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.
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.
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.
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.
A Knight of Columbus road that horse to the Triple.Crown.
5.56mm
Not quite true. While I believe Secretariat set the record in all three of his Triple Crown wins, IIRC in his Preakness the official clock broke. Some folks hand timing him said he broke the record, but I think the official decision has him a tick off it. And I agree, Secretariat in the Triple Crown was the most dominating athletic performance of my life by any species. The Triple Crown winners that followed him seem lackluster by comparison.
Secretariat - "Yeah? Hold muh beer!"
If I could go back in time to view in person just one sports event, it would be the 1973 Belmont (and I'm not even much of a horse racing fan). That race still takes my breath away, just a dominating performance that may never been seen again.
He holds the stakes record for all three Triple Crown races — the All Time Triple Crown, so to speak.
I was at Belmont when he won the Triple Crown.
At the longer Belmont, it was an absolute embarrassment, like T ballers playing against the major leagues. Usually a horse that is fast early dies in the longer Belmont, that damn horse just kept picking up speed, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM
When Secretariat won the Triple Crown, it hadn’t been won since Citation in 1948 — 25 years. (Interestingly, my dad was at Churchill Downs for Citation’s Derby and we were at Belmont for Secretariat’s epic win there.)
Subsequently, there were the back to back Triple Crowns of Seattle Slew and Affirmed in 1977 and 1978 — just 4 and 5 years after Secretariat.
And then...crickets. Until American Pharoah, three years ago. A 37-year gap.
There have only been 12 Triple Crown winners. Interestingly, three of tehm have names starting with S (Sir Barton, Secretariat, Seattle Slew), three with A (Assault, Affirmed, American Pharoah), two with W (War Admiral and Whirlaway), two with C. (Count Fleet and Citation.) The other two are Gallant Man and Omaha.
If you want to win the Triple Crown, give your horse a name that starts with A or S.
“He’s moving like a tremendous machine.” Greatest words ever said in horse racing.
What an incredible horse that was. Turcotte never used the whip in any of those races and he just ran away.