Secretariat and the Triple Crown. Why are we still hearing about him after over 50 years since his win? Well, he won in record time, that to this day, hasn’t been beat. So saddle up and dive the life and history of Big Red.
The Early Days
On March 30, 1970, at 12:10 a.m., a coppery chestnut colt was born at Chris Chenery’s Meadow Stud in Virginia. His sire was Bold Ruler, the 1957 Preakness Stakes winner and his dam was Somethingroyal, who only raced once. When Penny Chenery, Chris Chenery’s daughter, saw the foal, she wrote in her notebook one word: Wow!
Instead of Penny Chenery a paying a stud fee, she would breed two mares to one of the Phipps family’s stallion. And then they would flip a coin to see who would get first pick of the foals bred for free. In 1970, two of Penny’s mares, Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal were bred to Bold Ruler. The winner of the toss would chose between Hasty Matelda’s foal or Somethingroyal‘s weanling filly or her unborn foal.
Ogden won the toss and chose Somethingroyal’s weanling and Penny was left with with Hasty Matelda’s foal and Somethingroyal’s unborn colt, which would be Secretariat.
Somethingroyal’s colt was nicknamed Big Red and was said to be a clown. His official name was Secretariat, suggested by Elizabeth Ham, Meadow Stud’s secretary. the name was based on Ms. Ham’s previous job.
1972: Secretariat’s Debut
As two years old Secretariat was 16.2 hands high, weighed 1,175 pounds, almost perfect conformation and was said to resemble one of his famous ancestors, Discovery.
His trainer was Lucien Lauren, the trainer of Riva Ridge, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Secretariat’s beloved groom Eddy Sweat played a huge part in Secretariat’s racing career almost always taking care of him.
Secretariat’s first race was on July 4, 1972 at Aqueduct Racetrack with Paul Feliciano up. During the race Big Red got bumped hard in the beginning of the race and at the stretch got stuck in traffic.
In the end of the race Secretariat rallied late and finished in fourth place. Eleven days later he was ready to race again and won by six lengths after a poor start. Secretariat’s third race, was the prestigious Sanford Stakes. It was held on July 31, 1972.
He was already a crowd favorite and won very easily by three lengths. From then on Ron Turcotte became Secretariat’s main jockey. He had been recovering from a track accident and wasn’t able to ride Secretariat in his first two races.
Secretariat won seven out of nine races in his first season of racing including Sanford Stakes, the Hopeful Stakes, the Futurity Stakes, the Laurel Futurity and the Garden State Futurity and became Horse of the Year, a rare thing for a two year old.
1973: Before the Triple Crown
Before Secretariat began racing as a three year old, Chis Chenery, Penny’s father died, leaving Penny to pay the taxes. Mrs. Chenery was almost forced to sell Secretariat, but instead syndicated 32 shares of Secretariat. At the time, the 6.08 million dollar syndicate was a world record. Penny kept four shares for herself and had control over Secretariat racing career and agreed to retire him after his three year old racing season was over.
Secretariat’s first race of his three year old season was the Bay Shore Stakes. Before the race, one of the trainers said of Secretariat, “The only chance we have is if he falls down.” As predicted, Secretariat won easily.
His next race was the Gotham Stakes and his trainer Lucien Lauren decided to try a different running style with Secretariat. He won easily by three lengths and equaled the track record.
Secretariat’s final prep race for the Derby was the Wood Memorial. Because Secretariat had a huge abscess in his mouth which made the bit uncomfortable, he finished third. His stablemate Angle Light won and the Santa Anita Derby winner, Sham placed second.
Since Secretariat placed dismissal third in the Wood Memorial, the media began rumors about Big Red’s chances in the Derby. Some said that Secretariat was more a sprinter than a distance runner and that he was unsound.
Secretariat’s Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby
After a troubled start, Secretariat won the Run for the Roses in record time. He and Sham battled 8 lengths ahead of the pack in the final stretch. Secretariat ran each quarter mile faster then the last and won by 2 1/2 lengths with a time of 1:59 2/5. Sportswriter Mike Sullivan said:
“I was at Secretariat’s Derby, in ’73 … That was … just beauty, you know? He started in last place, which he tended to do. I was covering the second-place horse, which wound up being Sham. It looked like Sham’s race going into the last turn, I think. The thing you have to understand is that Sham was fast, a beautiful horse.
He would have had the Triple Crown in another year. And it just didn’t seem like there could be anything faster than that. Everybody was watching him. It was over, more or less. And all of a sudden there was this, like, just a disruption in the corner of your eye, in your peripheral vision.
And then before you could make out what it was, here Secretariat came. And then Secretariat had passed him. No one had ever seen anything run like that — a lot of the old guys said the same thing. It was like he was some other animal out there.”
Secretariat’s Triple Crown: The Preakness Stakes
The next race of the Triple Crown was the Preakness Stakes. Secretariat broke last and made a huge comeback in the first turn of the race and he was unchallenged and won by 2 1/2 lengths with Sham in second and Our Native in third.
Ron Turcotte was very proud of this win because of a decision he made. He said: “I let my horse drop back, when I went to drop in, they started backing up into me. I said, ‘I don’t want to get trapped here.’ So I just breezed by them.”
