Secretariat

On of Bold Ruler and Somethingroyal, Secretariat was a handsome golden colt with a white star in his head, whom many people doubted that he could run the classic distance of the Kentucky Derby.

It was commented that his best distance was about the mile, and the Derby was and is of a mile and a quarter, due to the fact it was the distance of his father Bold Ruler, an element with great speed in his veins. His mother, Somethingroyal, was also mother of other winners of Stakes, among them Sir Gaylor, whereby of the combination of both bloods only could come out something almost perfect.

He was grown in The Meadow Stables, that had already other winners of the Derby, and Belmont Stakes, as Riva Ridge.

The first race of Secretariat was in New York in Aqueduct Park, on the day of the Independence of the United States, one fourth of July of 1972, in a race of 5 ˝ furlongs, finishing in the fourth place in a race for maidens, in which he did not have much luck in the starting gates, being in the risk of falling down. He quickly learnt what was to run truly, not only by arriving the first to the winning post, but by demoralizing to his competitors.

Lately, he won his two following exits and he started to face to the good american horses, being his fourth exit in The Sanford Stakes in Saratoga on 16 August, which he won with great superiority, coming from the group running at the rear. He continued running that year, winning other four races, The Hopeful Stakes, Belmont Futurity, The Laurel Futurity and The Garden State Stakes, and his only loss coming in the disqualification in The Champagne Stakes when he ducked in at midstretch bothering to other horse, Stop the Music.

In summary, being two years old, he ran in nine occasions with seven victories, earning Usd 455,000 and being nominated for The Best Horse of the Year, something not usual in a two years old, which only had been achieved by other two years old in previous years, Native Dancer in 1952 and Mocasin in 1965.

His two following exits at three years finished with two new victories in The Bay Shore and in The Gotham Stakes, and later he arrived in third place in The Wood Memorial Stakes, in spite that he ran with a problem in the mouth which did not permit the horse to give all himself in the race.

Starting from now, the great challenge began for Secretariat, to try to win the Triple Crown, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Before the start of his triumphal on the way to the Triple Crown, it was announced, in February of 1973 that the horse had been syndicated for the record amount of Usd 6,000,000 to Claiborne Farm´s Seth Hancock.

His following race was The Kentucky Derby in which ran the two horses who had beaten him in the previous race, the winner of the same Angle Light, and Sham, and in spite of that he was favorite in the bets 3-2.Of course, he did not disappoint anybody and won the race by 2 ˝ lengths, the second place was for Sham, in the time of 1:59:2/5. Secretariat was ridden by Ron Turcotte and Lucien Laurin was his trainer.

His following race was The Preakness Stakes, defeating Sham again by the same distance as The Kentucky Derby and remaining at one second of the record of the Pimlico Racecourse in the distance, in spite that nowadays we continue without certainty if he beat the record or not, because there were problems with the official chronograph of Pimlico.

The Golden proof was arriving in order to win The Triple Crown, The Belmont Stakes in New York, with only four, but difficult rivals to be beaten and once more Secretariat imposed his superiority beating the world record of the distance, winning the race nothing less than for 31 lengths, in which Sham tried to plants battle to Secretariat, provoked to Sham an injury which did not allow him to run any more in his life.

In this way, Secretariat was converted in the first horse to win The Triple Crown in 25 years.

Later, he participated in six more races, winning four of them, and being the second position in the other two, being beaten in one of them by Onion and in the other by Prove Out, when the horse was trained by Allen Jerkens.

It seems to be that Secretariat was beaten by Onion due to that his trainer, in spite that the horse was suffering from a virus decided to run in The Whitney Stakes (Gr.2) and overtaken by Prove Out, in The Wood Stakes (Gr.1), because he decided to run to the horse in a course quite wet, which in no way favored Secretariat.

The last two victorious races of Secretariat were the Man o'War Stakes (Gr.1), and The Canadian International Stakes (Gr.2), which he won easily.

In his life, Secretariat ran 21 races, winning 16 of them and only in one occasions was out of the money places.

At the end of 1973, Secretariat was retired to the Stud in Claiborne Farm.

Secretariat was father of 41 Stakes winners, for instance, of Risen Star, and he became a great breeder though he never arrived to have the success in the Stud which he had in the racecourses, due with all security to the fact that he was unique and special, and an irrepetible horse, Secretariat was he, and it was impossible that there could be born another equal to him.

On fourth October of 1989, at the age of 19 years, he died due to a laminitis in Claiborne Farm, in spite of that everything possible was done for him in order to save your life.

He was voted among The Best American Athletes of the XX Century, in the 35 position by "Sports Century", and was the first "non human".

His history showed that he had a big heart, very big, and his necropsy also. Doctor Swerezek, when he finished the necropsy, said that Secretariat was a normal horse in all, except in the size of his heart, which was more than the double of the normal size of a horse.

That is why he was able to do what he did.

Thanks Secretariat because with that Golden Heart you made the races great and you made yourself great.

Secretariat 1970	Bold Ruler	Nasrullah	Nearco
			Mumtaz Begum
		Miss Disco	Discovery
			Outdone
	Somethingroyal	Princequillo	Prince Rose
			Cosquilla
		Imperatrice	Caruso
			Cinquepace