After writing a one-thousand-word story about Smarty Jones and his jockey Stewart Elliott in two hours that took me nearly two more to cut back to eight-hundred words, I alternated four-minute walks with one-minute jogs to complete Levy Trail South in 28:29.
OVERHEARD
"Believe it or not, and I know you know because. ...and by the way, let me tell you about your reputation. You're impeccable, and you really know what you're doing, so you're going to know what I'm about to say."
—from my first ever conversation with 70-year-old Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito. This is the first season he has permanently stabled horses at Oaklawn. He went on to tell me more about the progress of the racehorse benevolence organizations he is associated with. His was the second compliment I had ever heard from a trainer at Oaklawn
PARAGRAPHS OF THE DAY
Stewart Elliott, who rode Smarty Jones into the hearts of racing fans worldwide and within one length of horse racing’s pinnacle, has returned to Oaklawn Park as a full-time jockey for the first time since 2006.
Elliot first came to the track in 2004 when he was a journeyman jockey and he and Smarty Jones, a three-year-old Pennsylvania-bred colt, held no more than middling distinction. Smarty Jones, under Elliott's and trainer John Servis’ guidance, would become the first horse in years to become a household name in Arkansas and to crossover into the consciousness of the general public. No one at Oaklawn on Friday — opening day of the 2019 meet — will wonder about the significance of the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes' namesake.
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