HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – It was 20 years ago this month that Smarty Jones won the Southwest Stakes and set off a life-changing sequence of events for both his connections and Oaklawn Park. In a perfect storm, he swept the track’s 3-year-old series, went on to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and earned a $5 million bonus in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Oaklawn. “We could have not scripted it any better,” said Eric Jackson, the track’s senior vice president. “Oaklawn, we were on the ropes in the late 1990s. A lot of people didn’t think we were going to make it. “But we started turning it around in 2000 and we were getting traction by 2004. And then Smarty came along and with an exclamation point said, ‘Oaklawn is back!’ and put our 3-year-old program on the map, put Oaklawn on the map. People went from saying just a few years earlier Oaklawn wasn’t going to make it to, ‘Gosh, they’ve got a great 3-year-old program.’ ” Pat Chapman, who with her late husband, Roy, raced Smarty Jones, said last month that there were so many “stars that lined up” for their Pennsylvania-bred colt. One was simply the fact that coming off a stakes win at Aqueduct he ended up wintering in Arkansas. “When Smarty Jones won the Count Fleet [at Aqueduct] we knew then he would do two turns and my husband said to our trainer, John Servis, ‘What’s next for us,’ ” Chapman recalled. “He said, ‘I think we’ll go to Arkansas,’ and my husband said, ‘You do realize we live in Florida in the winter?’ ” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Chapman said Servis had several convincing reasons to head to Oaklawn – and it was after that conversation they all learned of the $5 million bonus track president Charles Cella had on offer for a horse who could win the Rebel, Arkansas Derby, and Kentucky Derby. Servis said there were several reasons he was comfortable with the move to Arkansas. “My father used to always talk very good about Oaklawn Park,” he said of the late steward. “And then when I was looking at the races that were available, I loved the way the Triple Crown preps extended in distance with each race. I really like the way they did it. That was the biggest thing.” Smarty Jones developed throughout the course of the meet, but had success right off the bat with a three-quarter-length win in the first leg of the series, the $100,000 Southwest, which will be renewed Saturday with a purse of $800,000. “When we first got there, he was still pretty immature,” Servis recalled. “He was a handful to train. His first race, the Southwest, I had lightened up on him a little bit. We had shipped down from Pennsylvania and he had run three races pretty close off his first start, his maiden victory. I told the Chapmans he had a good chance of getting beat in that race. He wasn’t 100 percent – I hadn’t cranked on him. He showed me that day how much heart he had – to fight off those horses and hang on. I said, ‘Man, he’s the real deal.’ ” Servis said Smarty Jones matured mentally with each passing race over the winter at Oaklawn. It all came together for the Kentucky Derby, according to regular rider Stewart Elliott. “Stewart came back and said, ‘He was so relaxed today, I could have taken him back to last if I wanted,” recalled Servis. “He said, ‘I could do anything with him.’ It took us a while to figure him all out, and we did it through Arkansas.” Chapman, who lost her husband in 2006, has fond memories of Arkansas. “We had the best time at Oaklawn Park,” she said. “It was terrific racing there, and they sure helped put Smarty on the map.” She also recalls a special visit Cella made later in the year to Pennsylvania. “There was a ceremony, photographs with Charles Cella presenting a big cardboard replica of the $5 million check he was handing over to us. That was a fun, fun day at Philadelphia Park,” now called Parx Racing. Smarty Jones now makes his home in Pennsylvania, standing stud just miles from Penn National at Equistar. “He’s just such a happy, happy guy,” Chapman said. “He’s just a feel-good horse. He will rear up and paw in the air and run around. He’s so happy where he is.” Rodney Eckenrode, who owns Equistar, said he looks for Smarty Jones to breed about 30 to 35 mares in 2024. He said the horse has a large following with the public, while Chapman noted Smarty Jones has an exciting undefeated Pennsylvania-bred filly running right now named Aoife’s Magic. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures “There’s someone here all the time to see him,” Eckenrode said. “He gets Christmas presents, birthday cards. He pretty much knows if a car comes in, they’re here for him. He’s a very spoiled, very happy horse.” Smarty Jones captivated Pennsylvania during his 3-year-old season, just as he did Arkansas. “There was something about Smarty that people related to,” Jackson said. “Suddenly, Smarty became everybody’s horse in the state of Arkansas. The Arkansas racing fans adopted Smarty Jones. He will always have a very special place in the history of Oaklawn – and the history of Arkansas sports.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.