Secretariat was an American racehorse who ruled the racing tracks in the first half of the 1970s, with race stats so incredible that at the turn of the century, he was voted second in the honours list of 100 top horses that raced in the United States in the 20th Century. He is most remembered for winning the Belmont Stakes by a record 31 lengths, a races which evokes nostalgia for many as the greatest they ever set eyes on. He was also the Horse of the Year twice, at ages two and three.
Secretariat was foaled in 1970 in the meadow Stable in Virginia, and received his race training at Hialeah from horse trainers’ hall of famer Lucien Laurin. With Lucien, he got to polish his clumsy and lazy tendencies that threatened to derail the career of one of the finest looking thoroughbreds of the time. One thing he never really got over was his tendency to edge towards the rail during races, and had to race with a visor to correct this.
He made his racing debut at The Aqueduct in July 1972, a less-than-satisfactory race that fully exposed the same faults his trainer had been trying to work on and saw him finish fourth. One major positive from this race was his recovery, as he came back from a bump and traffic at the stretch to finish fourth.
The big beast then went on to win all remaining races of his two-year-old season, although he in one instance paid again for his clumsiness as he was disqualified to second for bearing in on eventual winner Stop The music.
There was no stopping in the next season, as he went ahead to seal the Triple Crown with wins at Kentucky, Preakness and Belmont in 1973.
His dethroning came at the Saratoga Race Course, where, at a stage of seeming invincibility, he fell to a horse named Onion. He retired after winning the Canadian International Stakes in 1973, with a record of 16-3-1, at which time he had raked in $1,316,808.
It took Secretariat some time to get into thoroughbred siring after retirement, as his sperm was considered somewhat immature. When he got to it, however, he produced some fine horses whose generations linger to date. He died at the age of 19 in 1989.
