The Secretariat Triple Crown - Part III. The Stuff of Legends

 

The Secretariat Triple Crown – Part III.

The Stuff of Legends

Joseph Di Rienzi

  

This is the last of three pieces I have written to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Secretariat’s sweep of the North American Triple Crown series. Part I. – Leading to Louisville, examined the preparation given to Secretariat in the leadup to the 1973 Kentucky Derby. Part II. – Roses in May, focused on the Kentucky Derby itself and Secretariat’s track record breaking performance. In this final essay, I will recall his unique victories in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Each was a masterpiece that underscored the greatness of this extraordinary animal.

1973 Preakness Stakes
(Sports Illustrated)

The 1973 Preakness Stakes, run traditionally in Baltimore two weeks after the Kentucky Derby had a field much reduced from its Louisville counterpart. The first three finishes in the Kentucky Derby - Secretariat, Sham and Our Native were entered with three longshots – Deadly Dream, Ecole Etage and Torsion all of whom had not contested the Derby. Secretariat had a brilliant workout at Pimlico Racetrack the Sunday before the race and appeared to be coming into the Preakness in peak condition. Sham also seemed to be holding his form, so there was great anticipation they would continue their rivalry that began in the Wood Memorial Stakes. The Meadow Stable team was confident, but cautious, remembering Riva Ridge’s shocking defeat in the Preakness the previous year after also winning the Derby impressively. The charisma of Secretariat was becoming infectious and that brought a record Preakness crowd which officials at Pimlico were unable to adequately control (especially during the race). 

Ecole Etage, as expected, was sent to the lead. Secretariat again breaking slowly, dropped back to sixth (last place), but instead of steering him to the inside as he did in the Derby, Ron Turcotte wheeled the big chestnut colt outside of horses on the clubhouse turn. In doing so, Secretariat made a sudden move that took him quickly from last to first, surprising everyone. Laffit Pincay Jr. riding Sham, who was tracking in fourth, wheeled his colt out in pursuit of Secretariat. Down the backstretch Secretariat had a daylight lead with Sham in second place tracking. Around the far turn, Sham was roused to close the gap, but Turcotte on Secretariat was just letting his horse lope along. My most lasting memory of the stretch run was Turcotte sitting still on Secretariat while Pincay was flailing away on Sham in futile pursuit. At the finish, Secretariat maintained a 2½ length margin on Sham with Our Native 8 lengths back, exactly the finish and margins as in the Derby. The most controversial aspect of the race was the final time. The official clocking by Pimlico was decidedly slower than handheld times, which registered a new track record. After many years of discussion and reviewing race videos, the Maryland Racing Commission in 2012 recognized the discrepancy and credited Secretariat with a time that broke the existing track record. More importantly this horse was now on the verge of horse racing immortality. As Penny Tweedy declared in the Preakness winner’s circle, “there is one more river to cross.”

1973 Belmont Stakes
(Getty Images)

As the Belmont Stakes approached there was incredible exposure and publicity. Secretariat appeared on the cover of three national magazines: Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.  Most iconic was his bright chestnut face in the blue and white chessboard Meadow Stable blinkers adorning the June 11 issue of Time with the words “Super Horse”. He had truly become a national idol. His preparation for the race was impeccable. He had worked a mile eight days before the Belmont in a time that faster than most such races are run at Belmont Park.  However, Sham was still to be overcome, and Pancho Martin was undaunted by his losses in the Derby and the Preakness. Martin also entered Knightly Dawn who had just won the Jersey Derby but scratched him on Belmont Day, thinking Sham would set his own pace. There were three other horses entered: My Gallant, Twice a Prince and Pvt. Smiles.

On a very hot day, the Belmont Park racetrack dirt surface was extremely fast. The race prior to the Belmont Stakes was at 8½ furlongs and featured Forego and Angle Light who were deemed not quite up to the 1½ mile distance of the final classic. It was a “coming out party” for the Lazy F. Ranch gelding as Forego demolished the field by 9 lengths, nearly equaling the track record. It was an impressive performance and set the stage for what would come.

