Saturday
Preakness Stakes
5 p.m., Ch. 4
It is Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown to lose. All he needs to do is stay healthy and strong, according to race caller Dave Johnson.
“If he doesn’t fall apart, he wins it,” said Johnson, who will describe Saturday’s Preakness Stakes for the Premiere Radio Networks, heard here on WFAN.
“They are not machines. This horse is so fast. He is so much faster than the rest of his generation. He runs numbers that are incredibly fast. You never see a 3-year-old run these types of numbers, but it takes its toll.”
Smarty Jones is no lock to win the Triple Crown; the Preakness is the key.
“Honestly, if he wins the first two legs of the Triple Crown, I think he will go into the Belmont with a better chance of winning the Triple Crown than Funny Cide did a year ago,” ESPN racing analyst Randy Moss said.
According to Moss, Funny Cide last year had to contend with a better horse, Empire Maker, who skipped the Preakness to save his legs for the Belmont’s distance.
“Anyone who followed these horses on a regular basis knew that Funny Cide was walking into a buzzsaw and chances are he would lose,” Moss said. “With Smarty Jones, there doesn’t seem to be a horse out there like an Empire Maker that you can say pretty definitely is a better horse. So you would have to say his chances of winning the Preakness would have to be greater.”
Moss said Smarty Jones is the best pick Saturday, but not the best bet because of the likely odds. Imperialism or The Cliff’s Edge’s are the best “value” bets, Moss said.
Smarty Jones, though, might have that extra ingredient of a champion.
“Smarty Jones is a very determined, very courageous, very aggressive horse who is the kind of horse that seemingly relishes challenges,” Moss said. “He is very competitive. That is the trademark of a good horse. Whether he deserves to be called a great horse, that remains to be seen. There are a few more hurdles to be climbed.”
The highest one might be Saturday. If Smarty Jones gets by the Preakness, he will be race against history in the Belmont.