John,

I was as big a Smarty Jones fan as existed. I even got over him losing the Triple Crown, because I eventually made his losing race a big, big effort. He's my second favorite horse of all time, but its not his big figure races that bother me, its the new horse in Servis's barn picking right up. Its too Frankelesque.

JohnTChance wrote the following:

> First of all, let me just say that I don't know anything. I
> can't do a sentence and this is just my very personal opinion
> only.
>
> Jerry, I believe you.
>
> But you said in your Derby day analysis that SMARTY JONES had
> "the best ThoroGraph figures of any horse who ever entered the
> starting gate for the Kentucky Derby" and you noted the colt's
> sire profile skewed to sprints. Before racing at two, we've
> been told the colt was in bad shape and near death. Was he
> given strong therapeutic injections to combat his condition of
> ill health that also had a sideline steroid-like effect of
> moving him up? Affecting his growth? Or did SMARTY run a 0 in
> November of his 2 years old season [and then pair it up six
> weeks later!] as a result of his God-given talent alone? What
> provoked that incredible -3.75 ThoroGraph he ran at Oaklawn?
> Mother Nature alone?
>
> Was Dr. Baker there at Philadelphia Park where SMARTY trained
> in October 2003 before the first 0? Was he there at Philly Park
> in January for the second 0? Was he there at Oaklawn for the
> -3.75?
>
> Noting that the BC Classic was once won with a 4 ThoroGraph [!]
> and noting also your fascinating articles on racehorses getting
> faster, I believe without any doubts that SMARTY was aided by
> something other than Mother Nature alone. As always, I wish I
> had the video proof. But I dont.
>
> Lastly, some trainers have more than one vet. For years Shug
> had one guy at Belmont [where he was lackluster] and another
> vet at Saratoga [where his barn would curiously wake up].
>
> Sometimes a guy like Allday ISN'T THE EVERDAY attending vet.
> But he's asked to come in and [as my friend likes to say]
> "change the oil." The idea being that maybe John Servis had
> more than one guy treat his horse from before the colt's debut
> till his last race.
>
>