It's 2022 and all his Triple Crown records still stand. He STILL stands alone. You are so right!

I just did the math. Those records have now stood for 49 years. And counting.

50 years this year😊

Your absolutely right. He stood alone. That's historical moment when the racing announcer said He's all alone. How true that was

He sure was a beautiful horse and he just had a way to run in front of the rest of them . 💪

me too

lovesbriardi, my 4 daughters, and I, visited Claiborne Farm in 1981 twice. No words can describe how gorgeous/beautiful Secretariat was. He had a personality to match. It's true, he was a "ham" and loved attention.

I wonder if they had a had a cure for laminitis when he had it and they had to put him down for it, could he have been the greatest thing to ever live?. The dad of healed him to save his life he would have read more females in his female kids did more than his sons

@@sergeantmasson3669 Sergeant Mason are you a bigger Secretariat lovers me and I'm asking this question? I seen two beautiful horses and one was owned by my brother the horse's name was jet charger Junior and never touch the racetrack itself or you know we raced them you know against people in our local town and never hit a racetrack, and he had a rich copper coat and his stockings was down by his ankle bone and he also had a white streak down his muzzle

@@samuelwilliams6313 Equine laminitis is not curable, even today.

I know I was also 12. And i remember watching the belmont. And I remember thinking. Where are the other horses. Still to this day

I was 10 years old and my mother made sure I watched th fentire triple crown that year ... thank you Mom!!!

What a special memory to have!

I myself was 12 when he ran the Belmont and did what he did, I didn't realize until later the magnitude and greatness of that race until I was older.

10 and rooted for him in all three

Magical, love his little stutter take off 6:00. He was truly a gift to this world.

Me too

So sweetly said. I love him still and I miss him. He came along at the perfect time when America needed him.💙❤

@@dellagibson6701 we could sure use him now...

@@PD-hv4js You're so right Patrick.

The modern day Pegasus. There was not a horse living or dead that could have stayed within 10 lengths of Secretariat at the Belmont, and that's probably being overly generous to the other horses. Not even the great Man O War.

Don't know if the horse was doped as american horse racing is bent, more so back then.

LaDonna Whitcomb, 1981, during a vacation trip to FL with my 4 daughters, we visited Claiborne Farm to see Secretariat. Not only was he beautiful/gorgeous, but it was also instantly obvious that he loved attention and he really was a "ham" and loved being photographed. He really liked my daughters but me not so much. Two weeks later, we visited again while returning home. Secretariat perked right up, and the keeper said that Secretariat always remembers everybody. The keeper was impressed and gave each daughter an aluminum horseshoe that Secretariat had worn at one time. All I got was a brief head-bump, but I took many photographs. Seeing him live -in-person was breath taking, to say the least. My daughters still have those same aluminum horseshoes today.

@@sergeantmasson3669 Oh, my‼️I cannot imagine the feeling I would have while just seeing this perfect Wonder Horse‼️🐴 I remember seeing your video of Secretariat. What a treasured memory for you and yours. I'm jealous, but thanking you for sharing your visit with all of us ‼️And thank you for replying to my comment‼️ This is such a great moment, to share feelings, about an incredible animal. RIP Secretariat 🐴

@@ladonnawhitcomb4665 I never did a video of Secretariat. We only did photographs. No such thing as hand-held video cameras in the early 80's. Only small movie cameras that used film that ha to be processed. Anyway, there aren't enough words to describe the magnificence of Secretariat live in-person. I've been around horses since birth and I've never seen a more near perfect horse in my life than he was.

@@sergeantmasson3669 I'm sorry, I'm so used to saying video 🙄😄 I was watching a TV channel that showed films of Secretariat and there was a part where a man and his daughters had visited the farm where Secretariat had retired to. They wanted to see him and were allowed to look at him as he grazed and ran around. Then, your girls had their picture made with him. I guess I was wrong, in thinking that you were the one that told your story. 🤭

AMEN!!!!

Me too

That’s cute; I like it!

You could argue it was human's imperfections being the only reason he wasn't undefeated. An incredible creature indeed. There will never be another like him.

According to Sports Illustrated, he was the Best Athlete of the 20th Century.

