Dick Jerardi
A little known fact is that before Keystone Race Track opened 50 years ago (Nov. 4, 1974), it was going to be called Neshaminy Race Track. By the time the $25 million facility opened on 417 acres four years after that original name had been conceived, it was indeed Keystone.
Since that moment, eight Hall of Fame horses have run at Keystone/Philadelphia Park (1985)/Parx Racing (2010). And we may very well have seen a ninth just win the 2024 Cotillion on her way to being the first Parx stakes winner to be named Horse of the Year in the same year as that stake was won.
Those eight Hall of Fame horses?
Spectacular Bid won the 1978 Heritage Stakes in his final race before being voted 2-year-old champion. The great Bid was named 3-year-old champion the next year and Horse of the Year in 1980.
My Juliet, Ashado and Songbird all won the Cotillon. My Juliet was named Sprint champion in 1976, the year after she won the Cotillion. Ashado and Songbird were named 3-year-old filly champions in 2004 and 2016 respectively.
The sprinter Xtra Heat won the 2000 Critical Miss at Philadelphia Park in her fourth career start. She was named 3-year-old filly champion the next year. Flatterer, named Steeplechase Horse of the year in 1983, 1984, 1885 and 1986, actually began his career at Keystone on the flat with three wins in five starts in 1982.
California Chrome who ran in, but did not win the 2014 Pennsylvania Derby, was named Horse of the Year and 3–year-old champion in 2014 and older horse champion and Horse of the Year again in 2016. Gun Runner ran second in 2016 Pennsylvania Derby, but was named champion older horse and Horse of the Year in 2017.
This year’s Cotillion winner Thorpedo Anna is a lock for 3-year-old filly champion and seems a near lock for Horse of the Year. If that happens, it will be the first time a horse won a Parx stakes and H/Y the same year. The great filly is going to run as a 4-year-old. Not sure she needs to do much else to get voted into the Hall of Fame when eligible, but it will be fascinating to see what more she can do in 2025.
The Cotillion already has those three Hall of Famers. It also has a Horse of the Year and older filly and mare champion, but that came in 2011, the year after Havre de Grace won the race. The wonderful Blind Luck finished second in that 2010 Cotillion, but she was named 3-year-old filly champion that year.
Untapable won the 2014 Cotillion and was voted champion 3-year-old filly. Questing, Abel Tasman and Pretty Mischievous finished second in the 2012 Cotillion, 2017 Cotillion and 2023 Cotillion respectively, but were each named 3-year-old filly champions. Monomoy Girl finished first in the 2018 Cotillion, but was disqualified and placed second. She was later named 3-year-old filly champion.
In addition to the two Hall of Famers that ran in the race, two Pennsylvania Derby winners were voted 3-year-old champions – Will Take Charge (2013) and West Coast (2017).
Three other sprint champions won races at the track – Parx Hall of Famer Gallant Bob (1975 Eclipse Award winner) was a Keystone regular, Star de Naskra won the 1978 Penn Treaty Stakes the year before he won the Eclipse and Jackie’s Warrior won the 2021 Gallant Bob on the way to being named champion sprinter that year. Trinniberg was second in 2012 Gallant Bob before winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and being named Sprint champion.
There have been four other horses beside Gallant Bob to be stabled at the track and win Eclipse Awards as divisional champions – My Juliet, Jaywalk (2018 2-year-old filly champion), Vequist (2020 2-year-old filly champion) and, of course, Smarty Jones (2004 3-year-old champion).
So many great horses have run at the track, but, 20 years after his final race and 50 years after the track opened, Smarty Jones stands alone as “the’’ Parx Racing legend. Smarty was not as accomplished as Spectacular Bid, California Chrome and Gun Runner only because he did not have their longevity. But there is no horse that will ever have the impact Smarty Jones had on horse racing in the Commonwealth and specifically at his home track. And that will be true 20 years from now, 50 years from now, very likely forever.
