Beyond all the glory and the elation over Smarty Jones, there were all the sad stories from the 130th Kentucky Derby. For those of us who didn't pick or bet on the winner, perhaps there are a few lessons. The noblest pursuit in life is to seek wisdom, and occasionally it helps you cash a few tickets down the road. Let's think about next time while looking back.

Two hours before the Derby, Mother Nature made a big play on the speed horses when an angry, black sky dumped a deluge on Churchill Downs, turning the main track into a sea of slop. The puddle-filled surface had a tremendous effect on the result of a race in which only Smarty Jones and Lion Heart did any running. A Derby that had been considered more confusing and more wide-open than any in recent memory turned into a two-race race in which the favorite beat the second favorite. That might have happened on a fast track, too, but there certainly would have been more going on behind the first two.

Expect better things from Tapit, Read the Footnotes and The Cliff's Edge, who never got involved.

Shane Sellers, on The Cliff's Edge, spoke for many other riders when he said, "He just didn't handle the track at all, not one bit, and he had to overcome a horrible trip. There were 16 horses in front of me, bumping around.

"It's the greatest race in America, and the toughest race to win . . . I was following Tapit, because I thought he was a horse that could close, and he came back in my face. I had to swing out; I couldn't go inside.

"When I called on him, he just went to swimming."

Trainer Nick Zito, a two-time Derby winner, shrewdly assessed what happened without any sour grapes.

"First of all, I definitely would like to salute the winner," Zito said after his colts, The Cliff's Edge and Birdstone, ran fifth and eighth, respectively. "He ran a great race and he's a champion. I hate making excuses and I know the fans hate it, too, but The Cliff's Edge lost his two front shoes during the race. [Birdstone] lost a shoe, too.

"Sometimes you're a messenger for how this game works."

Handicapping insight: Whenever everyone agrees that chaos is imminent, expect form to hold.

As usual, almost all the alleged experts, including me, tossed out the obvious horse, Smarty Jones. The knocks: weak competition, questionable distance pedigree, first-time Derby rider and no value as the favorite. I know a woman who hit the $65.80 exacta twice because she saw Smarty Jones and Lion Heart had the best overall records. Now, what kind of logic is that? Didn't she know that when a horse has never lost and goes off at 4-1 odds, only the naïve bet on him?

Roy Chapman, Smarty Jones' feisty, 77-year-old owner/breeder, couldn't resist taking a few shots at the pundits of the turf who doubted his colt.

"I don't think this horse has ever got the respect he's due, I really don't," Chapman said. "I'm not going to mention names. I watched one handicapper who has been here for 22 years. I'm not sure he even mentioned Smarty's name, to tell you the truth.

"Another handicapper said he's a good horse but he's not really going to beat anybody; he's kind of a freak. I hope he reads the paper tomorrow and understands that this freak just won this race today, pretty handily; pretty handily.

"But I just hope Smarty gets the due he was due."

Although I saw a big daily double payoff on Lion Heart disappear when Smarty went by him near the eighth pole, I enjoyed writing the story. I also expect that I'll again try to beat Smarty Jones in the Preakness. Wise guys are stubborn.

Flow along with my future stream of consciousness: "After all, he had a perfect trip, he's overdue for some bad racing luck, and he's not going to keep winning forever. I missed what in hindsight was an easy score at Churchill, so why jump on the bandwagon now?"

Wisdom or more foolishness? I'll know before the sun sets over Pimlico on May 15.