”like a tremendous machine”

It was March 30, 1970 when it became obvious that the mare, Somethingroyal, was about to give birth to her second foal.  The little horse arrived at Meadow Stables just after midnight.  He struggled to his feet before the day was an hour old.  The big-boned, muscular animal was a bright chestnut color, so bright in fact, that those in attendance immediately called him Big Red.

It was a nickname that stayed with him throughout his life…at least to those closest to him.

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Howard Gentry, the manager of the stable, was at the foaling and later said, “He was as perfect a foal that I ever delivered.”

When Penny Tweedy, Somethingroyal’s owner first saw the foal, she made an entry in her notebook that consisted of a single word, “Wow!”  That word was often repeated among horse-people who saw Big Red.  He had the most perfect conformation of any Thoroughbred racehorse they had ever seen. 

Big Red grew into a massive, powerful horse, standing 16.2 hands (66 inches) tall.  He was exceptionally well-balanced with large, powerful, well-muscled hindquarters and a chest so large that he required a custom-made girth.

At the end of his first year, Ms. Tweedy had to give the beautiful animal his “official” name, as recognized by the Jockey Club.  In December she submitted three names for their consideration.  Scepter, Royal Line, and Something Special played on the names of Red’s sire (Bold Rule) and dam (Somethingroyal).  All were rejected by the organization. 

In January of 1971 Tweedy submitted three more names for them to consider, Games of Chance, Deo Volente (God Willing), and, the one the Jockey Club chose…

Secretariat.

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Big Red had an exceptionally large stride, even for a horse his size.  When he was three years old it was measured at 24 feet, 11 inches.  The mass of muscle in his hindquarters allowed him to “kick into high gear” at any point in a race.

In his early days of training he was frequently outpaced by more precocious stable mates, running a quarter-mile in 26 seconds compared to 23 seconds by his peers.  His regular exercise riders were Jim Gaffney and Charlie Davis.  Davis was not impressed by the young horse.  He said, “He was a big fat sucker.  I mean, he was big.  He wasn’t in a hurry to do nothin’.  He took his time.  The quality was there, but he didn’t show it until he wanted to.” 

Gaffney though recalled his first ride on Secretariat in early 1972 as “having this big red machine under me, and from that very first day I knew he had a power of strength that I have never felt before …”

He was known for his appetite, eating nearly half-a-bushel of oats a day.  He may have eaten a lot, but he burned that energy in training, putting in fast workouts that could have won many races.

But he had more.  Secretariat was smart, and he loved to run…and he ran to win.

His trainer, Lucien Laurin, deemed him ready to race.

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On the fourth of July, 1972, Secretariat ran his first race.  He lined up at the starting gate with the other horses.  At the start, one horse cut in front of the field, bumping into other horses and causing a chain reaction, nearly knocking Secretariat off his feet.  His jockey, Paul Feliciano, said he would have fallen if he hadn’t been so strong.  He managed to regain his balance, but then ran into a pack of other horses massed on the backstretch.  When he was finally able to get free, he began the sprint that would be his trademark.  In tenth place at the top of the stretch, he blew past other horses and made his way to fourth at the finish line.

It was the last race that year in which he wouldn’t cross the finish line in the lead.

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Secretariat was smart so, in most of his subsequent races, at the start he would immediately hang back.  That is what he did in his second-ever race, on July 15.  He hung back at the start, letting all the other horses get ahead of him then, when the uninitiated counted him out, he put on a burst of speed, passing every other horse, almost as if they were in a lower gear.

He won by six lengths.

Ron Turcotte, who was the regular jockey for Ms.Tweedy’s Meadow Stables, had been out with an injury but was eager to get on Secretariat for a race.  His chance came in August when Secretariat was entered into the Sanford Stakes.  Another horse, Linda’s Chief, was favored to win the race but, after being blocked at the beginning of the race, Secretariat flew through the horses in front of him to take a three-length win.

