Smarty Jones

 2025 Smarty Jones Stakes Overview

The Smarty Jones Stakes, Oaklawn Park's initial Kentucky Derby points race offering 10-4-2-1 qualifying points, has evolved into a crucial early-season test for Derby hopefuls since its inception. Named after the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who made Oaklawn his home base, this one-mile contest traditionally kicks off the Hot Springs track's series of Derby preps on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

While the race hasn't produced a Triple Crown race winner, it has launched several notable careers, most significantly Will Take Charge, who captured the 2013 edition before going on to win that year's Rebel Stakes and eventually being crowned Champion Three-Year-Old Male. The race serves as a perfect starting point for horses transitioning from juvenile campaigns to the classic trail.

The $250,000 event has become particularly significant as the first of Oaklawn's four Derby points races, followed by the Southwest Stakes, Rebel Stakes, and Arkansas Derby. Its timing and distance make it an ideal stepping stone for horses preparing for the longer Derby preps ahead.

Recent trends show that horses with success in the Smarty Jones often progress well through Oaklawn's Derby prep series, with several going on to compete in multiple legs of the Triple Crown. For handicappers, the race has proven particularly telling about a horse's ability to handle two turns early in their three-year-old campaign.

Smarty Jones Stakes Race History

Oaklawn Park in Arkansas has been an increasingly productive winter proving ground for top Kentucky Derby contenders, thanks primarily to a rich series of prep races that kicks off each January with the Smarty Jones S. Inaugurated in 2009, the 1 1/16-mile Smarty Jones has quickly secured a prominent place on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering qualification points on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis to the top five finishers.

During the 2010s, the Smarty Jones produced seven Kentucky Derby starters, impressive considering the race did not officially rank as a Derby qualifier until 2013. While none of the Smarty Jones alumni reached the Churchill Downs winner’s circle, a few of them turned out to be capable stakes performers. Most notably, 2013 Smarty Jones winner Will Take Charge competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown and was eventually voted champion three-year-old male at the Eclipse Awards.

Going back further, 2009 Smarty Jones winner Flat Out missed the Triple Crown but developed into a classy six-time graded stakes winner, counting two victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) among his notable triumphs. Caleb’s Posse, who prevailed in the 2011 Smarty Jones, likewise skipped the spring classics but achieved national acclaim with his triumph in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

The Smarty Jones was run over one mile from its inauguration through 2022. Since one-mile races at Oaklawn end at the sixteenth pole, the Smarty Jones featured an abbreviated homestretch that often played kindly toward front-running speedsters. Between 2017 and 2020, four straight editions of the Smarty Jones were won in gate-to-wire fashion.

By J. Keeler Johnson/TwinSpires.com