Read about Haskin's "Award winning article"

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He captivated a nation. Rival horse owners rooted for him. Trainers conceded defeat rather than try him. Opposing jockeys compared him to Secretariat. And the press could not say enough good things about him.

Steve Haskin wrote: "There was nothing about him that wasn't great." From Mike Watchmaker: "He is the one we have been waiting for." Chick Lang, who has seen 60 Preaknesses, called Smarty Jones' Preakness: "One of the best performances I've ever seen."

Extraordinary Smarty Jones was. From his starting gate accident as a two-year-old that nearly cost his life to the heart-wrenching final sixteenth in the Belmont, he showed the grit, the heart, and the class of a champion.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Roy and Patricia Chapman and named for Mrs. Chapman's mother, Smarty Jones made his first start in the fall of his two-year-old season, and scored by 7 and 3/4 lengths.

Wheeled back 13 days later in the Pennsylvania Nursery, Smarty Jones posted a dominating 15-length victory in 1:21.88. That stakes win earned him a Beyer Speed Figure of 105, best in the nation for a two-year-old.

Smarty Jones opened his three-year-old season in New York, with an imposing five-length victory in the Count Fleet S. He followed that up with three impressive wins at Oaklawn, the $100,000 Southwest S., $200,000 Rebel S., and $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby-G2.

In the Rebel, Smarty Jones earned the fastest Thoro-Graph speed figure ever given to a three-year-old. In the Arkansas Derby, he cleared the field at will, and galloped out with something in reserve.

Just how much he had in reserve would be seen the first Saturday in May, in the Kentucky Derby.

Breaking quickly from the 13-hole, he bulled through traffic to gain a stalking position, using his agility and tactical speed. Smarty Jones swept to the thoatlatch of Lion Heart at the head of the stretch, and waged a stirring battle. The front runners couldn't stay with him and the closers could not catch him, as he stormed home the first undefeated Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977.

Two Saturdays later, Smarty Jones made history in the Preakness. In front of a record crowd, he exploded on the far turn to win by 11 and 1/2 lengths, breaking the margin record that had stood since 1875, and earning the highest Beyer Speed Figure of the year for a three-year-old.

It seemed the entire nation held its breath while Smarty Jones attempted to become the first triple Crown winner in 26 years. In the 1 and 1/2 mile Belmont S.-G1 he was repeatedly tested by one opponent, then another. Smarty Jones ran his third quarter in :22.91, the fourth in :23.68.

He sped 10 furlongs in 2:00.52­which would have won every Kentucky Derby but four‹and still had the lead at the eighth pole. But the fractions and relentless pressure took their toll, and he was passed in the final furlong.

Nine hard races in eight months brought Smarty Jones' career to a halt. He retired with eight wins, one second in nine starts, and near-record earnings of $7,613,155. He was voted champion three-year-old, and was runner-up as Horse of the Year.

The horses he soundly beat form a testament to his quality. Rock Hard Ten, Eddington, and Borrego all easily won Grade I stakes in his absence, and Castledale, Imperialism, Sir Shackleton, Purge, and Limehouse won Grade I's or II's.

Smarty Jones is by the prepotent stallion Elusive Quality, a world record miler by superior sire of sires Gone West. His dam is a multiple stakes winner, and his next three dams are all stakes mares and stakes producers. Even more crucial, he is a direct descendant of *La Troienne, perhaps the most influential matron in the American Stud Book.

How will history measure Smarty Jones? He is one of just five undefeated Kentucky Derby winners in history and one of just three undefeated Derby/Preakness winners. His average margin of victory through his string of undefeated races was six lengths. He achieved the best Beyer Speed Figures of his crop as a two-year-old and as a three-year- old. His speed was so dominating that his name is used to describe fast horses who burn out their rivals, or race their opponents into submission. And he retired as the fifth richest Thoroughbred in American racing history.

The first yearlings by Smarty Jones sold in 2007, and led by a $650,000 colt and $600,000 filly, he was the Leading Freshman Sale Sire. Buyers of his first crop include Bruce Lunsford, Glen Hill Farm, Mike Ryan, D. Wayne Lukas, John Kimmel, Brian Grassick, Sequoia Racing, Frankfort Park Farm, Jon Kelly, and Reynolds Bell.