By coincidence this article appeared under Ray Kerrison's byline in the New York Post this morning (which I read after posting my piece)
Jocks "sacrificed"
Smarty Jones'trainer John Servis charged yesterday that jockeys riding in the Belmont Stakes "sacrificed" their own horses to get the public idol beatean and deny him the Triple Crown.
"He cited two jockeys in particular-Jerry Bailey on Eddington and Alex Solis on Rock Hard Ten-for aggressive tactics that led to Smarty's downfall.
The biggest thing in Smarty Jones' defeaat is that he did not settle," said Servis. "He could not get a breather. Bailey pushed Eddington right up along-side him. Then, as soon as Smarty put him away, Solis on Rock Hard Ten came had us.
Those guys had nothing to lose so they sacrificed their horses to push Smarty along. I'm sure that Bailey and Solis would have been much happier, sitting off the pace, stalking but when you don't have anything to lose, you pull out all the stops.
I don't know how there horses came out of it, but ours came out pretty good. But, unfortunately, it cost us the race."
Sour grapes? Not a bit. Servis was explaining what happened rather than protesting.
"That's horse racing," he shrugged. I think Stew Elliott was upset at what the other jockeys did because he knew they were sacrificing their horses, but that's what makes the Triple Crown so tough."