Is The Secretariat Connected To Mystic Dan?

Well spoken. The immortal Secretariat. He set the bar that will ALWAYS be remembered. There will NEVER BE another like him… I didn’t watch the Kentucky Derby but definitely watched the next two. They both made me cry… I noticed the pass on that first turn before Anderson did & I said to my Dad at the time there’s no way a horse can do that! I mean these are the fastest horses in the world & he passed the entire field in 15 seconds around the outside. But the Belmont humbled us all… the greatest sports achievement of all time… by a horse. Why? because its a record that will NEVER be broken. Yep all records will eventually fall. but not this one… Turcotte is the only one remaining of that era. Anderson passed only a few years later. I wonder what Ronnie thinks?

I was supposed to attend the Belmont, with my father. That race would have been my introduction, to horse racing. I was just 9 years old, but understood the significance of the event. Unfortunately, my mother thought, it would be a better idea if I was to go on a class field trip, to the Catskill Game Farm, in upper state NY. I remember my mother, and father having daily discussions, during the week leading up to the race, about what event I was going to attend. Of course I was rooting, for the Belmont. In the end, my mother won out, and it was off to the game farm for me. Only missed the greatest performance by a race horse of all times. All was not lost though, as I was able to attend the 73 Marlboro Cup, with my father, later that summer. Secretariat, did not disappoint. He trounced one of the greatest fields of older horses ever assembled, including his stablemate, Riva Ridge. He also did so in world record time for 1 1/8th. 1:45 2/5ths. Of course I have forgiven my mother, all though, I still sometimes tease her, about missing that race. It sure would have been great, to be in attendance for the 73 Belmont.!

A great tribute to a great horse. perusal Secretariat blow away the field coming down the stretch in the Belmont Stakes took you some place profound beyond the ability of words to describe what you were experiencing. It was some kind of ethereal moment eternal and unique that you just connected to and experienced with your heart and soul. He was born for that moment of athletic perfection racing the wind. Even today just perusal the article that profound moment still lingers. If there is a race track in horse heaven Secretariat is still moving like a Tremendous Machine.

After these Secretariat tributes. I wish Texas was closer to Kentucky so I could go and and give my love to his grave. In my case the spirit’s willing but the body’s weak. I don’t know where the years have gone. I definitely remember the excitement of his Triple Crown victory. But with a black and white TV I had no idea how beautiful he was. I’m sure my daughter would help me get there. A couple of years ago, we started saving all our one dollar bills for a trip to Disney World. It took a lot more, but we did save over $2000 in ones. Maybe we could start again and fly instead of drive. My family raised horses and Saint Bernards when I was growing up. I miss every one of them. Those were simpler days.

2nd best, 1st in looks. I don’t remember all the overly dramatic exaggeration and hype for Man O’ War in 1970, anybody? Team Secretariat is really good at what they do. More than 1 sculpture, making the rounds, imdoctrinating young people, stealing the Preakness time. I love the horse, but the tactics ruin it for me.

I never get tired of perusal Secretariat’s June 1973 Belmont win – and it never fails to bring a tear to my eye. It’s especially touching now since we see the wonderful Penny Chenery, whom we lost last year at age 95, cheering on her beloved horse which had just won the fabled “Triple Crown.” Miss Chenery was probably the greatest ambassador the sport of horse racing ever had – she once said that she’d “toot Secretariat’s horn for all the rest of her days” and proceeded to do just that! I recall seeing her at Belmont Park in 2015 (the day “American Pharoah” won his “Triple”) and she had many people coming around to say hello and was kept busy chatting and signing autographs – and was as gracious as only she could be. NBC did a brief interview and “Miss Penny” said “she wanted to see one more Triple Crown winner.” And she did that very day. We hear much about Secretariat’s “great heart,” but his long-time lady owner had one to match. Cheers and thanks!

I was 24 when he ran that race and didn’t think all that much about it. But over the years and I see it again and again because I finally realize just how awesome what he did was I am addicted to perusal him run again and again. I have been a horse person all my life owning and raising horses. So just love this horse. Next year will be the 50th year since he ran that astounding race and I doubt I will ever see anything like that again. I imaging there won’t be another horse like him ever.

Every time I watch the Belmont Stakes, I get chills and tears in my eyes. I remember perusal it when it happened, and I was jumping and shouting with joy, had never seen anything like it. We were lucky enough to own a grandson of the great horse, who had the same build, was a grey, but never raced due to an injury during training. He had the same grace when moving, but lived with us for 20 years, in comfort, being ridden on the flat, and enjoying a very long retirement.

The Greatest performance in an event by a participant (Horse in this case; it does not diminish it to me) in any sport in American Sports History, period. Greater than Beamon’s leap/ Greater than 100 points in a game (Chamberlain)/ Greater than Don Larson’s World Serie’s no hitter/ Greater than any single event performance in my opinion. A joy to watch perfection.

