http://nytimes.com/2004/08/02/sports...D-SMAR.html?hp
Smarty suffers from chronic bruising of the bottom of the cannon bone of all 4 fetlocks, a condition that would make it too difficult for him to race again.
Just think of all those lucky fillies and mares out there at Three Chimneys Farm (where's he's being retired to stud)
Originally Posted by bronxgirl
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/02/sports...D-SMAR.html?hp
Smarty suffers from chronic bruising of the bottom of the cannon bone of all 4 fetlocks, a condition that would make it too difficult for him to race again.
Just think of all those lucky fillies and mares out there at Three Chimneys Farm (where's he's being retired to stud)
"Long Live Smarty!!!"
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=23684
So they will parade Smarty at Philadelphia Park on August 14, then send him to stud. Bummer! Why not hold off on the parade until Labor Day and the PA Derby?
I don't know what the rush is. It's August now, and any foal conceived in late August would be born in late July and would be at a disadvantage racing against winter and spring foals (the official "birthday" of all racehorses is January 1st, but a two-year-old born in January or February is considerably more physically developed than a two-year-old born in June or July).
That business of the cannon bone bruising is a crock. According to top thorobred veterinarian Larry Bramlage, that is a common injury among racehorses and is easily taken care of by a 3-month rest period. Smarty COULD have run as a 4-year-old and made the Dubai World Cup in March, but that would mean he'd miss covering 75-100 mares in the breeding season starting in March, at somewhere around $75K-$125K a pop.
Smarty was retired because of MONEY, not because he has a serious injury.
Last edited by chuckm; 08-04-2004 at 10:30 AM.
The Chapmans want money. It's all about the money. Several people(vets, trainers) have come forward to say that he could come back within 4 months.
What they are afraid of is if he runs again and loses, it will hurt his stud fee.
He will never be considered great because he never got a chance to prove it by running again. Slew, Affirmed and Secretariat ran beyond the Belmont.
And they wonder how the general public gets the impression that racing is a greedy sport.
BTW, I bet the next TC is taken directly from the winners circle into a van and shipped to the farm
Here's hoping for the sport's sake that the next TC winner is a gelding. Otherwise, if this pattern keeps up, they'll be shipping the winner of the Kentucky Derby straight from the winner's circle to the nearest breeding shed
Oh, I hate to hear that. It was such an exciting story. But, we shouldn't feel too bad....it sounds like he is really going to enjoy his retirement. LOL!
Smarty Jones had a great career, anyway, and came close to winning the Belmont -- and the Triple Crown. That's OK though.
He will never be in the same breath as other greats like Kelso, Cigar, Dr. Fager, Damascus, Eight Thirty.
He never got the chance to prove how good he was or wasn't.
This silly business of retiring good horses so early only to get more money is poor sportsmanship.
I'm glad the Chapmans never owned Seabiscuit. There never would've been a match race.
I just hope Smarty Jones will live a long, healthy life and be well taken care of.
Sounds like there is a lot of controversy in horse racing, as in any sport....I never followed racing until hearing about Smarty Jones and being in the vicinity of where he's been homed/trained. Watched the 2 races he was in....don't think I'll be following the horse racing sport from here on out.
It's a shame that racing keeps losing the casual fan like you by continuously shooting itself inthe foot (or would that be hoof?). Everytime a horse comes along that captures the publics interest, it is retired to the breeding shed before it can demonstrate their true potential. 3 year old horses are babies. If you watch any of the equestrian sports at Athens, they are riding horses that are 10 years old. A 7 year old is a baby in those events. It hurts me to see what the pursuit of money has done to the magnificent animals. There is too much inbreeding added to the inherent dangers of racing half a ton of horse on ankles the size of humans.
Sorry for the rant, but horses are magnificent creatures who deserve so much more than what we sometimes end up giving them.
Why are you giving up watching the sport from here on out? There are other horses to watch--Perfect Drift, Azeri, Rock Hard Ten, Major Impact, Birdstone, Ashado,Ocean Drive.
Please don't leave racing, NJSk8Fan! We need new fans. Don't let one incident leave you "Smarting."
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