Facts about Secretariat
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Oddly enough, Secretariat's stablemate Riva Ridge also ran the same distance in 1:52 2/5 in the 1973 Brooklyn Handicap at Aqueduct, sharing the current American dirt record at that distance with Farma Way.
Secretariat's winning margin of 31 lengths in the long and grueling Belmont Stakes is remembered as one of the most dramatic events in thoroughbred racing history.
Dr. Thomas Swerczek, the veterinarian who performed the necropsy, claims that he found that Secretariat's heart was the largest he had ever seen in a horse—approximately twice the size of a normal horse's heart.
Secretariat is also the dam-sire of the great stallions Storm Cat (by Storm Bird), through his daughter Terlingua, herself an excellent racemare, and of Gone West, through his daughter Secrettame.
ESPN listed Secretariat 35th of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century, one of three non-humans on the list.
Almost as iconic as the still and video images of Secretariat blowing away the competition was the scene of owner Penny Chenery Tweedy waving her arms in exultation (and relief) in the Belmont owners' boxes.
Secretariat's test results indicated a heart of unusual dimension weighing at least 1.65 times to twice the weight of the average Thoroughbred heart.
Secretariat did not wait long to make his presence known in the Preakness.
Like Secretariat in the Belmont, General Assembly never duplicated that performance in another race.
Secretariat was affectionately nicknamed "Big Red" by his owner because of his size and brilliant chestnut color, or, perhaps, in an attempt to draw comparisons to the great Man o' War.
Making Secretariat's Derby win more impressive was the fact that Sham's time of 1:59 4/5 equaled Monarchos' 2001 Derby time, the second fastest in history.
When I performed the autopsy on Secretariat, which was necessary because of insurance and we needed to determine the cause of the laminitis, the cause of destruction, I did a cosmetic autopsy.
Secretariat was awarded the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, the most prestigious honor in racing, both as a two-year-old (the first horse so honored at that age) and as a three-year-old.
The second largest heart I found was the heart of Sham, who actually broke the Kentucky derby record, but still lost to Secretariat.
At the mile and 3/8 point, Secretariat had run faster than Man o' War's record from when the Belmont was run at that length.
Approval finally came with the eleventh submission, a name Ham herself picked from a previous career association, Secretariat.
Altogether, Secretariat won 16 of his 21 career races and finished out of the money just once–in his debut as a 2-year-old, when he was jostled coming out of the gate and finished fourth.
In 1974, Secretariat was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Sired by Bold Ruler out of the dam Somethingroyal, Secretariat was born at Meadow Farm in Caroline County, Virginia.
After three more victories and two second-place finishes in 1973, Secretariat won his last race with another impressive performance.
Secretariat never duplicated his Belmont Stakes performance, but continued to run impressively after the Triple Crown.
Secretariat is claimed to have galloped out an extra furlong in 2:37 4/5, which would have equaled the world record at that distance on any surface (Source: Secretariat, Raymond G. Woolfe Jr.).
ESPN listed Secretariat 35th of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century, one of three non-humans on the list.
Secretariat's stride at the finish was so powerful that it took jockey Ron Turcotte nearly two furlongs to pull him up.
Devotees of this theory claim that Secretariat was a successful broodmare sire because his heart size genetics might be passed on to fillies he sired, who in turn would pass it on to their foals.
Indy, Secretariat's grandson through his daughter Weekend Surprise, who was sired by another Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew.
Despite constant left-handed whipping by jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., Sham could not overtake Secretariat, who won by two and a half lengths.
Only four horses joined Secretariat for the June 9, 1973, running of the Belmont Stakes, including Sham, who had finished second in both the Derby and Preakness.
Secretariat leads this field by 18 lengths, and now Twice a Prince has taken second and My Gallant has moved back to third.
Secretariat demonstrated his superiority on grass with wins in the Canadian International Stakes and the Man o' War Stakes against older horses.
Before a crowd of 67,605, Secretariat and Sham set a blistering early pace, opening a 10-length cushion on the others.
Meanwhile, Tank's Prospect (1985), Louis Quatorze (1996), and Curlin (2007) have all run 1:53 2/5, equaling the time attributed to Secretariat by the Racing Form.
Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, making him the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter of a century.
Secretariat's trainer Lucien Lauren withheld knowledge of a bad abscess on his horse's upper lip from owner Tweedy and jockey Turcotte.