Posted on 06/09/2008 5:30:53 PM PDT by hole_n_one
Secretariat is widening now.!....
He is moving like a tremendous machine!........
Secretariat by 12!.......
Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn!.......
“Same state I came from...VA”
And I assumed you were from NC...
You could be a White House press secretary.
lol!
Actually, given what we know, that's as thoughtful and plausible an explanation as I've heard yet.
Yes, I heard Secretariet's heart described as 2.5 times normal size.
Perhaps the greatest ever along with Man O War. What hearts these two had.
Don’t forget Ruffian, the filly who is buried at Belmont.
I will never forget that race. I was sitting in the NCO club at Edwards AFB in California, pleasantly fortified with a belly full of beer, watching this most incredible race on TV. The whole bar was standing and yelling, just excited as hell at such a remarkable performance. There were guys there who thought the 1-1/2 mile distance would be too much for Big Red (Secretariat’s nickname), and had placed their money on Sham, a very good horse in his own right. Going into the final turn, when Big Red was obviously taking off like a ballistic missile, even the Sham bettors were cheering Secretariat on. It was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime events, where everyone was transported on the excitement of watching history being made.
Secretariat had “supercruise”.
Horses today are rushed into the Derby without a solid foundation of racing. That is likely why we haven’t had a TC winner in 30 years. Just look at the records of the last winners and include Real Quiet in that list who lost it by a nose in 1998-—all of the horses since 1978 that won (and Real Quiet) had a solid 2YO season, Big Red had 12 races before entering the Derby, Seattle Slew had 6 (all wins and in graded races), Affirmed had 9 starts and Real Quiet also had 9 starts. These races build stamina and endurance, it is no wonder Big Brown failed, he only had 3 races coming into the Derby and the TC attempt was only his 6th lifetime start. They need to stop the drugs and start training the way they used to. Remember when a horse used to race at least 20 times before retiring? That doesn’t happen anymore. Imagine Citation in 1948 who retired after 45 races, that is definitely a thing of the past.
The Best!
I’ve been telling everyone this for years.
I have a great story that was written in 2004 posted here:
http://stevesees.blogspot.com/2008/05/belmont-remembering-1973.html#links
universally loved......can’t say that about very many humans....
Thanks for the link!
They humorously call the sport of horse racing “improving the breed”, but the breed reach it’s all-time peak in 1973. I expect to die without ever seeing a better horse than Secretariat.
And most people forget that Sham was also a very fine horse. In any other year but 1973 he would have won at least 2 legs of the triple crown, and perhaps the whole thing.
You’re quite welcome!
There’s nothing wrong with trivia from someone who loves his subject.
In humans an enlarged heart is not a good thing, apparently it wasn’t the case with Secretariat. I’m only a casual watcher of the sport, but even a casual fan had to find Secretariat about as exciting as sport can get.
"His only point of reference," trainer Charlie Hatton once said, "is himself."
And Man O’ War did it without the benefit of modern medicine.
“In humans an enlarged heart is not a good thing, apparently it wasn’t the case with Secretariat.”
Even in humans there is such a thing as an “athlete’s heart”, which is quite different from an enlarged heart due to disease. My stepfather had an enlarged heart his whole life, lived to 97, and died due to an accident.
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