I stated in Part II. of this series that Secretariat’s Kentucky Derby win was the best performance I have ever seen in the Derby. I can say un-categorically his Belmont Stakes victory was the greatest performance by a thoroughbred ever on an American racetrack. It almost defies explication. Here was a great horse at the peak of his power, putting all his pedigree, training and spirit into one performance that will be remembered forever.

Secretariat, who ran each of his Triple Crown races differently, broke from the starting gate from the rail position in the Belmont better than he had done previously. Rather than drop back, Ron Turcotte encouraged his mount to contest the lead so that when the field headed into the clubhouse turn it was Secretariat on the inside of Sham vying for the lead. This looked like the makings of a match race with the copper coated muscular Secretariat, stride for stride with the dark hued, taller Sham. Racegoers reacted in shock as the dueling pair set interior fractions incredibly fast for a 1½ mile race. Surely both horses will crack under this pace. Down the backstretch, Secretariat asserted himself, first gradually, then spectacularly, drawing away from Sham and the others. By the time he went around the far turn he was 15 lengths ahead. Rather than slow down as might be expected after the torrid pace, Secretariat widened his lead and entered the stretch full of run. The Belmont crowd and the vast TV audience would have settled for this horse just hanging on to win, completing the elusive Triple Crown. But no, Secretariat was giving them something they had no reference point for. He was so far in front of the field that it did not look like a horse race anymore. The Belmont crowd was delirious and began throwing their Daily Racing Forms in the air, substituting for confetti. The final time 2 minute and 24 sec, smashed Gallant Man’s record set in 1957 by 2 and 3/5 seconds, thereby establishing a new American record for a 1½ mile race on dirt. The final margin was an unimaginable 31 lengths (about 1/16 of a mile). Twice a Prince rallied to be second, a ½ length ahead of My Gallant. Sham, tired from his efforts challenging Secretariat, finished fifth and last. (Sadly, Sham would not race again, after a hairline fracture was discovered in the summer when he was preparing to race at Saratoga.)

The winner’s circle was a momentous celebration for not only the connections of Secretariat, but racing in general. The long 25 year wait for a Triple Crown winner was over and, in Secretariat, the thoroughbred racing world had a champion for the ages.

A couple of footnotes are in order. First, I feel a little sorry for Riva Ridge who in 1972 was an impressive winner of the Belmont for the exact same Meadow Stable team, his performance nearly totally eclipsed by his younger barn mate. Second, I still have admiration for Meadow Stable (Mrs. Penny Tweedy and family), Lucien Laurin and Ron Turcotte who stood up to all the scrutiny, criticism and the pressure of the Triple Crown campaign.

It’s been half a century since Secretariat blazed across the thoroughbred racing landscape, and there have been now four more Triple Crown winners (Seattle Slew (in 1977), Affirmed (1978), American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018)). However, Secretariat’s performances in the series remain the standard and benchmark for the highest achievement the breed can hope to produce. 

The Secretariat Triple Crown - Part II. Roses in May

 

The Secretariat Triple Crown – Part II.

Roses in May

Joseph Di Rienzi

 

(Tony Leonard Collection)

In marking the 50^th anniversary of Secretariat’s sweep of the North American Triple Crown series, I have composed a set of essays on my remembrances of this historic event in thoroughbred racing. Part I. – Leading to Louisville, marked the three races Secretariat’s connections used in 1973 to prepare the big chestnut son of Bold Ruler for the Kentucky Derby. In this piece, I will chronicle the events leading up to and through the big race on the first Saturday in May. 

Meadow Stable, in whose blue and white blocks Secretariat ran, had previous experience in both the lows and highs of trying to win the Kentucky Derby. Stable owner, the late Christopher Chenery, had champions Hill Prince and First Landing finish second and third in 1950 and 1959, respectively, while Sir Gaylord (Secretariat’s half-brother), a strong favorite to capture the 1962 “Run for the Roses” suffered a career ending injury on the eve of the race. However, in 1972 all the stars were aligned as homebred Riva Ridge led all the way to win the Derby.

