(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #7. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
In full candor, I do not consider myself a horse racing fan. I have never been to a horse race, I do not track early-season stakes events to familiarize myself with the that year’s best 3-year-olds to enhance my enjoyment of the annual Triple Crown Races, nor do I tune normally tune into the season-ending Breeder’s Cup (Programming Note: This year’s Breeder‘s is this Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.)
Having said that, I will almost always find a way to tune into the Kentucky Derby if, for no other reason, to hear Dan Fogelberg‘s fabulous ode to the Derby, “Run for the Roses.” And, if I’m going back in time to experience seminal sports moments from yesteryear I’m sure as shootin’ going back to 1973 to see Secretariat’s 5-week utter domination of the sport.
Most casual sports fans (and even humans) have surely heard the name Secretariat before but, if you’re reading this and are thinking about a clerical temp service, please see this website. Yes, a racing equine which has been gone for nearly 35 years has its own website and its own annual festival (running November 10-12 this year)!
Kentucky Derby – May 5, 1973
The first Saturday in May finds the eyes of the horse racing world cast upon Churchill Downs in Louisville. This Cinco de Mayo was no different. While the odd Margarita may have been served, I’m sure the Mint Julep was still the beverage of choice for most.
Secretatriat went off as a 3-to-2 betting favorite, a touch better than Sham who went off at 5-to-2. While Sham ran near the front for much of the race, Secretariat methodically hunted every horse down, running each successive quarter mile faster than the previous meaning he was still accelerating near the end of the race. Ultimately, Big Red as he was known, won by a touch more than two lengths in a still-standing Derby record of 1:59.4.
Preakness Stakes – May 19, 1973
It was more of the same for Secretariat in Baltimore as jockey Ron Turcotte allowed the rest of the field to go out and then picked his way through to win by two-and-a-half lengths over Sham, again. This race was not without controversy, however, as there were timing discrepancies. The infield teletimer had been damaged so its time of 1:55 was called into question and the Pimlico Race Course timer showed it at 1:54.4 and the Daily Racing Form at 1:53.4. It was not until 2012 when the Maryland Racing Commission was asked by Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, to conduct a forensic review of all footage and determine the time. It was deemed to be 1:53 which set a new Preakness Stakes record (39 years after the race was run and 23 years after Secretariat had died).
Belmont Stakes – June 9, 1973
I had turned 6-years-old the day before this race. If our family watched what became the coronation of Big Red it’s never been shared with me. Part of me hopes my parents brought me in from playing with my Hot Wheels in the dirt long enough to witness this history the same way they had my toddler self watching Neil Armstrong step on the surface of the moon four years earlier.
No matter, I suppose, because any memories of both events have long ago vanished for me. That said, if my wayback machine can only get me back to 1973 for one of these three races, this is the one. The complete and utter denomination that Secretariat showcased at Belmont Park is incredible even on grainy video 50 years later.
And he’d – for all intents and purposes – won the race before it even ran. Just four other horses entered (including 2-time bridesmaid Sham) and Secretariat went off as a 1-to-10 betting favorite. Yes, you’d need to wager $10 to win $1! That doesn’t even seem real.
And he did not disappoint: Secretariat pulled away from Sham (who later was diagnosed with an leg injury) near the end of the backstretch and just kept pulling away. The track announcer referred to him as a “tremendous machine” along the way and even had trouble estimating the margin of victory; announcing it at 25 lengths, but official reviews put it at 31 lengths (over 250 feet). And the time! The time of this race was 2:24 flat, which obliterated the world record for a mile-and-a-half dirt track by 2.6 seconds.
Check out this wonderful retrospective from Sports Illustrated‘s Pat Forde in advance of this year’s Derby. And, as you read it, keep in mind that Secretariat’s winning times at each of these three races still stand … 50 years later! He was simply the best and for a scant five weeks in 1973 put it all together for the world to bear witness. How cool would it have been to be there?
Previous Installments
- Number 10 – 1972 NLCS Game 5
- Number 9 – 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
- Number 8 – 2007 One Hall of a Trip