Ok, 45 years isn’t too far from 50. :)
I didn’t know there was such a long time before Secretariat’s Triple Crown victory.
As a teen during the 70s I worked at Belmont racetrack for a couple years. There were 3 Triple Crown winners during that decade: Secretariat in 73, Seattle Slew, ‘77, and Affirmed in ‘78. We also had greats like Ruffian and Forego. What a time to be around the stables!
there should have been 3 Triple Crown winners in a row. Seattle Slew 77, Affirmed 78..and Spectacular Bid in 1979...worst jockey ever to ride such a great horse. People then and now will never understand why Bids trainer, Bud Delp kept Ronnie Franklin on him. He almost dumped that horse 3 times in the Florida Derby that year and yet that great champion still won the race...its on you tube and i still turn away watching the replay. Eddie Arcaro, doing the commentary, was speechless. That was a clue then that the kid didn’t know what he was doing..yet Delp plowed on and the rest is history.... As a 4 year old , with Bill Shoemaker riding, Bid went 9-0..including a walk over in the Jockey Club Gold Cup...and also set 3 world records that year...what a shame.