It's anything but. Bill Nader of NYRA is predicting, probably corrrectly, that more money will be bet on Smarty Jones Sat. than on any other horse in the history of racing. The biggest single bet, however, is one which won't find it's way into the mutuel pool. And while it doesn't make sense to question the business acumen of anyone who is able to thrive in the cutthroat world of auto sales, & the hope is that I am dead wrong, it is not entirely clear from published reports that the Chapmans, who have turned the entire matter over to George Isaacs of Bridlewood, fully understand the nature & amts of the bets they are making.

As has often been the case, Point Given, the last mega-syndication, was a failure financially, a fact well known to the very limited number of players who can participate when things reach the $40-60 million range, a list which is considerably shorter when you publically indicate a preference for US ownership. Smarty is worth some number of millions more today than he will be after the Bel if he loses, but those millions are nothing compared to what will be at risk if he races at 4, particularly as there is not enough insurance capacity to cover the potential loss.

Perhaps the Chapmans really don't care about the extra millions, although it's hard to argue with those who point out that in the final analysis money made the difference in virtually every other case in recent memory, despite what was said initially & in the press. If, as I firmly hope, the Chapmans are planning on keeping Smarty on the track for the good of the game, they deserve all the credit in the world, & in the estimation of this fan will leave a legacy of doing more for the sport than all of the bluebloods who run things behind the scene combined.