BENSALEM, Pa. – The Smarty Jones mania at Philadelphia Park cooled down noticeably yesterday, the Kentucky Derby winner’s second morning back at his home track. It figures to heat back up again tomorrow when the public is invited to watch him gallop at 8 a.m.
The “Philly Flash,” who remains on target for the Preakness next Saturday, was out for a light jog about 8:30 a.m. yesterday, after which trainer John Servis and jockey Stewart Elliott held a press conference in the paddock.
Servis, who except for one brief return trip was on the road with “Smarty” since he shipped to Oaklawn Park in January, praised his staff for taking care of the other 41 horses in the barn while he was gone.
“The crew did a good job the whole time,” he said. “They were winning races at a good clip.”
The 45-year-old conditioner was pleased to be back in familiar surroundings.
“This is a good surface to train on, and it’s home for me,” he said. “I’m happy [here], and my family’s happy. I’ve had plenty of opportunities [to train at more prestigious tracks]. I could work my butt off, be like Wayne Lukas or Bob Baffert, but that’s not important to me.”
Servis took the opportunity to stump for a project dear to the hearts of local horsemen – the installation of slot machines, or VLT’s, at Philly Park.
“You want to write about something?” he told the assembled media. “It’s how bad we need the slots. They put on a good show here, there are some very good trainers back there, we just need better horses.
“[Smarty Jones] is in the paper every day. The politicians have to see that this is a big industry in Pennsylvania. But [the post-Derby publicity] is going to wear off. We need something else going.”
Only three horses that finished behind Smarty Jones in the Derby are pointing for the Preakness, along with three new shooters. Is Servis surprised that the trainers of more Derby runners aren’t coming up with excuses, especially given the sloppy track, to try Smarty Jones again?
“We trainers are good at making excuses,” he said. “But now, those other Derby horses become the predators. They’re ready to be the spoiler [in the Triple Crown]. If it was me, I wouldn’t run in the Preakness. I’d make sure my horse was 150 percent to run in the [June 5] Belmont Stakes.”
Should Smarty Jones go on to sweep the Crown by winning the Preakness and Belmont, he would collect another $5 million bonus to become the richest thoroughbred of all-time.
Smarty Jones’ owner, Roy “Chappy” Chapman, who’s home in Florida and too ill to do much traveling, has yet to collect the first $5 million windfall from Oaklawn for winning the Rebel, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby.
“Mr. [Charles] Cella [owner of Oaklawn] has called me 10 times,” Servis said. “He wants me to fly down there to accept the check, but I don’t have time. He’s looking to give these people $5 million, and I hate to put him off.”
PROBABLE PREAKNESS FIELD (s,l)
Horse trainer jockey odds
Smarty Jones, John Servis, Stewart Elliott 8-5
Lion Heart, Patrick Biancone, Mike Smith 5-2
Eddington, Mark Hennig, Jerry Bailey 5-1
The Cliff’s Edge, Nick Zito, Shane Sellers 6-1
Rock Hard Ten, Jason Orman, David Flores, 10-1
Borrego, Beau Greely, Victor Espinoza, 20-1
Water Cannon, Linda Albert, Ryan Fogelsonger, 25-1