Posted on 05/03/2025 4:16:06 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
He was not only magnificent on the track, he was beautifully build and he had a lovely personality. Pennery Chenery p referred Riva Ridge!
Boy did I mess that last post up!
Not is a pretty long time. Monarchos was the closest, and I think he was in 2001.
I do think the Derby time is gettable.. probably the Preakness too, which a specialist kind of horse. Never the Belmont... ever
He was a terrific horse. His trainer once wrote that he was a LAZY horse, who only liked sleeping more than eating. He famously leaned back against the starting gate before races. “Like he was in a hammock’, said his trainer. He ALWAYS did only what he wanted to do, WHEN he wanted to do it.
He knew he was the best. lol
Yes, Riva Ridge had a big personality and he was the horse who actually pulled her farm out of debt.
long ago on one of my string of racing fora, one of the members relayed going to see Secretariat at his stud farm, and Riva Ridge was there. She said as the guides extolled Secretariat in their barn, she got a nudge, it was Riva. Then Riva kept nudging the halters hanging nearby, and she kept picking them up when the fell to the ground, and replacing them. He did it many times and she said it was like falling in love with this jealous horse who wanted attention.
I don’t doubt Cheney loved Riva!
The Belmont might not, esp. since that distance is hardly run anyway and they won’t generally train for it.
The others definitely possible. Monarchos’ Derby was sub-2:00, and actually 3 other horses ran the Derby within a second of Sec, including the solid Decidedly in 1962, and the great Northern Dancer 2 years later who was known for hitting the 2:00 mark.
Sec’s mark on Preakness was adjusted,so it could be questionable, but, as it is many horses have been within a second of that, including this filly in 2020 (the year I didnt watch AT ALL since the jockeys and track owners were kneeling for these riots so I don’t recall any of this) very close.
The problem here was major slop. However, considering, Journalism did great.
Hubby said that. Doesn’t surprise.
Truth is also for a long time about every starter has been a descendent of the great Man O’War.
Actually it's Bonnie Scotland from Belle Meade in Nashville TN I believe.
Belle Meade was so influential in thoroughbred breeding that famous horses like Seabiscuit, Secretariat and Barbarro, and every horse to race in the Kentucky Derby since 2003 can trace their bloodlines directly back to Belle Meade!J
Monarchos ran 24 years ago. In the past 15 years ONLY ONE horse (Authentic) has even run below 2:01.
I read a long article a few years ago that talked about changes being made to the track surface to help prevent injuries. They seemed effective, until last year, but... they make the track softer, and thus slower.
So, it could well be a very long time before Secretariat’s record at Churchill is broken. Unless of course, they change the track again to speed it up.
Belle Meade was definitely a huge importance in the studfarm world.
Yes, that may be right.
Times are great, but even more is something like Beyer Speed Figures.
However, it’s still worth noting that Northern Dancer was only 1/5 off Secretariat, etc.
Sometimes small differences make all the difference. If you average 69 for 18 on the PGA tour you're a Hall of Famer, if you average 0.83 strokes less, you're Tiger Woods.
Yup, but I still don’t like those clunkers.
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