Smarty Jones Stakes

One of the newest races on the Kentucky Derby trail is the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Named after the 2004 Kentucky Derby winner, the Smarty Jones Stakes is the first of four races for Derby-bound 3-year-olds at the Hot Springs, Arkansas track – the others being the Southwest Stakes, Rebel Stakes, and Arkansas Derby.

The race is named after Smarty Jones, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2004. Many believed Smarty Jones would break the Triple Crown drought that year, but he lost to Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes.

The race (not to be confused with a race by the same name at Parx) earned enough prestige in its short history to be made part of the inaugural Road to the Kentucky Derby series in 2013, and it has remained there since. The first four finishers earn points in the series with a 10-4-2-1 split.

The Smarty Jones Stakes hasn’t produced a winner of any of the Triple Crown races in its short history. But it has been won by a winner of the Champion Three-Year-Old Male title – that was Will Take Charge, who wasn’t in the money in the Triple Crown races but who later won the Travers Stakes and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Other winners include the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Caleb’s Posse and the triple grade one winner Flat Out.

When looking for the winner, it’s best to look at late 2-year-old form, particularly in Kentucky. The Remington Springboard Mile at Remington Park in December is also a good form guide for the Smarty Jones Stakes.