BALTIMORE - Smarty Jones has a thing going on -- a possible date with history in three weeks when he bids for the first Triple Crown in 26 years after cruising to an effortless-looking 11 1/2-length victory in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

The undersized but undefeated colt, who has captured the imagination of the nation, proved his sloppy victory in the Kentucky Derby was no fluke with a Secretariat-like performance that resulted in the biggest margin of victory in the 129-year history of the Pimlico Race Course classic.

After slipping inside Lion Heart rounding the far turn, the 3-5 favorite darted into the clear and drew off from his pursuers, who knew almost instantly they were running for second money. As Smarty Jones widened the margin with every compact stride, jockey Stewart Elliott gave him just two right-handed taps of the whip before coasting under the wire more than 30 yards in front of Triple Crown newcomers Rock Hard Ten and Eddington.

The powerhouse performance delighted the record crowd of 112,668 fans who braved the heat and humidity to cheer the colt with the working-class connections and a heart apparently as big as Secretariat’s, albeit packed into a compact frame. Cries of “Smarty, Smarty” rung out as the colt returned to the winner’s circle, as the colt’s fans betrayed no disappointment with the $3.40 payoff for each $2 wagered.

“He’s just unbelievable. He just keeps getting better, this son of a gun,” Elliott said. “I mean, he just did it so easy.”

The colt’s connections were flabbergasted by the dominating performance in what trainer John Servis said beforehand would be a tougher race than the Derby.

“It really hit me emotionally just how good this horse is. … I thought he might win, but I never thought he’d blow them away,” said 77-year-old Roy Chapman, who owns the colt with his wife, Patricia.

The cautious Servis said after the race he would see how the horse came out of the race before committing to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 5, when the colt would attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 and the richest racehorse of all time.

But Elliott expressed confidence that the son of Elusive Quality would be able to handle the Belmont’s marathon distance of 1 1/2 miles.

”He’ll do anything I ask him,” he said, adding that the colt “wasn’t even blowing that hard” after covering the 1 3/16 mile distance of the Preakness in 1:55.59.

Elliott also revealed that he had gotten some advice this week from an experienced hand when it comes to Triple Crown pressure: former jockey Ron Turcotte, who rode Secretariat to victory in all three races in 1973.

“He said, ‘Your horse looks good on paper and I think he’ll make it. ...  Just be confident and I’ll be rooting for you,’ ” the 39-year-old rider said at the post-race news conference.

The Preakness unfolded much as the Derby had two weeks earlier, with Lion Heart grabbing an uncontested lead after the initial strides and Smarty Jones tucking in behind. As he did in Kentucky, Lion Heart’s jockey Mike Smith kept his mount far off the rail in order to force Elliott and Smarty Jones to race even wider.

The tactic worked around the first turn, as the leading pair separated themselves from the pack and headed up the backstretch.

Apart from a brief midrace challenge inside by longshot Song of the Sword, the rail remained uncontested real estate until Elliott decided to switch Smarty Jones to the inside of Lion Heart to prevent any of the closers from making use of the advantageous inland passage.

As he has throughout his unblemished career, Smarty Jones handled the course correction with aplomb. Pursuing Rock Hard Ten appeared poised to make a race of it as he followed the chestnut colt entering the stretch, but the winner quickly declared the race over by sprinting off to an insurmountable lead.

“That horse is as good as any horse I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good ones and I’ve been on some good ones, and I was on a good one today,” Rock Hard Ten’s Hall of Fame jockey, Gary Stevens, said afterward.

The total handle was a record $58,791,406.

The powerhouse performance makes Smarty Jones just the third horse ever to make it through the Preakness without tasting defeat, joining Seattle Slew in 1977 and Majestic Prince in 1969.

The colt also has an opportunity to become the all-time leading money earner if he runs at the Belmont Stakes at New York’s Belmont Park in three weeks. With the $650,000 winner’s share of the Preakness purse, he already has vaulted to fourth on the list, with $7,383,155 in earnings. If he wins again, he will collect not just the lion’s share of the Belmont purse, but a $5 million bonus offered by the Visa credit card company to the connections of any horse who can sweep the Triple Crown. Add his purse money, plus the $5 million bonus he already earned from Oaklawn Park for winning the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby, and Smarty’s total would top $13 million. Cigar earned $9,999,815.

Among the challengers Smarty could face are Derby starters Birdstone, Friends Lake, Master David, Read the Footnotes and Tapit. Other possible starters include Mustanfar, Relaxed Gesture, Sinister G and Royal Assault, who won the Sir Barton on the Preakness undercard.

MORE FROM PREAKNESS STAKES

Big Brown rolls in Preakness; Crown in sight

Big Brown rolls in Preakness; Crown in sight Desormeaux gets another shot at Triple Crown Big Brown to stand at stud at Three Chimneys Preakness winners through the years   Add Preakness Stakes headlines to your news reader: