Secretariat | 1973
Back to All Triple Crown WinnersMeadow Stable
Owner
Lucien Laurin
Trainer
Ron Turcotte
Jockey
Meadow Stud
Breeder
Bold Ruler
Sire
Somthingroyal
Dam
$1,316,808
Lifetime Earnings
Secretariat
Nobody swept through the Kentucky DerbyPreaknessand Belmont Stakes with the same drama and flair as Secretariat.
He won 16 of 21 racesgraced the covers of national magazinesand was twice named Horse of the Year. But it is the Belmont for which Secretariat is best remembered.
On June 91973“Big Red” went postward as the 1-10 favorite to become the ninth Triple Crown winnerand the first in 25 years. Challenging him were Shamwho had finished second in both the Derby and the Preaknessand three other mismatched thoroughbreds. When the gates openedSecretariat and Sham raced together around the first turn through a half-mile in a suicidal :46 1/5. On the backstretchwith jockey Ron Turcotte sitting still as a stonethe colt gathered momentum with every stride. He ran three-quarters in 1:09 4/5the mile in 1:34 1/5and when he hit the quarter-pole in 1:59faster even than he had won the Derbythe crowd was on its feetscreaming in anticipation.
“Secretariat is alone. He is moving like a tremendous machine!” track announcer Chic Anderson yelled. “He’s 25 lengths in front!” Secretariat was completely alone as he swept across the finish line an astounding 31 lengths in front of Twice a Prince in a world-record 2:24 for the 1 1/2 miles.
Secretariat was born March 301970at Meadow Farm in Virginiaa handsome chestnut with three white stockingsa white starand stripe. Viewing him as a yearlingtrainer Lucien Laurin commented he was probably “too good-looking” to amount to much. He began his career at Aqueductfinishing fourthand then embarked on a campaign that would carry him to Horse of the Year honorsa rarity for 2-year-olds.
Big Red’s 3-year-old campaign started off as more of the same: He swept through the Bay Shore and Gotham Stakesbut then the unthinkable happened: He lostfinishing third in the Wood Memorial to Angle Light. Immediatelyquestions were raised about his ability to go a mile and a quarter. But when the first Saturday in May rolled aroundhe was the 3-2 choice to win the Run for the Roses. By the time he arrived back in New York for the Belmont with Derby and Preakness victories in towthe entire country was anticipating the end of the quarter-century Triple Crown drought.
When Secretariat won the Belmonthe did more than become the first horse since Citation to win the Triple Crown. He turned in the single greatest performance in the history of horse racing. After the BelmontSecretariat raced nine more timeswinning sixcoming in second twice and third once. His major losses were to Onion in the Whitney and to Prove Out in the Woodward. Inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1974Secretariat was also ranked 35th on ESPN’s 100 Greatest Athletes of the Twentieth Century. Suffering from laminitishe was euthanized in October1989and is buried at Claiborne Farm in ParisKentucky.
Owner
Meadow Stable
Christopher Chenery and his wife Penny were the owners of Meadow Stable and Meadow Studa breeding farm in Virginia. Chenery became the owner of Secretariat by a stroke of luck. In 1965 Chenery entered a foal-sharing agreement with the Phipps familywho owned leading sireBold Ruler. Chenery would breed two Meadow broodmares for two years with Bold Ruler. After the birth of the first pair of foalsbut before the birth of the secondPhipps and Chenery would flip a coin. The winner received first choice of the first pairwhile the loser had first choice of the second. In 1968due to Chenery's illnesshis daughterPennyhad been placed in charge of the Meadow. She sent Somethingroyal and other mares to Claiborne for breeding to Bold Ruler. In 1969 Tweedy lost the coin toss with the Phipps family and ended up with Somethingroyal's yet-to-be-born second foalwho would later be named Secretariat
Trainer
Lucien Laurin
Lucien Laurin was a French-Canadian jockey and Hall of Fame horse trainer. In allhe trained a total of 36 stakes winners and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1977 and enshrined in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1978.
Jockey
Ron Turcotte
Ron Turcotte began his career in Canada as a hot walker and then apprentice jockey. He became internationally famous after riding Secretariat and was North America's leading stakes-winning jockey in 1972 and 1973. He became the first jockey to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies since 1902. He was honored with the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1979. He was voted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.