Sport: Big Smitty

Hillsdale, the four-year-old bay colt that is suddenly the hottest piece of horseflesh in U.S. racing, flashed across the finish line to win the $177,150 Santa Anita Maturity. In a box near the finish line, a huge bulk of a man broke down and cried for joy. At 3:30 next morning, flushed with triumph and celebration, Clarence Whitted ("Big Smitty") Smith, 40, wandered out to Hillsdale's barn, delivered a rambling oration to his horse.

"The horse seemed bored, but Smitty seemed happy, so what's the difference?" said an onlooker. Says Smitty: "You gotta have guts. That's what makes horses and athletes great....

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