A Tremendous Machine

Fifty years ago, Secretariat transcended the sports landscape and became an American icon with a Triple Crown sweep that is still marveled at as one of the greatest athletic accomplishments of all time

BY Brien Bouyea Hall of Fame and Communications Director

Not long after he graced the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated, Secretariat elevated his already substantial stardom to unprecedented heights and achieved immortal status with a run for the ages in the Belmont Stakes. On June 9, 1973, the chestnut son of Bold Ruler became much more than America’s ninth Triple Crown winner, the first in a quarter-century — he became the standard by which all other racehorses that followed are measured.

As was the case in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Secretariat had no peers in the 105th edition of the Belmont. Before a crowd of 69,138, Secretariat took jockey Ron Turcotte on the ride of his life for a mile and a half around the Belmont Park oval. Facing four overmatched foes, Secretariat delivered a virtuoso performance to end any thoughts that his place in history could be denied.

With Sham all out in a desperate bid to remain in contention with the Derby and Preakness winner, Secretariat rocketed along the Belmont backstretch. With astonishing ease, the equine phenomenon known as “Big Red” extended his advantage with each giant stride. Sham, who finished second in both the Derby and Preakness, was spent before heading into the far turn. All that remained at that point was the coronation.

“Secretariat is widening now,” track announcer Chic Anderson said. “He is moving like a tremendous machine!”

As Secretariat turned for home, Anderson could hardly believe what he was witnessing.

“Secretariat is in a position that is impossible to catch,” Anderson exclaimed. “He’s into the stretch. Secretariat leads this field by 18 lengths. … Secretariat has opened a 22-length lead! He is going to be the Triple Crown winner. Here comes Secretariat to the wire. … He hits the finish 25 lengths in front! … An amazing, unbelievable performance by this miracle horse. … The most sensational Belmont Stakes in the history of this race. Secretariat has accomplished the unbelievable task of breaking the mile and a half record by 23 5 seconds. That is a record that may stand forever!”

“I kept hearing Chic Anderson,” Turcotte said. “I finally had to turn to see where the other horses were. I know this sounds crazy, but the horse did it by himself. I was along for the ride.”

The numbers were — and remain — otherworldly. A mile and a half in 2:24 flat. The fastest 12 furlongs on dirt in history. Victory by 31 lengths to secure the Triple Crown. Shattering the track record set by Hall of Famer Gallant Man by 23�5 seconds. Fifty years later, the standards Secretariat set that day, as Anderson predicted in the race’s immediate aftermath, remain untouched.

When Secretariat crossed the finish line in the Belmont he became the first horse to sweep the Triple Crown since Calumet Farm’s mighty Citation in 1948. Secretariat had earned his spot on racing’s Mount Rushmore. Many believed he stood alone, including Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton, who said Secretariat’s “only point of reference is himself.”

The Triple Crown trophy was presented to Secretariat’s owner, Penny Tweedy, by New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller and Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton, the latter representing the state where Secretariat was foaled at Christopher Chenery’s Meadow Stud. Chenery was Tweedy’s father and bred the colt, but he died in January 1973 after a long illness. Following the Belmont, Tweedy was quick to praise Lucien Laurin, Secretariat’s trainer, for his care and preparation of the horse.

“That horse is wonderful, and the reason he is, is because he has been trained magnificently,” she said.

Laurin, for the most part, was confident in Secretariat’s chances of securing the Triple Crown going into the Belmont.

“I wondered a bit when I saw those early figures, wondered if he was going too fast,” Laurin said of the fractional time of 461�5 seconds for the half-mile. “But I told myself that Ronnie knows the horse, and that made me feel better. And I felt better all through the stretch when he was drawing out and still running like a gem.”

The remainder of Secretariat’s 3-year-old campaign was a bit uneven. Following the Belmont, he delivered another brilliant effort in winning the Arlington International Stakes. His time of 1:464 5 was a fifth of a second off the track record for 1⅛ miles set by Hall of Famer Damascus. Secretariat then suffered a shocking defeat to Onion in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. Turcotte was criticized for keeping the horse on the rail for too much of the trip, but it was discovered after the race that Secretariat had a fever.