Turcotte was again riding ten days later when Secretariat ran the Hopeful Stakes  Big Red held back at the start then passed eight horses within ¼ mile to take the lead. 

He won by five lengths.

On September 16 he won the Belmont Futurity by 1 ½ lengths.

On October 14 he ran the Champagne Stakes.  He started at the back, then made a big move, flying past the other horses to win by two lengths.  However, a claim was waged that he had interfered with another horse.  After an inquiry by the racecourse stewards, whether the interference was inadvertent or not, he was disqualified and placed second.

Secretariat was entered in the Laurel Futurity on October 28, and earned an eight-length win.

He completed his season in the Garden State Futurity on November 18, dropping back early and making a powerful move around the turn to win by 3 1⁄2 lengths.  

Trainer Lucien Laurin said, “In all his races, he has taken the worst of it by coming from behind, usually circling his field. A colt has to be a real runner to do this consistently and get away with it.”

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Big Red spent that winter in Florida and didn’t race again until March 17 of ’73 but he was ready.  Boy, was he ready.

His first race of the year was the Bay Shores Stakes.  When asked what his horse’s chances were of beating Secretariat for the win, one of the other horse’s trainers said, “The only chance we have is if he falls down.”

He didn’t.

One of the perils of starting in the back is the chance of getting boxed in and held back long enough to lose any chance you might have.  Secretariat got boxed in but jockey Turcotte felt his best chance was to squeeze through a narrow gap between two horses rather than take the time to circle around the pack.  Big Red broke free and ran off with the win.  One of the other jockeys claimed interference but this time the stewards felt it was Secretariat who bumped, so he kept his win.

He next ran in the Gotham Stakes on April 7.  Laurin saw that there were no speed horses running against Red so the trainer decided to experiment by letting his horse set his own pace. 

From the gate he led the race.  However, down the stretch Champaign Charlie put on a burst and caught up…almost.  Turcotte tapped Secretariat with his riding crop and the horse responded by pulling away for a three length win.

Secretariat’s next race was the last one before the famous Triple Crown.  It was the Woods Memorial, where Big Red finished a surprising third, losing to Angle Light and the famous Sham.

Race fans were take aback, although not all were surprised.  Sham had long been a favorite to rival, and perhaps beat Secretariat.  Angle Light, who had also been trained by Lucian Laurin, had set a slow pace but had hung on for the win with Sham finishing second.

It was later found that Secretariat had a large abscess in his mouth which may have taken his concentration off the race.  Horse racing fans speculated that the big red horse was a sprinter, which would work against him in the long Kentucky Derby, first race of the Triple Crown.  Some even said he was unsound.

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On May 5, the largest crowd in North American racing history amassed at the Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.  At the gate, another horse reared and hit yet another, which caused Sham to bang his head against the gate, loosening two teeth.  Then, at the start, Sham broke poorly and cut himself.  Secretariat avoided the mix-up by again breaking at the back.  Early leader Shecky Greene set a good pace, but the injured Sham took over the lead around the far turn.  Secretariat caught Sham as they entered the stretch and the two went head-to-head down the stretch, before Secretariat pulled away for a 2 ½ length win.

Before we continue with the Triple Crown, let’s look at Big Red’s performance in the Kentucky Derby.  The big horse ran each of the five quarters faster than the one before.  Folks, he was accelerating for the entire race!

He set the track record with his time of 1:59 2/5, the first horse to ever break two minutes there.  Only one other horse has broken two minutes there in the 49 years since, and Secretariat’s time is still the fastest time ever run there.

Sportswriter Mike Sullivan later said, “I was at Secretariat’s Derby, in ’73 …  That was … just beauty, you know?  He started in last place, which he tended to do.  I was covering the second-place horse, which wound up being Sham.  It looked like Sham’s race going into the last turn, I think.  The thing you have to understand is that Sham was fast, a beautiful horse.  He would have had the Triple Crown in another year.  And it just didn’t seem like there could be anything faster than that.  Everybody was watching him.  It was over, more or less.  And all of a sudden there was this, like, just a disruption in the corner of your eye, in your peripheral vision.  And then before you could make out what it was, here Secretariat came.  And then Secretariat had passed him.  No one had ever seen anything run like that—a lot of the old guys said the same thing.  It was like he was some other animal out there.”