The buildup in the days leading to the 99^th edition seemed unprecedented. There were swirling questions on the status of Secretariat in the aftermath of his defeat in the Wood Memorial, although he shipped well to Kentucky, and his two workouts over the Churchill Downs racetrack were exemplary. The old issue of the progeny of Bold Ruler not winning at the classic distances, such as Wheatley Stable’s Bold Lad’s failure in 1965, re-surfaced. Questions also focused on the uncertain participation of Wood Memorial victor Angle Light due to an alleged injury or a perceived conflict of interest on the part of Lucien Laurin. Also, Sham’s trainer, volatile Pancho Martin, again threatened to enter Knightly Dawn as a “rabbit” only to withdraw the horse when entries were taken. Briming with confidence, according to Sham’s rider Laffit Pincay Jr., Martin told him that Sham, “would do something no horse has done in the Derby”. His prediction held true, but not in the way the trainer assumed.

At post time, thirteen horses faced the starting gate, before a then record crowd at Churchill Downs. The Secretariat – Angle Light coupled entry was favored, but by a small margin over Sham who had a good deal of support. Third choice was the entry of the speedster Shecky Greene and the closer My Gallant. Lazy F. Ranch’s Forego (a future legend) was the talk of the backstretch after a blazing workout four days before the Derby. His trainer, Sherrill Ward, had great confidence in the potential of this over 17 hand gelding, but he was not sure of the horse’s mental seasoning. In addition, the field included Flamingo Stakes winner Our Native and Florida Derby hero Royal and Regal.  In retrospect, it was one of the strongest fields assembled, and the running produced, in this writer’s opinion, the greatest performance I have ever seen in the Kentucky Derby.

As the gates opened, the race began as most anticipated. Shecky Greene went to the lead, Secretariat, off slowly, was last in 13^th place. Sham brushed with a rival at the start but worked his way to a contending position on the backstretch tracking Shecky Greene. The pace, surprisingly was not fast, and Sham appeared to be in position to take the lead whenever Pincay asked him for run. Secretariat, unlike his previous wins from off the pace, did not produce a bold rally, but started picking off horses one by one down the backstretch and into the final turn.  As the field turned into the stretch, Sham forged to the lead and the threat was obviously Secretariat who loomed majestically, steered to the outside by Turcotte. For the moment it appeared the race would be decided after a pulsating stretch duel, but Turcotte aboard Secretariat merely asked his colt for a little more, and Secretariat smoothly eased away from his rival. At the finish Secretariat was a comfortable 2½ lengths in front of Sham, who notwithstanding Pincay’s urging, could not keep pace with the Meadow Stable runner. Some 8 lengths back was Our Native in third with Forego ½ length back in fourth. Shecky Greene was sixth, Royal and Regal, eighth and Angle Light 10^th. The time of the race, 1 minute, 59 and 2/5 seconds, established a new track record, breaking Northern Dancer’s final time of two minutes set in 1964. Sham in finishing second, had, indeed, run faster than any previous Kentucky Derby winner. What is most amazing about the time is that the final quarter of a mile was run faster than the initial first quarter, and charting Secretariat’s interior race, he ran each quarter successively faster than the preceding one, most uncharacteristic for American racing.

As you might imagine, the winner’s circle celebration was tumultuous, as much from relief as from joy. The Meadow Stable contingent, Mrs. Penny Tweedy, her husband and her siblings were ecstatic. They along with Lucien Laurin and Ron Turcotte had done this all before with Riva Ridge in 1972. This was different, because the American racing world was celebrating with them with the realization that Secretariat, this big magnificent looking chestnut, the first Virginia bred to win the Kentucky Derby, was, indeed, a super horse and had a real chance to complete the long sought after Triple Crown.

 

 

(To be continued in Part III. The Stuff of Legends)

The Secretariat Triple Crown - Part I. Leading to Louisville

 

The Secretariat Triple Crown – Part I.

Leading to Louisville

Joseph Di Rienzi

(bloodhorse.com)

                                                                     

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown triumph. Half a century gone by. Wasn’t it only yesterday that I was twenty-five? I would like to give a personal remembrance to this epochal horse’s campaign leading up to and through his Triple Crown victories. In this first piece, I will mainly focus on Secretariat’s prep races in 1973 leading to the Kentucky Derby, all of which I witnessed in person.

