cliff's Edge and Wood Memorial winner Imperialism.
In the stands, Chapman got out of his wheelchair and shouted, "I can't believe it!" and accepted hugs from Servis, friends and relatives. Chapman, hooked up to an oxygen tank because of his emphysema, then sat back down, taking deep breaths to calm himself, but smiling the whole time.
"We've never raced at this level," said Chapman, a retired auto dealer who got into the horse business in the mid 1980s. "Never thought we would get here until we met Smarty. And this guy sitting next to me." He pointed to Servis.
Chapman and his wife, Pat, will now collect a $5 million bonus from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., because their horse swept the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby. With the huge payoff, Smarty Jones becomes racing's sixth richest horse with earnings of $6,733,155.
The 4-1 favorite paid $10.20, $6.20 and $4.80 in becoming just the fifth undefeated Derby winner. Lion Heart paid $8.20 and $5.80. Imperialism returned $6.20 to show. Limehouse was fourth, followed by The Cliff's Edge, Action This Day, Read the Footnotes, Birdstone, Tapit, Borrego, Song of the Sword, Master David, Pro Prado, Castledale, Friends Lake, Minister Eric and Pollard's Vision. Quintons Gold Rush did not finish.
The crowd, 140,054, was the smallest since 1994, when Go for Gin won over the last sloppy track.
Last year, Funny Cide became the first New York-bred to win the Derby. Smarty Jones becomes just the second Pennsylvania-bred -- Lil E. Tee in 1992 was the first. Funny Cide also had a first-time Derby trainer and owners, but any other similarities end there.
Indeed, any horse would be hard-pressed to come up with a made-for-TV story to match Smarty's. And it all started just months after he was born at the Chapmans' Someday Farm in Chester County, Pa., the lush countryside outside Philadelphia.
First, original trainer Bob Camac and his wife were murdered at their farm in New Jersey, and the Chapmans nearly got out of the business altogether. They sold off most of their stock and kept only two horses -- one was Smarty Jones. He was sent to Florida to be broken for racing, and when he returned last year he was sent to Servis, a friend of Camac's.
Last July, misfortune struck again.
While schooling in the starting gate at Philly Park, the colt suddenly reared up and slammed his head on an unpadded iron bar.
"Oh my God, this horse killed himself," Servis recalled thinking.
He fractured his skull, shattered orbital bones and nearly lost his left eye. He was nursed back to health at the New Jersey Equine Clinic. To this day, one can still see the dents in his head.
Smarty Jones finally made it to the races, and hasn't stopped running since. He broke his maiden on Nov. 9, winning by 7 3/4 lengths at Philly Park. He won by 15 lengths two weeks later -- and that's when Servis knew he had himself a Derby horse.
Then it was on to New York, where he won the Count Fleet at Aqueduct before Servis took him to Arkansas. Smarty Jones then won the Southwest Stakes and Rebel Stakes, but still hadn't earned any graded stakes money, something that was needed to make the Derby field.
A win in the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby was crucial, and Smarty came through -- in the rain. He blew past Borrego and won by 11/2 lengths and it was on to Churchill Downs.
And now it's on to Baltimore.
Preakness News Update May 15, 2004
Pimlico no match for Smarty Jones
Secretariat
Some of the first names submitted to the Jockey Club for this colt were "Sceptre", "Royal Line", "Something Special", "Games of Chance", and "Deo Volente" (which is Latin for "God Willing"). But none of these names were available. Finally, the sixth name submitted was accepted. And that is how we came to know him as Secretariat.
Trainer, Lucien Laurin, started the colt in a 5 1/2 furlong purse at Aqueduct on the fourth of July. His odds that day were 3-to-1 (the highest odds you would ever receive on Secretariat). The poor chestnut colt got mugged coming out of the gate, and suffered terrible interference. What a surprising introduction this was to his new career! Sec finished in fourth that day - the only time he would ever finish off the board. From this rough treatment, he learned to break slowly from the gate to avoid trouble. Secretariat was indeed a quick learner.The remainder of his two-year-old season was an exhibition of consistency. Secretariat put together a string of eight consecutive first place finishes, including the best juvenile events in this country. The only black marks against an otherwise perfect season were the aforementioned debut race, and the Champagne Stakes at Belmont, which was taken away from him on a disqualification and awarded to Stop The Music.
By year-end, it was virtually unanimous that Secretariat was the most exciting horse in training (of any age), so at the age of two, he was crowned Horse Of The Year.Secretariat, in a deal arranged by Claiborne Farm, was syndicated into shares and therefore the future breeding rights to him were purchased. The deal was worth a record $6,080,000 and stipulated the condition that the colt would only race though his three-year-old season.
At three, Secretariat debuted in the Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct at the shrunken odds of 1-to-5, so great was the public's faith in him, although he hadn't raced in four months. No worries - Secretariat won easily by 4 1/2 lengths. This was followed by a three-length victory in the Gotham Stakes. Here was, at this point, a virtually unstoppable superstar. He had only one more prep planned before the Triple Crown and that was the Wood Memorial. "Superman" failed that day. The victory went to stablemate Angle Light, with Sham second. Secretariat's third place performance was disappointing to most, and unbelievable to others. Had someone placed Kryptonite in his saddlepads?