Yeah.

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The second race of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, was run at Pimlico on May 19.  No surprise, Secretariat broke last, but he then made a big move from last to first on the first turn.  Having taken the lead, he just hung on for a 2 ½ length win, with Sham again finishing second.

There was some dispute about the time, with different timing methods rendering conflicting numbers.  It wasn’t until June 19, 2012 that the question was settled at the official time of 1:53, again, a new record time which has not been equaled to date.

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There were only four horses set to run against Big Red for the Belmont Stakes on June 9, 1973, the final race of the Triple Crown.  Of them, odds-makers gave only Sham a chance of preventing Secretariat from becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1948.

Except perhaps for Sham’s owner and trainer, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the big red horse would win. 

As the horses lined up, it’s a fair bet that nobody would have believed what they were about to witness.  I wasn’t there but, when I heard about it, I certainly had trouble believing it.

At the start, Secretariat started in fourth of the five horses in the race.  He took the rail and caught the leaders before the first turn.  He and Sham had the lead before they left the first turn and stayed together, pulling together for a 10 length lead ahead of second place!  The two swapped the lead a few times before Big Red decided to leave.

And leave he did.

Sham was tired.  As Secretariat pulled ahead, Sham faded and would eventually finish last.  The big red horse began to pull away.

Announcer Chic Anderson, shouted, “Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine!”

I can’t help but feel the thrill now, just short of 50 years later, at the sound of Anderson announcing, “Secretariat by twelve!  Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn!” “Secretariat is all alone!  He’s out there almost a sixteenth of a mile away from the rest of the horses!  Secretariat is in a position that seems impossible to catch.  He’s into the stretch.  Secretariat leads the field by 18 lengths!”  “They’re in the stretch and Secretariat has opened a 22 length lead!  He is going to be the Triple Crown winner!  Here comes Secretariat to the wire, an unbelievable, an amazing performance!  He hits the finish 25 lengths in front!”

Until you get a chance to see the video (available on YouTube), just consider that, from the time Anderson said he led by 12 lengths until he announced that he crossed the line 25 lengths ahead of second, was only 46 SECONDS!

There’s only one problem with Anderson’s announcement…he was wrong.  Secretariat did not win the race by a margin of 25 lengths; he won by a gap of 31 lengths!

His final time in the race was 2:24 flat, a full 2 3/5 seconds faster than the 16-year-old record.

The Blood-Horse magazine editor Kent Hollingsworth said, “Two twenty-four flat! I don’t believe it.  Impossible.  But I saw it.  I can’t breathe. He won by a sixteenth of a mile! I saw it. I have to believe it.”

The race is widely considered the greatest performance of the twentieth century by a North American racehorse.

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To say that Secretariat was ahead of his time is almost moot.  He not only won the Triple crown, but he broke the record for all three races, and all three records still stand, almost 50 years later.

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Because of contracts Ms. Tweedy signed to save Meadow Stables when her father (the founder of the stables) passed away, Secretariat was prevented from racing as a four-year-old.  Although the horse racing world lost out on the chance to see what Big Red could have done with another year of maturity, it wasn’t a total loss for the big horse, who was put out to stud.

Yeah.

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Secretariat’s retirement lasted until 1989, when he was diagnosed with laminitis, a painful, debilitating hoof disease.  After a month of treatment, the condition failed to improve, and the difficult decision was made to end his suffering.

As a side-note, when Secretariat’s autopsy was performed, it was found that his heart was about 22 pounds, or 2 ½ times the normal size for the average horse.

It can be said that, in every way, Secretariat was one of a kind, one of a kind indeed

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