Thoroughbred racing is referred to as the Sport of Kings, but every now and then a commoner breaks through. Such was the case with Smarty Jones, who rose from humble beginnings in Pennsylvania to become a dual classic winner.
Fittlingly, as Smarty Jones enters the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., common racing fans will be mingling with some of the sport’s elite during a weekend that serves as a love letter to the sport.
Smarty Jones, who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, is the lone contemporary inductee into the Hall of Fame this year, as the Hall celebrates its 75th anniversary. The popular runner was voted in by the panel in his first time on the ballot, although not in his first year of eligibility.
Also being inducted this year are racehorses Decathlon and Hermis and trainer George H. Conway, selected by the 1900-1959 historic review committee; and Edward L. Bowen, Arthur B. Hancock III, and Richard Ten Broeck, selected by the Pillars of the Turf committee.
The 2025 class will be enshrined in a ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, just down the block from Saratoga Race Course. Retired track announcer Tom Durkin will serve as master of ceremonies. Standing by will be a grounds crew that after the ceremony is completed must must turn the pavilion over in preparation for Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga selected yearling sale that begins Monday evening.
As is the case every year, the induction ceremony is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, and it typically becomes standing room only in the two-story pavilion. Returning Hall of Famers – some coming to the pavilion straight from morning training hours at Saratoga – attend and are recognized at the ceremony, and are often sought out by fans bearing memorabilia to sign.
There is sure to be a contingent of fans driving up from Philadelphia, about five hours away, to watch hometown hero Smarty Jones take his place in the Hall of Fame. Fans packed Philadelphia Park, now Parx Racetrack, and area sports bars for watch parties during his run at the Triple Crown in 2004.
Bred in Pennsylvania by the Someday Farm of the late Roy Chapman and his wife, Pat, Smarty Jones was an unlikely candidate to even make it to the Kentucky Derby. The Chapmans original trainer, Robert Camac, was murdered in 2001, leading the couple to nearly exit Thoroughbred racing. Smarty Jones, one of the few young horses they retained, seriously injured himself while schooling in the starting gate as a juvenile in 2003, nearly losing an eye. But the colt, under the care of John Servis, made it to the races at Philadelphia Park later that year.
Smarty Jones whipped through his first six starts, including the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby, to arrive in Louisville undefeated. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Before a record crowd of over 120,000 that chanted his name as he took the track for the Belmont Stakes, he looked like a winner in midstretch but was run down late by Birdstone. Smarty Jones was retired later that summer with bone bruising.
Pat Chapman is still the majority owner of 24-year-old Smarty Jones, a son of Eusive Quality out of the Smile mare I’ll Get Along who has resided in his home state since 2019, standing at Equistar Farm near Annville, Pa. She will be on hand for the stallion’s induction into the Hall of Fame, along with Servis and jockey Stewart Elliott, who rode Smarty Jones in all nine of his races. A family reunion is in the offing, as Elliott’s son Christopher recently attained journeyman status and is riding at Saratoga.
Following the induction ceremony, many in the the crowd will cross the the street to the racetrack, where the Friday feature is the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes. There will be a special winner’s circle presentation with Hall of Fame members following the race.
In addition to rubbing elbows with legends on Friday, fans will have further opportunities to meet and greet Hall of Famers the following day. Several will attend the free Saturday Morning Social program at the Museum from 9 to 11 a.m. More than 30 Hall of Famers are then expected to participate in a commemorative 75th anniversary Hall of Fame poster signing during Saturday’s Whitney card, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon, in front of the silks room.
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