I think the points that have been made about why the Chapmans want to continue running Smarty Jones are dead on. Another thing to realize is that Smarty Jones, even if he wins tomorrow, still has more that he could prove. If he wins tomorrow, he will be one of twelve triple crown winners and presumably one of the, say, 25 greatest racehorses of all time. He will be champion three year old and horse of the year. But that is hardly the limit of what he can achieve. I assume that he will be given a considerable break after the Belmont, possibly precluding performances in the major summer races like the Haskell in the Travers. But he still will likely race two or three times this year, in the Pa. Derby and the B.C. Classic, with possibly another race in between. If he were to win those, say, three races, he will end the year 10 for 10 and 12 for 12 in his career, completing arguably the greatest single season in racing history.


But even that would not be the limit. It is still a long way in the future, but I think it is not unreasonable to start considering another of racing's greatest feats, 16 wins in a row. The Belmont, then three races this year, would put him only five races shy of Citation/Cigar's record. And, frankly, he has done nothing to show that winning eight more races without a loss is unrealistic.

The point is simply this-- Smarty Jones has the potential not only to do something that has not been done in racing in 26 years. He has the potential to do even more. Jerry Brown and co. have already shown quite conclusively his exceptional speed. If he wins the Triple Crown, the Breeder's Cup Classic, and gets 17 in a row, we would all be hard-pressed to argue not just that he wasn't one of the greatest racehorses of all-time, but that he was THE single greatest racehorse of all-time.

Given, if he loses tomorrow, this might all be out the window. But that's racing.