He was the best athlete of all time

I don't disagree with you there everytime I watch the Belmont I get a tear in my eye every time big red was just on phenomenal horse to me there's only one that can Grace the Earth and he was it

And that’s what he wanted to do !

People keep getting that mixed up. The race where he ran each quarter faster than the previous was the Derby and it’s 1 1/4 miles. The Belmont is 1.5 miles and he slowed down each quarter after the 2nd.

Rick Bateman is correct that it was the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles in which Secretariat ran each quarter faster than the preceding. In the Belmont he was (mostly) slowing down as the race progressed, albeit much more gradually than the other horses, hence him continuing to widen his lead. If you listen to Chick Anderson's Belmont call, the first 6 furlongs (first 6/8 of a mile, so the first half of the 1 1/2 mile Belmont) were run in 1:09 4/5, which is sprinting speed. If he had run the second half of the Belmont in that same time, his final time would have been 2:19 3/5 --more than 4 seconds faster than the still-standing 2:24 flat world dirt track record he set that day.

@@marysueeasteregg ​ Secretariat's Belmont furlong split times were: 12.2, 11.4, 11.4, 11.2, 12.0, 11.6, 12.2, 12.2, 12.0, 12.8, 12.2, 12.8. After that blazing first 6 furlongs, he ran the 9th in 12 flat, and the 11th in 12.2. His 1-1/4 time of 1:59 was faster than his Derby. His Derby arguably might have been even more amazing. His last 3 quarters were 23.8, 23.4, 23.0. And he did that having to go outside around the pack. He ran the last half mile of the Derby almost as fast as the first half mile of the Belmont (46.2 vs.46.4). We will never know how fast he might have run another quarter if that were a 1.5 mile race. Anything faster than 24.6 would've bested his Belmont time.

What are the chances of ever seeing another horse do what Secretariat did in the 3 most sought after races in the Western Hemisphere, and and some may say in the world? Over a million horses have been born in North America alone since Secretariat won the triple crown and not one has even been able to match just one of the times he set in those 3 races, truly the best!!!

Lost cause. *His syndication was announced February 27, 1973, before he made his first start at the age of 3.* The terms of the syndication dictated that he be retired in November 1973, with Penny Tweedy retaining control of his racing career through that period. Few people outside serious racing fans had ever heard of Secretariat in Jan/Feb of 1973 (he had been Horse of the Year at 2 yrs old, an almost unprecedented honor), and he certainly was not a national hero at the point when Penny needed the tax money, her father Christopher Chenery having died in early January 1973. A story about Secretariat I am fond of, apropos your belief he missed racing...his paddock at Claiborne Farm was adjacent to those of two other stallions. One horse he ignored, but he struck up a friendship of sorts with Spectacular Bid and the two would race each other along the fence. Bid was also an all-time great, ranked by Blood-Horse 10th among American-raced horses of the 20th century. I and some others rank him even higher; IMO, Bid was and is the second best U.S. racehorse after Secretariat of my 64 years. I like to think Secretariat and Spectacular Bid recognized fellow greatness. : )

That’s called the princequillo gene. Zenyatta has it too. American pharaoh and Seattle slew also. It’s a gene from princequillo which causes exceptionally large hearts and it’s most effective when passed thru the dam lines.

An incorrect comment.

You're supposed to capitalize the word God.

💯

She was very correct...a 4 year old is much stronger. Greats like Dr. Fager and Spectacular Bid for just two examples were did their most impressive running as 4 year olds.

Facts

The other day, I found this interview of Seth Hancock from a couple/three years ago...he seems to be a good guy...as expected. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ad6goduel8qboJs.html