Since Secretariat holds the track records – still – for all 3 races, we didn’t even need to see this. None of the triple crown winners for any of the 3 races have ever beaten Secretariat’s records – before or after 73. And I doubt there’s a horse that ever will. Big Red was absolutely the best. There’ll never be another one like him……

I saw Big Red when I was a kid, that big boy had muscles on top of muscles, his eyes focused on you with those ears totally erect, his hooves were huge! His back was totally packed with high muscle, even his tail had defined muscles. When a camera was clicked he starting posing! That Big Boy would pose! Put on a show, move his head in a lateral “No” movement while snorting so everyone would laugh. I saw Secretariat one month after his incredible Belmont win, which he won by 1/16th of a mile!! He was something else, there was only one Big Red! The only place he was a bigger hit than the race track was the breeding barn! Ron Tourcotte said it best, “When I rode Riva Ridge it was sort of like driving a really great race car, make no mistakes you’ll win but when I got on Big Red, me and that horse both knew I was just up there for the ride!”

I was lucky enough to be at the Preakness Stakes when he blew by the competition. It was an amazing display of horse power. No pun intended😂 If you watch all 3 races I don’t think Turcotte ever used the whip on him. Didn’t need to as the horse knew what to do. He ran for the pure enjoyment. Never be another like him. Thanks for the memories Big Red.

There was Secretariat, and then there was everyone else. Secretariat wasn’t just a horse — he was a machine. He ran with a purpose and stamina that no horse has ever shown before, and none may ever show again. American Pharoah’s win should be celebrated, not compared to the horse that may, forevermore, be incomparable. He was the most dominant horse of all time, and remains so to this day.

How thrilling to finally see a Triple Crown winner again!! 37 years is a long time, we had to wait 25 for Secretariat, then oddly enough we had 3 Triple Crown winners inside of a decade. American Pharoah is awesome! Any horse that can even come close to Secretariat’s times deserves many accolades. I don’t think anyone has ever been able to fully put into words what Secretariat meant to the American people, it was just one of those moments in time that is etched in our hearts forever. This is not to diminish the achievements of the other Triple Crown winners at all, it’s just that the combination of having had a woman owner which was rare, and coming along at a time in our history when we were suffering for heroes and needed to be lifted up, this horse was a gift from God truly. He will always be the standard bearer for race horses to come. It’s a tough comparison because this horse was a once in a lifetime phenomenon and it is doubtful that his records will ever be beaten. Even long after the races were over we followed his retirement and always wanted to know how he was doing and see his magnificence whenever we could.

I was in the Belmont clubhouse that day with my parents. We were astounded by Secretariat’s performance and cheered loudly. But it was a few years until I really appreciated that run and now I too tear up when I watch it. The announcer commented that the record time would be hard to match and now it’s been 50 years and no horse has come close to 2:24!

When I watch horses run their races I sit back and am in awe. They work so hard and run with all they have to give. After a race when in the winner’s circle I would look at my horse, and he would look at me and nod as if to say Daddy I did it. I’d walk over with tears in my eyes and tell him I’m so lucky to know you and have you in my life. Then I’d kiss him on the nose. He knew he made me happy and he knew how proud I was of him. When he wasn’t winning anymore we would do the same thing. He would look at me and say, Daddy, I tried my best. I would kiss him on the nose and tell him how proud I was of him, and I loved him so very much. His name is not important to you, only to me. He is gone now but his memory burns into my soul. Your Daddy loves you.

Dont get me wrong I love American Pharoah but no one did, has, or will come close to what Secretariat did on that day at Belmont Stakes in 1973 but they’re both special they both broke what seem to be the longest wait for a triple crown win but Secretariat seemed to be a few seconds faster at every 1/4 mile than American Pharoah was last year.

The fact that someone had the audacity to put this question forward is so hilarious. I watched Secretariat win the Triple Crown when I was 18, and Big Red was sooo beautiful; I got on my knees and wept. When he passed away, the autopsy revealed that Secretariat’s heart was three times larger than other thoroughbreds. When you watch re-runs of his races, notice the stretch of Big Red against competitors—for every stride he took, other horses had to take 2-3 strides…and he made it look so easy. Strength, size, and focus—he had it all. And a big heart in more than one way. Secretariat then and forever: the grandest Triple Crown champion of them all and still the most beloved horse in the world.

I was at the Belmont when American Pharoah won. Flew out from Los Angeles feeling this was the horse that would finally do it. What a great day. I honestly think he could have run faster but no he wouldn’t have beat Secretariat. Maybe he could have run another second faster. The races were just totally different. AP wasn’t pushed and then when asked he opened up and ran away. Secretariat’s whole race was amazing, the fractions were insane and no one needed to push him.