Secretariat’s 1:53 time in the Preakness was never beaten.
Secretariat’s Triple Crown: The Belmont Stakes
The last leg of the Triple Crown was the Belmont Stakes. It was on June 9, 1973. Secretariat bolted from the starting gate and kept a blistering pace going and the crowd feared that he was going too fast. But he proved them wrong. Secretariat was not ten lengths, not twenty lengths, but thirty one lengths ahead when he won! America had its 9th Triple Crown winner!
Ron Turcotte said, “This horse really paced himself. He is smart: I think he knew he was going 11⁄2 miles, I never pushed him.”
Secretariat’s record has never been broken. it is America’s 1 1/2 mile dirt racing record. During the race, announcer Chic Anderson said, “Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine!”
Secretariat was the first horse in twenty-five years to win the Triple Crown since Citation. “I never expected him to go so fast. I told the trainer that if he didn’t win the Triple Crown then I would retire. That’s how sure I was that he was going to win.” Ron Turcotte said.
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: Arlington Invitational
On June 30, 1973, only weeks after Secretariat‘s great win, Big Red was to race in the Arlington Invitational. Secretariat’s plan? To show the Midwest what he could do.
Lucien Lauran explained why Secretariat was racing so soon: “Even before the Belmont, you remember, I said I really didn’t know how I could give this horse a rest. He’s so strong and full of energy. Well, this is only a week and a half after the Belmont, and believe me when I tell you, if I don’t run this horse he’s going to hurt himself in his stall. So we decided it would be nice to race him in Chicago to let the people in the Midwest have a chance to see him run.”
Only three horses were entered against this great racehorse. My Gallant and Our Native had raced against Secretariat in the Triple Crown, but Blue Chip Dan had never raced against him. Secretariat won very easily, beating them by nine lengths even after a poor start.
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: The Whitney Handicap
Saratoga, ‘The grave yard of champions’ is where Secretariat next raced. And that’s exactly what happened. After a poor start and battling a viral infection prier to the race, Big Red was second, a length behind Onion. For awhile, Secretariat didn’t want to eat and acted tired.
Charles Hatton wrote: “He seemed distressingly ill walking off, and he missed the Travers. Returned to Belmont to point for the $250,000 Marlboro, the sport’s pin-up horse looked bloody awful, rather like one of those sick paintings which betoken an inner theatre of the macabre. It required supernatural recuperative powers to recover as he did. He was subjected to four severe preps in two weeks. Astonishingly, he gained weight and blossomed with every trial.”
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: Marlboro Cup
The Marlboro Cup was supposed to be a matchup against between Secretariat and his fellow stablemate Riva Ridge, the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner, but the invitaion was extended to other top racehorses in the country after Secretariat got sick.
Secretariat laid back in fifth and Riva Ridge was just behind the leaders. Secretariat blazed past and won, setting a then world record. Ron Turcotte said, “Today he was the old Secretariat and he did it on his own.”
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: Woodward Stakes
In the Woodward Stakes, Secretariat replaced Riva Ridge since the track was sloppy which Riva disliked. Secretariat led into the stretch on lost by 4 1/2 lengths to Prove Out. Prove Out had ran the second fastest mile and a half in Belmont history.
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: Man O’ War Stakes
Just nine days after the Woodward, Secretariat faced Tentam, who had set the world record for the 1 1/8 mile on turf. Big Red took the lead early and never lost it. He won by 5 lengths.
Ron Turcotte explained that “when Tentam came up to him in the backstretch I just chirped to him and he pulled away.” Secretariat also set the course record of 2:24 4/5.
After Secretariat’s Triple Crown Win: Canadian International Stakes
In Big Red’s last race, the race was cold and windy, but Secretariat gained the lead in the turn and won by 6 1/2 lengths.
After his 1973 racing season Secretariat won his second Horse of the Year honors, and won two Eclipse Awards, the American Champion Three Year Old Male Horse and American Champion Male Turf Horse.
In all, Secretariat won 16 of his 21 starts and never finished worse than fourth and earned over a million dollars. Ron Turcotte described Secretariat: “And he never had a mean hair on him, never spooked from anything with me”. Once time Secretariat threw Ron but just stared at him and didn’t run off.
After Big Red got beat, it was said that he would pout in a corner of a stall for a long time. Secretariat always wanted revenge after he was beaten and would set a record in a race following a defeat.
The Later Years
Secretariat was retired after his three-year-old racing season was over. During his retirement, Secretariat sired over 600 foals including 341 winners and 54 stakes winners. Secretairiat’s best offspring were Lady’s Secret, Risen Star, General Assembly, and Kingston Rule. He was also the leading broodmare sire in North America. In the October of 1989, Secretariat died of laminitis at age nineteen.
During the necropsy after Big Red’s death, they discovered that Secretariat’s heart was 21-22 pounds, nearly two and a half times bigger than an average horse heart. Thomas Swerczek who performed the necropsy said: “We just stood there in stunned silence. We couldn’t believe it. The heart was perfect. There were no problems with it. It was just this huge engine.”
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