Smarty Jones Classic

smuthg · #1 03-20-2007, 09:10 AM

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=38075

I was kinda hoping that Oaklawn would rename the Southwest or the Rebel for him, but glad to see this...

blackthroatedwind · #2 03-20-2007, 09:18 AM

Out of curiosity, why would Oaklawn rename any stake after Smarty Jones?

dr. fager · #3 03-20-2007, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Out of curiosity, why would Oaklawn rename any stake after Smarty Jones?

Good point, they're probably pretty upset he took that 5 million dollar bonus they hoped nobody won....LOL

smuthg · #4 03-20-2007, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Out of curiosity, why would Oaklawn rename any stake after Smarty Jones?

It seems to me that Smarty has had as much to do with the return of Oaklawn Park to some degree of prestige and credibility in the eyes of the racing public (especially on the Coasts) as the increased purses from the slot money. While his owners might have been money hungry and sent him to the breeding shed much too soon, ever since Smarty completed the Southwest/Rebel/Ark Derby path through Oaklawn, every 3YO who shows up at Oaklawn with a hope of making the Derby gets compared to him.

Maybe not the most logical response, but to me makes as much since as naming a race at Lone Star after Ouija Board...

blackthroatedwind · #5 03-20-2007, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smuthg

It seems to me that Smarty has had as much to do with the return of Oaklawn Park to some degree of prestige and credibility in the eyes of the racing public (especially on the Coasts) as the increased purses from the slot money. While his owners might have been money hungry and sent him to the breeding shed much too soon, ever since Smarty completed the Southwest/Rebel/Ark Derby path through Oaklawn, every 3YO who shows up at Oaklawn with a hope of making the Derby gets compared to him.

Maybe not the most logical response, but to me makes as much since as naming a race at Lone Star after Ouija Board...

Maybe you are right, but I always felt that Oaklawn was a pretigious meet, and of course have found the recent comparisons to Smarty Jones amusing....as if somehow by racing on a particular surface one horse is somehow comparable to another.

The Lone Star comparison doesn't seem particularly out of line except that Oaklawn has been around for quite a while and Lone Star opened about a week ago. To be perfectly honest, changing one of their prep races to the Smart Jones seems like at best a cheap publicity stunt....which thankfully they have so far avoided.

smuthg · #6 03-20-2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Maybe you are right, but I always felt that Oaklawn was a pretigious meet, and of course have found the recent comparisons to Smarty Jones amusing....as if somehow by racing on a particular surface one horse is somehow comparable to another.

The Lone Star comparison doesn't seem particularly out of line except that Oaklawn has been around for quite a while and Lone Star opened about a week ago. To be perfectly honest, changing one of their prep races to the Smart Jones seems like at best a cheap publicity stunt....which thankfully they have so far avoided.

Well said. Given that it is the closest "real" track to me, I have a special place in my heart for Oaklawn and I think that you, like most knowledgeable racing fans, appreciate the meet. However, as with most things between the Mississippi River and the Rockies, until Smarty came along most casual fans either ignored and/or failed to give the meet its due credit; I don't think that is the case anymore... That being said, I can see your point on the "cheap publicity stunt" and agree the Smarty comparisons are out of control, but I would like to see something at Oaklawn "memorializing" his accomplishments and maybe you're right a race is not it...

randallscott35 · #7 03-20-2007, 02:19 PM

How on earth did they have a Breeders Cup at Lone Star?

Mortimer · #8 03-20-2007, 09:18 AM

Blech.

I always hated that name.

It sounds like some bumbling espionage agent .

slotdirt · #9 03-20-2007, 09:27 AM

Well, it's about TIME they named a race after Willy Wank.

randallscott35 · #10 03-20-2007, 09:50 AM

This naming races thing has to stop. The Zippy Chippy Classic can't be far off. (No offense to Smarty)

zippyneedsawin · #11 03-20-2007, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randallscott35

This naming races thing has to stop. The Zippy Chippy Classic can't be far off. (No offense to Smarty)

Hey! I'm going to suggest that to Finger Lakes right now!

slotdirt · #12 03-20-2007, 09:53 AM

I don't know, I don't have a problem naming races after the sport's stalwarts. I don't know about calling it a classic though. What's so classic about a race being run for the first time?

Anywho, if there is a stakes race in the USA named for Shecky Greene, why not name one for Smarty Jones?

blackthroatedwind · #13 03-20-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by randallscott35

This naming races thing has to stop. The Zippy Chippy Classic can't be far off. (No offense to Smarty)

At least Zippy Chippy has humorous overtones and God knows the game can use all the fun it can get.

But, I totally agree with you. There is such a disconnect between the past and present, at least on message boards, and without an understanding of the history of the game you can't possibly understand the relative merits of the recent supposed stars.