Smarty Jones heads back to his place in the barn once used by 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat. (AP)
NEW YORK -- Smarty Jones got acquainted with Belmont Park during his first gallop around the sprawling track Thursday under the watchful eye of owners Roy and Pat Chapman.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner galloped once around the 1½-mile track under exercise rider Pete van Trump.
More than 100 reporters and photographers tracked his every move, including when he simply stood in his stall gazing out at the crowd.
"The horse went great and everything is right on schedule," trainer John Servis said. "He seemed to really like it and bounced over it like he did at Churchill," where he won the Derby.
Servis and his stable pony accompanied Smarty Jones during his brief time out of the barn. The chestnut colt spent the rest of the day in his stall, alternately napping and eating.
He was never alone.
Stable foreman Bill Foster pulled up a white plastic chair outside Smarty Jones' stall, and security guards were posted nearby. Nearly everyone who wandered by Barn 5 detoured to the side yard for a glimpse of the small horse who has captured the public's fancy.
"He likes the cameras," Foster said. "He's not afraid of people."
Smarty Jones will gallop again Friday and practice standing in the starting gate in preparation for Saturday's Belmont Stakes. A victory would make him the first Triple Crown winner in 26 years.
"We're starting to get nervous," Servis said. "The fact that we have a chance to make history is starting to set in."
Smarty Jones arrived from his home base at Philadelphia Park on Wednesday. If he becomes the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978, he also would be the first to complete the series sweep without a race over the Belmont surface.
Roy Chapman kept up in his wheelchair, equipped with an oxygen tank to help with his emphysema. He has run horses before at Belmont and was glad to be back.
"It's a great track," he said. "All we need now is racing luck. You always need racing luck."
Smarty Jones is stabled in the same barn as 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, and it's located next to the barn of 2003 Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide.
The weather forecast for Saturday includes a 10 percent chance of rain.
"A little rain wouldn't hurt us Saturday," Chapman said. "Smarty loves an off track."
Smarty Jones is 8-for-8 and won the Arkansas Derby in the mud and the Kentucky Derby in the slop.
AP NEWS
