Posted on 05/18/2018 9:09:53 AM PDT by NKP_Vet
Since Secretariat won the Preakness in 1973 there have 45 Preakness Stakes ran. Going into the first turn he’s in last place, then like he was playing with the rest of the horses, he passes them all. It was like he said “clear the way boys, here I come.” His winning time is still the Preakness record.
after Secretariat passed away at a relatively young age for a horse a veterinarian was brought in to conduct a autopsy, and although he did not weigh the heart officially he estimated that Secretariat’s heart weight over 20 lb. That’s substantial and the reason Secretariat just kept gaining speed in many of her races was due to the fact that the amount of blood that was being oxygenated and pumped through her body into her musculature was incredible. In other words she didn’t Tire easily and just kept on going.
her?
I wasn't aware the Honda Civic broke world records for speed.
I think Secretariat was a male. But his offspring didn’t inherit the same heart size apparently. Must not have been a genetic thing.
Thanks for the great reminder. I can’t watch any of the races these days without thinking of Secretariat. He was one of a kind.
I think I would use a 800 horsepower car as an analogy for Secretariat instead of a Honda Civic :-)
Thanks for posting. Inspired me also to watch his Belmont triumph—but that’s getting ahead of things. I plan to watch the horsies run tomorrow.
Interesting. I was dating a girl in Maryland in 1975 and went to the Preakness that year.
Yeah, but definitely still a hatchback!
How exciting that you were actually there!
But that payoff doesn’t seem to match the movie’s hype that he was an underdog. I was wondering how much of the movie was just exaggerated for drama.
Definitely fat fingered that one!
Sham would have been acknowledged as a truly gifted horse in his own right, had he not been overshadowed by Secretariat. In this Preakness clip, you can see that Pincay kept Sham close to Secretariat under presure of the crop until midway down the stretch. Turcott basically just hand rode Secretariat. Pincay let up on Sham when he saw that it was futile to press him and a place finish was assured.
Although there is some debate about the facts, Sham was eased in the Belmont. In the famous picture of nothing behind Secretariat at the Belmont, Sham ordinarily would have at least been in the photo. Sham never raced again.
I say all this just to bolster Secretariat’s rightful place at the top of the all time list.
Secretariat, which means “bureaucracy,” is an odd name for a horse.
I still tear up watching this horse run.
When he won the Belmont, I was 12 years old... Working temporarily at the Greater Houston Gun Club... During the state trap shoot competition. I was a trap loader. During a break, I walked though the clubhouse, where the Belmont was on TV. The men gathered round were cheering and yelling.... At first. But, as Big Red pulled away, they got quieter and quieter. By the end, everyone was silent.... In disbelief. I’ll never forget the old, old man who looked at me, with tears of his own, and said “Son, you’ll NEVER forget the history you just saw.”
He was right.
I took photos of Secretariat that year after the triple crown races at Saratoga. People were literally betting the house on him, he lost to Onion. Saratoga, the graveyard of champions.
He died at 19, not too awfully young. My favorite race to watch of his was the Beltmont, where he didn’t use his usual method of holding back until the final stretch, he leaped out of the gate and never stopped.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DV18ui3Rtjz4&ved=0ahUKEwiB7q-13Y_bAhXhna0KHSk_CUUQo7QBCCQwAA&usg=AOvVaw1PPlVOI30IwUHpS0APcIsT
A Knight of Columbus road that horse to the Triple.Crown.
5.56mm
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