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The 2004 chase for the Triple Crown had a sense of familiarity about it when all was said and done. In the Kentucky derby, Smarty Jones started from post 15 to win the run for the roses by 2 ¾ lengths. At 31-1 odds, he wasn’t the biggest long shot to win the Derby, but even though he came into the Derby undefeated, he wasn’t picked as a favorite by many of the experts. In the Preakness, Smarty Jones was seemingly playing games with the other horses before he exploded for a record setting victory of 11 ½ lengths. The old record at the Preakness was 10 lengths and had been a record since the 1873 running at Pimlico Race Course.
In 5 of the previous 7 years, a horse had won the first two legs only to be beaten in the Belmont weeks later. Many experts were so sure Smarty Jones would take the Belmont and be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 that the only question in their minds would be the winning margin. He loaded into post 9 as a 2-5 favorite, and immediately burst from the gates, taking a lead around the first and second corners. As they started down the stretch, he seemingly ran out of gas and more than 120,000 fans looked on as long shot Birdstone beat him by a single length. Birdstone’s jockey and owner seemed almost apologetic in their press conferences, because they seemed to realize what a Triple Crown winner would’ve done for the sport, but the win was unexpected and capped off what could only be described as breathtaking horse racing.
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