The quest for perfection in professional sports is fraught with peril. An elite pitcher can be absolutely flawless for eight innings and lose a perfect game if he misses his spot by an inch and allows a bloop single, or an NFL team like the New England Patriots in 2007 can win every game in the regular season and breeze into the Super Bowl only to lose the big game in a monumental upset.
Before the Aug. 1 induction ceremony for the 2025 class of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame began Aug. 1 at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion on the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds, a fan in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey in the crowd and a poster hanging from the balcony with the words “Smarty’s Party” in Someday Farm blue told the story of the day.
It’s hard to believe that 21 years have passed since the magical run of Smarty Jones captured the attention of not just racing fans, but sports fans around the world in the spring of 2004.
Stakes races like the Belmont or the Woodward stand as tributes to those who make significant contributions to horse racing, their names reflective of what those Pillars of the Turf have given the sport.
