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Secretariat - Triple Crown Races

And with about a half mile to go, Secretariat cooked his opponent.
 
I lived that time watching the greatest horse ever. Ever. The Babe Ruth of horse racing.
 
Thank you, thank you so much... I remember watching these races , and that Belmont race especially, was epic.
 
Thank you, thank you so much... I remember watching these races , and that Belmont race especially, was epic.

We were lucky enough to see it. His records will probably stand for a million years. I was lucky enough to meet Penny Chenery at the Secretariat Festival about 4yrs ago? She died two years later.
I used to train with a guy who had clients who owned race horses. He knew about good sprint times. I mentioned the 3/4 mile time in the '73 Belmont of 1:9.4 and he looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. He said that's fast for a sprint horse let alone having to run another 3/4 of a mile.
If you look at him compared to the other horses in the videos, he's a frickin beast! They say his heart was much larger than the average race horse.
Most people don't realize Ms. Chenery bred Riva Ridge who won the KY Derby and Belmont in '72 losing the Preakness because of a muddy track. She almost had back to back Triple Crown winners.
 
We were lucky enough to see it. His records will probably stand for a million years. I was lucky enough to meet Penny Chenery at the Secretariat Festival about 4yrs ago? She died two years later.
I used to train with a guy who had clients who owned race horses. He knew about good sprint times. I mentioned the 3/4 mile time in the '73 Belmont of 1:9.4 and he looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears. He said that's fast for a sprint horse let alone having to run another 3/4 of a mile.
If you look at him compared to the other horses in the videos, he's a frickin beast! They say his heart was much larger than the average race horse.
Most people don't realize Ms. Chenery bred Riva Ridge who won the KY Derby and Belmont in '72 losing the Preakness because of a muddy track. She almost had back to back Triple Crown winners.
I wasn't into horse racing then, only horsepower. Where I worked, older guys were into the track. So I became mildly interested. And thus, Secretariat made an imprint on me; that horse made an impression on someone outside the sphere of the equine world like no other horse could ever do. Only the greatest could ever touch the hearts as he did. When I watched, I somehow sensed that I was witnessing the greatest there ever was, or would be.
 
I Grew up in Floral Park LI NY. Belmont was My Backyard. One of my Dads Buddies was a horse player and got us in the stable where Secretariat was boarded. My Sister and I got to pet The Champ. I still have the NYRA flag from the infield that we borrowed. My Sis just retired from Belmont after 30 plus years doing Horse I.D. checking to be sure the horse is who its supposed to be. I think they tattoo a number in the mouth some where. Used to hang at Espositos bar across from the track, some rough customers in that joint. Long gone now. Those were the Good Old Days for sure.
 
Had the Secretariat Sports Illustrated Sportsman/Athlete of the year magazine cover hanging on my wall when I was a kid. Just saw an old Pawn Stars episode where a guy came in with a mounted aluminum horseshoe from Secretariat that was given to him by Penny Chenery. He sold it to them for $1500, I think. Sure would like to have that !
 
Had the Secretariat Sports Illustrated Sportsman/Athlete of the year magazine cover

I still have it stored somewhere. I love horses and was in love with this horse! He was magnificent - even if you don't follow horse racing, this is a horse who's videos should be seen especially the 73 Belmont Stakes. That was unreal, an incredible running machine.
 
This horse was so fast, if you notice, except for the Belmont, he ran on the outside, a greater distance and still smoked them.
 
The movie: (imagine the owner of Sham...) Great piece of music at the end of the race.



The actual video:

 
Sham, all but forgotten, and still the only other horse that ran the Derby under 2 minutes.
 
Sham, all but forgotten, and still the only other horse that ran the Derby under 2 minutes.

Same with Riva Ridge. Secretariat so outshined race horses for any year - he was truly magnificent. If he had won by a nose it would still be great but...31 lengths? Breaking the Belmont record which still stands today, over 50yrs later, by over 2 seconds? Is miraculous. Obviously if Sham had raced a year later he might have been a triple crown winner. Maybe the competition between these two horses was just meant to be although I don't think it would have mattered to Secretariat. This horse was a running machine, he didn't care who was on the track. They said he would run on broken glass if he had to. Unfortunately, Riva Ridge was not comfortable on muddy tracks or he would have won the Triple Crown as well.
 
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