I absolutely agree...I never bet favorites...though I had him in my exotics.

Mark

I'm saving the "I told you so" for after the Belmont. Remember, though, that Funny Cide won the Preakness by 9 lengths. That said, Smarty Jones smoked the field after pressing what can only be described as a moderate to slow pace. He was much the best again Saturday.

Mark

The Cliffs Edge?

Hmm.. just heard an anecdote from a coworker that came back from the Derby... apparently there was a guy outside selling knock-off Derby merchandise who was "bought out" by a few members of the US Military, they allegedly (and I believe the friend) overturned his table and dragged his merchandise into the dirt and stomped on it.

So much for the Posse Comitatus Act?!? (US Code Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 67, Sec. 1385) ... and there's a US DoD directive 5525.5(B) that extends the restrictions to Naval and Marine personnel.

Bren R.

If you get a chance, read what Andrew Beyer had to say about Smarty Jones and the Preakness (Washingtonpost.com). Second best Beyer speed figure since 1987. What most impressed me was coming down the stretch you see Rock Hard Ten visibly surge but Smarty Jones just pour it on, like he had hit that gear already and was in overdrive. Effortless.
"The next best thing to playing and winning is playing and Losing."

Sounds like some righteous frontier justice to me, Bren

The scary thing is that Smarty Jones didn't even go all out down the stretch. His jockey only tapped him with the whip twice, and he had a whole lot more horse he never had to call on. If he doesn't get injured or sick, I don't see anybody beating him in the Preakness.

Mark

I'd say that's a pretty good prediction, Mark - considering the Preakness was run almost a week ago!

I got 100-1 odds in Mark's favor...taking all bets.

Tough crowd. I guess the real question is whether Smarty Jones can keep his mind on racing and not on that gold-digging tramp Butterscotch.