Columnist Ralph Siraco: Breeding economics crashed the Smarty party

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Aug. 9, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

It all started on a cold November day in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, Pa., at the steel-hardened racetrack Philadelphia Park.

Moving to the latter part of the racing program that day for the sixth race, an unassuming son of the nondescript sire Elusive Quality reached the starting gate for his debut installed as the even-money favorite. The juvenile romped to a daylight victory, reporting home more than 7 lengths better than the runner-up in what the Daily Racing Form charts noted a "handy score."

In front of a skeletal crowd numbered in the hundreds, Smarty Jones burst onto the racing scene.

It ended on a worldwide stage at Belmont Park in New York with the Triple Crown at stake in front of a record live crowd of 120,139 -- and millions more watching on television. Shooting to extend his 8-for-8 career record, including victories in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, Smart Jones was sent off in the Belmont Stakes as the 35-cent-to-a-dollar favorite to become history's 12th Triple Crown winner.

In what the Form's chart noted as a "game" effort, Smarty Jones fell a length short of racing immortality. He finished second to Birdstone on June 5.

He will never race again.

Although speculation had heightened since trainer John Servis announced that Smarty Jones' planned return to competition in the Sept. 6 Pennsylvania Derby had been canceled, the legion of Smarty Jones fans -- and the racing industry overall -- had been hoping that the missed appearance at his home track was only a temporary setback.

It soon became clear, however, that Smarty Jones would be more valuable starting his next career as a stallion. And the sportsmanship of his owners, Pat and Roy Chapman, was finally outweighed by the sheer economics of Smarty's success.

We all remember, in the celebratory moments of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, the Chapmans promising a 4-year-old campaign for Smarty Jones, for his fans and the world to see what a great horse they had. We breathed a sigh of relief in the belief that win, lose or draw, Smarty Jones would give racing its marquee equine attraction for at least another year.

But after Smarty Jones was syndicated for a reported $39 million, he proved to be too expensive to race. Although the conditions of the syndication agreement gave the Chapmans total control in deciding when Smarty would retire from racing, cynics in the racing world were counting the days until the retirement announcement -- which finally came Aug. 2 with an official news conference.

Perhaps to pacify the masses, it was revealed that Smarty Jones had chronic bruising in all four fetlock -- or ankle joints -- as a result of nine races from November through June over six different tracks.

The condition is normal in many racehorses, according to Dr. Larry Bramlage, who examined the injuries and consulted on the case. Bramlage said, "Horses come back from this injury all the time."

He also indicated that the healing process for such injuries includes several months of rest. Hence, Smarty Jones would have missed the Breeders' Cup, scheduled for Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park.

With the horse's connections facing the prospect of waiting until the 2005 racing season, when Smarty Jones would be a 4-year-old, and taking the chance that Smarty might not be at top form off such a layoff, economics came into play.

Smarty Jones could stand at stud in 2005, his first year as a stallion, for a fee of $75,000 and could cover 100 mares during the breeding season. The arithmetic gives us a result of $7.5 million annually, far more than Smarty could earn on the track even if he swept the slate.

No fan can be as devastated by this decision as Servis, the trainer who said he believed that Smarty Jones could have proved to be one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time.

Although Smarty Jones' meteoric rise to stardom this year will forever be remembered as a great rags-to-riches story, he has been robbed of the opportunity to show how great he could have been.

Only the great Secretariat was so dominating that his place in racing history was already cemented by the end of his sophomore season. Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Ferdinand and Alysheba all raced as 4-year-olds. They provided racing fans with unforgettable moments on the track.

So, while Smarty Jones is whisked off to Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky to occupy the stall that formerly housed Seattle Slew, fans of Smarty Jones will just have to wait for Smarty's offspring, and live with the vintage memories of 2004.