Birdstone camp sorry party spoiled

NEW YORK – For jockey Edgar Prado, his upset of Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes lacked some of the joy that usually comes with victory.

Sure, he was happy to ride 36-1 long-shot Birdstone to the win Saturday. But Smarty Jones had become America’s horse, a fan favorite in a sport longing to end a 26-year stretch without a Triple Crown winner.

One of Prado’s first reactions? An apology to Smarty Jones’ trainer, John Servis, and the rest of his team.

“I’m very sorry for Mr. Servis and all the connections for Smarty Jones, but I had to do my job,” Prado said. “This is part of the business, and I’m very sorry it had to be me.”

The rest of Birdstone’s camp felt badly, too, from trainer Nick Zito to owner Marylou Whitney.

“It’s sad because Smarty is great for racing,” said Zito, who won the Belmont for the first time in 12 tries. “We’ve all become fans of Smarty Jones. He will still go down as one of the greats now.”

Boos rang out from the record crowd of 120,139 when Birdstone returned to the winner’s circle, just like last year after Empire Maker spoiled Funny Cide’s Triple try.

Smarty became known as the “people’s horse” because of his humble pedigree, his roots at small-time Philadelphia Park and his down-to-earth trainer, jockey Stewart Elliott and owners Pat and Roy Chapman.

Birdstone comes from the ritzy side of town. The bay colt was bred in Kentucky by Whitney, whose family has been in racing for three generations. His sire, Grindstone, won the 1996 Belmont.

Purge set pace, faded

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Purge was beaten before he set foot on the track. The colt finished last in the nine-horse field after setting the early pace in the 1 1/2 -mile race.

“He got pretty wound up on us in the paddock, and he got excited in the post parade,” Pletcher said. “He kind of unraveled with the crowd. He got a little too fired up.”

When Purge gave up the lead to Smarty Jones on the backside, Pletcher turned his attention to Smarty.

John Velazquez and Purge were so far back, the jockey watched the infield video board to see what was happening in the stretch.

“I would have liked to have seen a Triple Crown, but that’s how it goes,” he said.

Smarty Jones fourth in earnings

Smarty Jones earned $200,000 for finishing second, and increased his career total to $7,613,155.

He remained fourth on the all-time list of North American horses, behind Cigar, Skip Away and Fantastic Light.

Had he won, Smarty Jones would have collected a $5 million bonus for sweeping the Triple Crown and $600,000 from the Belmont purse, catapulting him to the top of the list.

Rush for souvenirs

Among the most popular souvenirs were $2 win tickets on Smarty Jones.

Fans purchased them with the intention of not cashing them had the colt won the Triple Crown, hoping the tickets would increase in value in years to come.

At least two people took souvenir hunting to the extreme. One person arranged to purchase 10,000 tickets – at a cost of $20,000 – and another bought 6,000 tickets.

Record crowd, record handle

A record crowd of 120,139 watched Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid.

The old mark was 103,222 for the 2002 Belmont, when 70-1 long shot Sarava derailed War Emblem’s Triple try.

The crowd bet a record $14,461,402 on the 13-race card, bettering the old mark of $13,165,397 for the 2001 Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park.

Total handle, which includes wagering from all North American outlets, was $110,994,890, bettering the old mark of $98,835,163 for the 2001 Breeders’ Cup.