Secretariat set records in each of the Triple Crown races that have stood for 50 years. He was named Horse of the Year in 1972 and 1973 and retired with 16 wins from 21 starts. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974.

Five weeks after the Whitney, Secretariat returned to top form in the inaugural Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap at Belmont. He set a world record for 1⅛ miles of 1:452�5 in defeating a star-studded field that included future Hall of Famers Riva Ridge (his stablemate) and Cougar II, as well as standouts Annihilate ’em, Kennedy Road, Key to the Mint, and Whitney winner Onion.

Secretariat then finished second to Prove Out in the Woodward Stakes over a sloppy track at Belmont. In defeating the Triple Crown winner by 4½ lengths, Prove Out, at odds of 16-1, set a stakes record of 2:254�5 for

1½ miles and won for only the third time in 14 races that year. Turcotte was perplexed by Secretariat’s effort.

“I just don’t know what happened to him,” he said. “Maybe he couldn’t get hold of the track, but I really can’t say.”

Secretariat was back at Belmont a week later, but this time he was trying something new — grass racing. In his 20th career start, Secretariat made his first appearance on the turf a memorable one, romping to a fivelength victory in course-record time of 2:244 5 in the 1½-mile Man o’ War Stakes. The New York Times said Secretariat’s victory in the Man o’ War “restored much of the prestige he had lost as a result of his defeats in the Whitney and Woodward.”

One more challenge awaited Secretariat. Three weeks after the Man o’ War, he traveled to Woodbine in Toronto for the Canadian International Championship Stakes on the grass. Turcotte, however, wasn’t in the irons because of a suspension, and Secretariat was instead piloted by rising star

THEY SAID IT …

Eddie Maple. In his career bow, Secretariat went out with gusto, cruising to a 6½-length score for his 16th victory from 21 starts.

As a juvenile in 1972, Secretariat won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion 2-Year-Old Male. His sophomore campaign, featuring the historic wins in the Triple Crown races, led to a second Horse of the Year title, Champion 3-Year-Old Male honors, and the Eclipse for Champion Male Turf Horse.

Secretariat was retired to the iconic Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, where he arrived in November 1973 to begin his career as a stallion. Placed in the same stall once occupied by his sire Bold Ruler, Secretariat went on to sire 653 foals, including 57 stakes winners. His most accomplished was daughter Lady’s Secret, Horse of the Year in 1986 and a Hall of Fame member. He also sired champion Risen Star, winner of the Preakness and Belmont. Secretariat’s biggest impact at stud was as a broodmare sire. His notable maternal grandsons include Hall of Fame member A.P. Indy, as well as Chief’s Crown, Dehere, Storm Cat, and Summer Squall.

Inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1974, Secretariat was ranked second to Man o’ War in The BloodHorse’s “Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century.” In 2013, he was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame on the 40-year anniversary of his Canadian International victory.

On Oct. 4, 1989, Secretariat was euthanized after a battle with the hoof disease laminitis. A month’s worth of treatment had proven ineffective at improving the condition. Secretariat was buried at Claiborne.

Fifty years have passed since Secretariat dazzled the world with the most remarkable of Triple Crown sweeps. His impact on racing remains as vital today as it was on that magical June day in 1973 when he galloped into the history books and the hearts of millions.

“Secretariat suddenly transcended horse racing and became a cultural phenomenon, a sort of undeclared national holiday from the tortures of Watergate and the Vietnam War.”

William Nack, Sports Illustrated

“You want to know who Secretariat is in human terms? Just imagine the greatest athlete in the world. The greatest. Now make him six-foot-three, the perfect height. Make him real intelligent and kind. And on top of that, make him the best-lookin’ guy ever to come down the pike. He was all those things as a horse.”

Seth Hancock, Claiborne Farm

“You carry an ideal around in your head, and boy, I thought, ‘This is it.’ I never saw perfection before. I absolutely could not fault him in any way. And neither could the rest of them and that was the amazing thing about it. The body and the head and the eye and the general attitude. It was just incredible. I couldn’t believe my eyes, frankly.”

Charles Hatton, Daily Racing Form, on Secretariat’s maiden victory, 1972