By Jeff D'Alessio
Florida Today

Toughness like Tyson. Speed like a sprinter. Bloodline like Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Put it together and you might have horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

Smarty Jones, the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew in 1977, goes for the second leg of the Triple Crown today at the Preakness Stakes. Here are a few reasons why he goes in as the prohibitive favorite:

• Intelligence: That feral cat wandering around your backyard might have a bigger brain - horses are somewhere between felines and sheep in brain size - but this is one smart cookie.

"From what I've learned over the years, all the really good horses are the bright ones," says Mac McBride, assistant director for media relations at California's Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. "To start, they have to have the physical attributes ... but beyond that, there has to be an understanding, if you will, of what they are doing. The good ones do understand what they are being taught to do."

• Great legs: Like a great sprinter, it's all about the start.

"He has very good tactical early speed, so he has a jump on most of his rivals that are coming from behind," says Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form, who picks Smarty. "But he's not so speed crazy that he gets caught up in needless early battles that might wear him out down the stretch run. ... Those kinds of horses are difficult to beat, because the horses that are coming from behind are often at the mercy of the early pace."

• Toughness: You want tough? This is a horse who, after splitting his head open on a metal bar last July at Philadelphia Park, got up and trotted to the barn as if nothing had happened. Never mind that his eye was swollen shut and his head was a bloody mess. Nothing brings the great ones down.

"It is Smarty Jones' courage, determination and competitive drive that set him apart," says Dan Rosenberg, president of Kentucky's Three Chimneys Farm, home of former Derby winner Silver Charm.

• His build: With a top weight of 1,075 pounds, Smarty isn't the biggest thoroughbred in the field. Race horses can weigh up to 1,450 pounds (Seabiscuit was considered small at 1,150).

"You may be able to liken him to Mike Tyson in the sense that there were many heavyweights that were bigger and appeared more physically intimidating, yet he used his body and build to its fullest extent to get the most out of it," says Craig Holtz, operations director at Arkansas' Oaklawn Park.

• His sire: Smarty's famous father is Elusive Quality, who ran the fastest mile in history in the Poker Handicap at Belmont Park on July 4, 1998. The stallion sired 10 stakes winners in 2003, making him the leading sophomore sire that year. Clearly, that's where Smarty gets some of that world-class speed, which is just a starting point when it comes to the championship horse equation.

• A good listener: McBride calls him a "push-button" horse.

"That is, when his rider takes a hold of him and says, in effect, 'Slow down, son, and save that energy,' he does just that," says McBride, who scouted Smarty for a week at Churchill Downs while working the Kentucky Derby. "And when the rider lets his hands loose and says, 'Pick it up, boy,' he does just that, too. He is perfectly responsive ..."

Preakness Stakes

What: The 129th Preakness

When: 6:15 p.m. today

Where: Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore

TV: Ch. 5, 22

Field: 11 3-year-olds

Distance: 1 3/16 miles

Favorite: Smarty Jones, 6-5

Total purse: $1 million

Winner's share: $650,000

Weather forecast: Isolated thunderstorms, mid-80s.

Odds

The field for today's 129th Preakness Stakes, with post position,

horse's name, jockey and odds:

1. Lion Heart	Smith	3-1
2. Borrego	Espinoza	15-1
3. Little Matth Man	Migliore	50-1
4. Song of the Sword	Chavez	30-1
5. Sir Shackleton	Bejarano	30-1
6. Smarty Jones	Elliott	6-5
7. Imperialism	Desormeaux	5-1
8. Eddington	Bailey	8-1
9. Rock Hard Ten	Stevens	5-1
10. Water Cannon	Fogelsonger	30-1

Scratched: The Cliff's Edge.

Trainers (by post position): 1. Patrick Biancone. 2. Beau Greely. 3. Marty Ciresa. 4. Jennifer Pedersen. 5. Nick Zito. 6. John Servis. 7. Kristin Mulhall. 8. Mark Hennig. 9. Jason Orman. 10. Linda Albert.

Owners (by post position): 1. Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor. 2. Jon Kelly, Ralls & Foster LLC, Brad Scott, Et Al. 3. Vincent Papandrea. 4. Paraneck Stable. 5. Tracy Farmer. 6. Someday Farm. 7. Steve Taub. 8. Willmott Stables, Inc. 9. Mercedes Stable, Madeleine Paulson. 10. The Nonsequitur Stable.

Weights: 126 pounds. Distance: 1 3/16 miles. Purse: $1 million. First place: $650,000. Second place: $200,000. Third place: $100,000. Fourth place: $50,000.

Post time: 6:15 p.m.