Or the Kentucky Derby or Preakness

There will never be a greater horse in a history of the universe

Meadow Stable was not doing well going into the 1970's, and Christopher Chenery, Penny Tweedy's father and founder of the stable, was failing in health, mentally and physically. Penny's siblings wanted to sell off the horses, none of them being interested in racing, but she convinced them to let her take over the business; I don't remember exactly what year she took over. In 1971 Riva Ridge -- like Secretariat a future Hall of Famer -- had a championship 2-yr-old campaign, saving the stable for the time being. Riva, not Secretariat, was the real savior of Meadow Stable, and forever remained Chenery's favorite and pet. She was initially resentful of the attention Secretariat garnered as a gorgeous and successful 2-yr-old in 1972, but she got over that pretty quickly. Secretariat won the 2-yr-old championship as well as Horse of the Year, the latter an almost unprecedented honor for a 2-yr-old. (The Disney movie Secretariat has multiple inaccuracies, probably most egregiously ignoring Riva Ridge's existence.) In early January 1973 Christopher died, leaving Meadow Stable with massive estate taxes to pay. Among other steps, Penny was advised to syndicate Secretariat promptly: if he did not do well at 3, his value would plummet. Riva Ridge had had a mixed 3-yr-old campaign, winning the Derby and Belmont, but being unimpressive in the second half of the season; his value could go up, if he returned to top form as a 4-yr-old, so syndicating him was less of a priority. (Riva would go on to earn the top older male championship in 1973.) So Secretariat was syndicated by late February 1973, before he ran a race as a 3-yr-old. The terms of the syndication deal dictated that he be retired by November 1973, with Tweedy retaining control of his racing career through the remainder of it. It's my understanding that Penny Chenery would have liked to have campaigned Secretariat at 4, as she did Riva Ridge. But if her father had died earlier, or Riva Ridge not been successful at 2, Secretariat very likely would have been sold off earlier, to race under different ownership.

@@marysueeasteregg Great answer, thank you.

@@julieenslow5915 you're welcome : )

@@marysueeasteregg was Secretariats Laminitis due to neglect?

@@sophiabreedlove9850 No, though his laminitis may have been due to ignorance, meaning lack of medical knowledge at the time. Secretariat died in 1989, and less was understood about laminitis back then. Research is ongoing in the causes, treatment, and early diagnosis of laminitis. It is now understood that laminitis has several causes, metabolic disorders being the most common. It has been widely speculated Secretariat had insulin resistance. Secretariat was hand-grazed just days before his death, when he had been struggling with laminitis for weeks or months. Today it is understood that grain overload and lush pasture predispose to laminitis or can make it worse. An elderly mare who boarded at the same farm where a friend's horse boards developed laminitis a few years ago; the mare was removed to a facility where she would never set foot on grass again, only bare dirt. I don't believe for one second that ANYONE at Claiborne Farm was aware that grazing Secretariat could be making his condition worse. Nor was Secretariat biographer Bill Nack, who loved the horse like a family member or personal pet. Nack, who was very knowledgeable about horses having worked with them in amateur and professional capacities, was aware of Secretariat's illness and that he was being grazed. Nack seems to have been unperturbed by the grazing, though he was left distraught by the knowledge of Secretariat's dire condition and his death not long thereafter. As recently as 2019, laminitis was described in some sources as the second biggest killer of domestic horses. So far as I am aware, it remains so. In any case, *laminitis is COMMON.* "It is estimated that 15 percent of horses in the U.S. are afflicted by laminitis in their lifetime. Up to 75 percent of those affected eventually develop severe or chronic lameness and debilitation." (Quoted from: "No hoof, no horse: Ending the scourge of laminitis" November 1, 2017 by Ed Kane, PhD in dvm360.) Secretariat absolutely would not have been neglected. He was still a breeding stallion and an extremely popular tourist attraction. Bernardini, an Eclipse-award winner (national champion) died at 18 in 2021, from laminitis. He's the horse who won the Preakness in which Barbaro broke down -- Barbaro, whose fractures healed, but who ultimately had to be put down for laminitis. Triple Crown winner Affirmed died in 2001 due to laminitis at 16. Derby/Preakness winner Sunday Silence died in 2002 of laminitis at age 16 in Japan, where he was an extremely important sire. Secretariat, Affirmed, Bernardini and (especially) Sunday Silence were all better than average sires standing at top stud farms and very valuable. They are far from the only well-known horses to have died of the disease. Young, promising sire Lord Nelson died at 9 from laminitis in 2021. Irish Thoroughbred Rip Van Winkle, a multiple stakes winner, died in 2020 at age 14 from laminitis. Ramoneur 6, a top Olympic dressage horse from South Africa, died in 2021 from laminitis at age 19, not long after being pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics. Some horses do recover, especially with improved understanding of the illness. Prominent racehorses who recovered from laminitis include Lady Eli and Paynter.