No - he was merely the victim of a slow pace, and simply could not reach the other two in time. Secretariat knew he had lost, and that angered him, according to his owner. Miss Tweedy also remarked that the loss was like a release valve - it took a great deal of pressure off the colt going into the Triple Crown. It showed the world that Secretariat was real, which made his outstanding victories all the more phenomenal.The public was convinced the Wood had been an aberration. Secretariat and Angle Light were the bettors' choice in the Derby at 3-to-2, although Sham was getting very good support as second choice at 5-to-2 odds. Shecky Greene assumed the early lead with Gold Bag, Royal And Regal, Angle Light and Sham in closest pursuit. Where was the $6 million dollar colt? Dead last. Secretariat relaxed nicely from the gate, and settled in at the rear, allowing the others to show the way. Making his way into the first turn Secretariat moved to the outside and began picking off the competition one by one.Secretariat charged up the backstretch with his sights set on the leader who was by this time - Sham. That one drew clear of his rivals rounding the final turn, but Secretariat was looming on the outside. Sham led the way into the stretch but quickly Secretariat was upon him. For a few strides they ran together. Clearly the winner would be one of these two, as the others were hopelessly outpaced. Jockey Ron Turcotte showed the whip to his mount just once, and the chestnut colt responded, drawing away from his pursuers. At the wire, he had won by 2 1/2 lengths over Sham, setting a new track record. Sham's race was also a marvelous one. His finishing time also bettered the previous race record. Our Native was 8 lengths further away in third place.
In the Preakness, Secretariat again began in last place, but was close to the rear of the pack, not far back. Secretariat passed the grandstand the first time still trailing. Then, far before Turcotte planned to urge him forward, Secretariat made up his own mind that the time had come to take the lead. He lunged forward with a mighty leap and burst past the others. He soared up the outside of the pack and assumed the lead before they had even gone a half mile. The remainder of the race was simply for the others to determine who would finish second behind Secretariat. Sham was once again the best of the rest, finishing (again) 2 1/2 lengths behind Secretariat, with Our Native (again) eight lengths further back in third place. The finishing time on the track's teletimer was 1:55, a full second off the track record, but Daily Racing Form clockers all recorded a time of 1:53 2/5, which shattered the old record. The matter of the official time of this race is still in deliberations.
For the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat emerged from an inside post position in a field of only 5 runners. The break was clean and My Gallant got out the quickest with Sham up on the outside, and Secretariat at the rail. Seeing no one to block his path and interfere with him, Secretariat went right for the lead. He assumed command almost immediately after the start, and Sham went right up with him to pressure him. The two raced together around the first turn, then Secretariat drew away, and continued drawing away. By the mid-backstretch his lead was 10 lengths. By the far turn it was 12 lengths. Secretariat turned into the homestretch at least 20 lengths ahead of the others.Chick Anderson, who called the race that day, spoke the now immortal words "...but Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine... he's a sixteenth of a mile ahead of the other horses!" And he continued to widen the margin. 22 lengths. 25 lengths. 28 lengths. At the wire, the official margin was an unbelieveable 31 lengths. Twice a Prince was far, far back in second place. There was no doubt about this finishing time - 2:24 flat - a new world record.
"Big Red" went next to the Arlington International where his odds were drummed down to microscopic proportions, 1-to-20. He won that race by 9 lengths. The he ran in the Whitney Stakes, carrying a low-grade fever, and lost to Onion, but only by a length. In the Marlboro Invitational, he spearheaded a Meadow Stable exacta, leading Riva Ridge to the line. His last start on the dirt came in the sloppy Woodward Stakes, and there he finished second to Prove Out.
His last two outings both came on the turf. Lucien Laurin convinced Penny Tweedy that Secretariat could be even better on grass than he had been on the dirt. Perhaps the trainer was right - his turf debut in the Man o'War Stakes resulted in a new course record at Belmont Park. For his final race, Secretariat would get the services of jockey Eddie Maple. Turcotte was serving a suspension and was not allowed to ride for a certain number of days. The swansong came in the Canadian International Championship Stakes at Woodbine, Ontario. The weather was miserable, foggy, wet and cold. But Secretariat let no one down. He powered around the course like a locomotive with steam blowing from his nostrils. He was an easy 6 1/2 length winner. This victory brought his earnings to a then record of $1,316,808.A few weeks later, he was paraded under tack at Aqueduct, site of his first race, before a crowd of admirers who longed for one more glimpse of him carrying the famous Meadow silks. The crowd of 6,000 was the largest ever to gather at Aqueduct on a non-racing day.Secretariat was retired to Claiborne Farm where he sired Horse Of The Year LADY'S SECRET and champions MEDAILLE D'OR and RISEN STAR.
Other outstanding offspring included GENERAL ASSEMBLY (Travers winner), IMAGE OF GREATNESS, FIESTA LADY, PANCHO VILLA, TERLINGUA, ATHYKA, CLEVER SECRET, TINNERS WAY and many others.
Secretariat died at age 19, relatively young for a thoroughbred. He had been suffering from an incurable foot disease called laminitis, which made it painful for him to walk or even stand. When his suffering became too great, the heart-wrenching decision was made to end his life peacefully. Secretariat was given the honor of being buried whole in the Claiborne cemetery. It is traditional for horses to be buried "head, heart, and hooves", but certain special horses deserve special treatment. Visitors still flock to Claiborne Farm, bearing flowers and gifts for their hero.
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