After his Preakness victory, Smarty Jones' popularity increased and he became, arguably, the #1 fan favorite to aspire to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed won it in 1978. He was the 10th horse since Affirmed to win both the Derby and the Preakness. His popularity increased the attendance of the races by 17,000 people and caused the highest television ratings in 14 years. Breeders made offers for the breeding rights to the horse, with the offers going as high as 40 to 50 million dollars. However, on June 5, 2004, Smarty Jones finished second in the Belmont Stakes, upset by a late charge by 36-1 long shot Birdstone. Speculation arose that the loss was a result of Elliott allowing Smarty Jones to assume the lead too early when being challenged by several competitors. However, neither Servis nor the Chapmans ever blamed his own jockey (Race video revealed that Elliott had a tight hold on the reins, and did not urge Smarty Jones until the quarter pole). Others pointed to Smarty Jones' relatively unfavorable 3.40 Dosage Index as being a portent of his inability to successfully negotiate the 1½-mile Belmont distance (Birdstone's Dosage Index was 1.77; the lower the Dosage number, supposedly the better suited a horse is to longer races). Smarty Jones ran the opening mile and a quarter in a time that would have won all but 3 Kentucky Derbys in history and was 8 lengths in front of the show horse. The 120,139 in attendance at Belmont Park that day marked the largest crowd ever to see a sporting event in New York.