There’s something rather haunting about the way they have this set up. If you keep eyes exclusively on the 2015 race, but listen to the ‘dimmer’, ‘grainy’ call from 1973 fading in from the background, it feels almost ghostly, echoing down through the rafters of all thoroughbred history. In such circumstances, American Pharoah’s run is almost shockingly good in that he finishes “only” ~2.5 seconds back from an event that was practically supernatural in its proportions.

At Secretariats necropsy, (dead humans = autopsy – dead animals = necropsy) the vet saw that Secretariat had a heart defect – his heart was roughly 3 times larger than it should have been!!!! (He forgot to measure or weigh it). But with a heart that size – the horse could oxygenate his blood before he needed it – so he basically never got tired while running at full speed because his blood always had fresh oxygen for his lungs!!!!!!! I think there is little doubt that Secretariat was the greatest race horse of the 20th century – dare I say it – OF ALL TIME – and we still have none that compare with him!!!! With most race horses – only the head and the hooves are buried – the body is either burned or used for dog food. God bless you Penny Chenery – Secretariats owner that demanded that Secretariat be buried whole!!!!! And buried beside his father Bold Ruler!!! In the fall of 1989, the 19 year old Triple Crown Champion developed laminitis – an incurable and painful hoof condition and was put down October 4, 1989. Secretariat (most called him Big Red) produced 653 folds – 57 have been stakes winners!!!!! Not at all bad – when you consider Ms Chenery won the horse on a coin flip!!!! Today about 10,000 people a year stop by Paris Kentucky and ask to see Secretariats grave.

I was only 11 years old but i remember these races my whole family and i would gather to watch. Each race we got more and more excited. Not only what secretariat did on the track but what he did for this country. We were just coming out of the Vietnam war the country was hurting and big red brought us all together. 2 big events i remember as a kid the same year was Elvis live in Hawaii that same year. All family gathered around tv. But i still tear up perusal these races. so powerful. I live near caroline county where he was born been to his stall

This gives me goosebumps. But then again, Secretariat always does. This is beyond impressive, but the Preakness victory was too. Going from dead last to first, on the outside in an effortless display of speed shows just how amazing Secretariat was. He LITERALLY toyed with the other horses as if he actually understood his own gift. Absolute legend.

What’s amazing, if you watch the markers in just the first 3/4 of a mile, you see how far ahead Secretariat and Sham are a head of American Pharoah. Secretariat just wore down Sham in the first mile and ran out of gas. That’s why Sham ended up being last. American Pharoah did beat the others racing against Secretariat.

Secretariat was not just an ordinary horse, it was revealed in his autopsy that his heart was 3 times the normal size, which means he could pump blood and oxygen thru his system far better than an ordinary horse, giving him speed and stamina that was unmatched by any horse, EVER. He would have never lost, sadly, the same condition, that huge heart of his, is also what led to his early demise, at only 18 yrs old.

First off, why is Secretariat even being compared to? While it was an impressive Triple Crown, I heard American Pharoah ran the second fastest time since Secretariat. That’s the best anybody could ever do against Secretariat, second. Sham proved that in all three Triple Crown races. Secretariat still today, 42 years later, still holds the record in all three races, two in the Belmont. Highly unlikely American Pharoah, or any horse could ever stand up to that. ~Ron Turcotte, who never did anything to hand ride Secretariat, never used the whip, made it almost embarrassing for the rest of the horses. I suppose you can’t really be embarrassed by being beaten by the greatest horse in the past century.~ Words from the announcer after Secretariat’s unheard of Belmont run.

So many things make Secretariat an all round powerhouse. First his heart weighed between 21 and 22 lbs (average horse heart is around 10 lbs) so instead of getting fatigued. His heart was pumping so much blood that he was able to go more than the other. Then the main source of his power was his hind-quarters. He had a sloped croup which extended down the length of his femur and made it so that his legs could extend far underneath him and really push off and drive him forward. Not to mention he was huge with a long back neck which played a role in his heart and lung performance. He is truly one of a kind and was a very special horse.

A triple crown winner is always a great horse. In the modern and very developed racing industry American Pharoah is amazing. But Secretariat was a different world. We knew he was that great at that moment. I clicked because I question if I could imagine any horse as great as Secretariat. I question a youthful bias in myself. Thank you for this compare. It’s not my bias. 50 years later I just realize that Secretariat was everything I always thought. It will take gene editing or something to ever see another Secretariat. Just admire it. That history is mine and I’m glad I always appreciated it.

I don’t know just how accurate the film was but in the film they trained him hard leading up to the Belmont which leads one to think his endurance was on a level no other 3 year old has come close to ever. I would guess that had a lot to do with the fact he ran each quarter mile faster than the previous one. Everything just fell perfectly in place for a horse with his genetics to do something fantastic.