Yes, nothing could stop the Big Red freight train from steamrolling by. What a moment that must have been for Eddie, and then the thrill of riding Secretariat in his last race.

@@secretariat224 Yes... Eddie said he was as scared as he was thrilled to have ridden Secretariat in the colt's last race. What if he lost ( he thought)? He told his wife and kids that he may have to leave for an extended amount of time if that were to happen. The big guy won, of course. Overwhelming victory with what looked like steam from a locomotive coming out of his nostrils down the stretch!

Glad you enjoyed it. Frank was a very astute horseman, and he was spot on about Riva's gritty performance; it was great. Riva was a tough horse, and it's a shame that Penny and Lucien ran him too hard in the second half of '72, or he would have won best 3 year old for sure. Key To The Mint was a fine horse, but Riva was better. I agree that Riva is sadly overlooked as the savior of the farm. It's a real shame that he isn't given enough credit.

Yes Riva Ridge ran a very strong race. Was not going to let his stable mate make him look bad!

I was there for this race and remember it well. I was there for the Belmont stakes and remember what I could see as a 12 year old pressed up against the rail at the 16th pole. River Ridge was an incredible horse and should have one in the triple Crown. Secretariat was an incredible horse who was capable of having a bad day. But as far as the best day any horse ever had it has to be the day secretariat won the Belmont Stakes. No horse in history could have beaten him that day. He was also going against older horses here. Riva was a great horse. At his best, secretariat was the greatest horse whoever stepped on a track in my opinion.

I've thought the same myself, that if Secretariat had raced as a four and five year old, he would have set records that could never be beaten. It's almost too bad he wasn't a gelding.

It is too bad that Big Red didn't race at four... Or maybe not. The weights the track handicappers would have assigned him to carry would have been incredibly high, and possibly dangerous to his soundness. Unlike today's weight-for-age conditions, the track handicappers would assign the horses whatever weights they felt had the potential to achieve the impossible, a full-field dead heat. In 1976, Forego won the Marlboro Cup under 137 pounds. I'm guessing a 4-year-old Secretariat would have been forced to carry 140 or more. in 1980, Spectacular Bid was dominant, but his trainer made such a stink about the high weights, even ducking races here and there due to the imposts. Mostly because of this sort of trainer practice of pitting one race against another due to weights, the pure handicap race went out of style and they went to a weight-for-age setup with few or even zero modifications. These days, the 126-pound weights assigned for the Triple Crown races are practically always the heaviest weight a horse will ever have to carry in his career.

Thank you for the kind comments, and I'm happy that you find joy in these videos.

I couldn't agree more !!!

You're welcome, Mike.

Thanks, Willy! Nice to read your enthusiam and thoughts.

Yes, Riva Ridge was very talented. He did a superb job keeping Onion honest from the jump. It took quite a bit out of him, but he showed his mettle. Very proud of him.

@@captainamericaamerica8090 those are some great trainers your Gramps worked for all right. I knew Bobby Frankel where I first met him when I worked Hollywood Park he was a great person. I cried when they closed Hollywood Park, it was a one of a kind track.

Thank you, Talis, and thanks for the nice insight. The good ole days are very much missed.

@@captainamericaamerica8090 Great to read, Cap'n.

@@talisfiney984 Unfortunately, the Captain has made some very disparaging comments about Secretariat that he claimed as "fact", but they were only his opinion. I've dealt with that sort of thing for over 15 years now, but I have muted him from the channel for now. I will reinstate him in a few days to see if he refrains from inflammatory comments in the future. KZfaq automatically hides all comments from muted users, so it was not my intention to remove his original good comments here.

@@secretariat224 thank you for letting me know and that is crazy that he talked bad about Secretariat, he was an unbelievable horse.

Thank you. Very nice of you.

I appreciate your kindness.

That's a good point, it was a curious oversight.

Thank you for your nice comments, Sarah.

Glad you enjoyed it. You are welcome.

It is, and Big Red looked to have plenty in reserve.

Yes indeed, love them both.

Thank you kindly, Walter. It is always a pleasure to hear Chic's interpretation of the action; he was truly great.

Where did you find Penny's movie? Can't find it anywhere.... assuming you're talking about the one her son did.

Thanks for sharing that terrific insight, Paul, you've been blessed. Both are legends, for sure. I'd love to hear Dave Johnson's NYRA public address racecall for the '73 Belmont Stakes somehow. It would be great to have it in the public domain and for racing posterity. I also hope he is doing well.

Thanks for the kind words 🙂☺️! - amazing that it's not in the "public domain" !

I can also "hear in my mind"... Dave Johnson's call of John Henry's last race at the 1984 Ballentine. I loved John Henry. Still do.

I couldn't agree more. What years did you work at Belmont?

@@secretariat224 I worked for Mike Gerard, (the infamous vet) from 1971 to 75. I would walk hots for John Veitch in the early morning. This is when he first went on his own, pre Calumet. Then I would go over to the vet's office. I helped out Tommy Walsh too from time to time. I had been laid off from my regular job. My friend Liz Stein got me those first jobs. She galloped for Tommy Walsh and Bill Resseguet. Some times I would go to Westbury and help exercise Allen Jerkens polo ponies for Murphy Davidson. It was the best of times at Belmont.

Absolutely.

I kind of feel bad for Riva Ridge watching this race. He was supposedly very sensitive when he lost.

@@rossrubino9080 Yes, Riva gave it his all; he performed like a real champion. He did have a very kind and sensitive disposition from what I've read.

Yes, Onion was a good horse and he performed well, but Secretariat with his low grade fever and loose bowels should've been enough for Penny and Lucien to scratch him and let the crowd know of his predicament. Unfortunately, they felt pressured by the paying crowd to see Secretariat run, and gave in to it. Sure, the crowd would've felt robbed of the experience, but the horse should always come first. It's a shame that it happened, and critics just LOVE to discredit Big Red for that loss, without all of the facts, of course. The Marlboro Cup was a real wonder, considering how much the virus incubated after the Whitney. His raw strength and massive appetite really helped him to quickly recover like a bull .

The Whitney and the Woodward were throw outs because secretariat never really had a break after the triple crown. Anything that happens at Saratoga you can’t take serious. It’s a dog track…..if you get the lead out of the gate and set a reasonable pace at Saratoga you should win. That’s how Saratoga is. It’s always had a speed bias.

He wasn’t sick, he had an abscess in his mouth. He never liked his mouth being touched

This must have been like playing at recess for secretariat

@@debbylou5729 Respectfully, you have your races mixed up. Secretariat had the abscess before the Wood Memorial, the race before the Derby. He was indeed sick. Marshall Cassidy, the NYRA track announcer years later, saw that Big Red had diarrhea running down his back legs, so he really shouldn't have run that day. He still almost pulled it off, which in itself is incredible.

Yes, I remember Ray Haight doing those calls for CBS Radio. I have portions of them from the Secretariat LP pressed shortly after he retired. A fine variation on Big Red's romps, for sure. Ray passed in 1993 at the age of 67, tragically and suddenly, similarly to Chic Anderson in 1979.