The first time I saw Secretariat was on September 16, 1972, as a two-year-old at Belmont Park prior to the historic Futurity Stakes. By this time, the chestnut son of Bold Ruler, owned by Meadow Stable and trained by veteran Lucien Laurin, had a burgeoning reputation as the result of three victories during the summer at Saratoga Racetrack, climaxing with an amazing last to first triumph in the Hopeful Stakes.

As I perched over the rail in Belmont Park’s spacious paddock to get my first look at this new sensation, I was struck by his muscular power. He looked more like a bull than a sleek thoroughbred. As the pre-autumn sunlight reflected off his burnished red coat, I became convinced I was seeing greatness in a thoroughbred. Secretariat would go to on to win the 6½ furlong race with aplomb over a pesky rival in Greentree Stable’s Stop the Music.

The rest of Secretariat’s juvenile campaign was a precession except for an unfortunate disqualification (due to marginal interference) in the Champagne Stakes. With dominating victories in the Laurel Futurity and the Garden State Stakes, Secretariat was overwhelmingly voted the Eclipse Award for Male Two-Year-Old. But voters went one step further in awarding Secretariat Horse of the Year honors. There was precedent in that both Native Dancer in 1952 and the filly Moccasin in 1965 were acclaimed Horse of the Year as juveniles, but in both these, it was a consensus from three different polls. Now with the adoption of the horse industry-wide Eclipse Awards, there was only one Horse of the Year declaration. The argument made in Secretariat’s case was the award was not so much of what he accomplished as a two-year-old, but what he may do in the future and how racing history will judge this thoroughbred. The words on everyone’s lips as 1972 faded and 1973 began were “Triple Crown” which hadn’t been achieved since Calumet Farm’s Citation accomplished the feat in 1948.

Over the winter, the master of Meadow Stable, Christopher T. Chenery died, and in an effort to save the farm and the racing operation, the breeding rights to Secretariat were sold to a syndicate managed by Claiborne Farm for $6,080,000, a sum greater than ever previously realized. There was also the stipulation in the contract that Secretariat would be retired at the end of 1973.  All these factors contributed to a great deal of pressure put on Meadow Stable (now controlled by Mr. Chenery’s daughter Mrs. Helen “Penny” Tweedy representing her siblings), Lucien Laurin and jockey Ron Turcotte to not degrade the stallion potential of this magnificent animal. I would say they stood up under this scrutiny with grace and poise.

Laurin who used a three-race campaign to prepare the same stable’s Riva Ridge for his 1972 Kentucky Derby victory, employed the same pattern with Secretariat, except that none of his races would be in Florida. After some deliberation, Laurin decided that Secretariat would use the New York preps – the Bay Shore, Gotham and Wood Memorial Stakes all at one racetrack – Aqueduct. Living at the time in the New York area, I was fortunate to be able to attend all three races.

Secretariat made his long awaited three-year-old debut on St. Patrick’s Day in the 7 furlong Bay Shore Stakes. He had a 3 furlong workout on Wednesday before the race in a time so incredibly fast that his trainer, Lucien Laurin, was initially upset until he saw how little the workout took out of this hulking 16.1 hands animal. In the Bay Shore, Secretariat faced five rivals, the most prominent was Jacques Wimpfheimer’s Champagne Charlie who had just won the Swift Stakes at Aqueduct. The Bay Shore was run in typical weather conditions for a March race in New York - namely miserable. Secretariat was bumped at the start and took his place near the rear of the field. He found his best stride down the backstretch and was closing on the field. Inside of circling the field as Secretariat did several times as a two-year-old, Ron Turcotte drove him between horses in the stretch. He bulled his way through and went on to record a 4½ length win over Champagne Charlie with Impecunious 2½ lengths back in third. A foul claim against Secretariat for bumping in the stretch was lodged. I remember waiting in the cold, shivering in the stands during the Inquiry to see if the champion’s debut would be tainted by a disqualification, but fortunately the claim was not allowed.

The Gotham, three weeks later on April 7, was the next race on Secretariat’s calendar and each appearance was now met with greater excitement and anticipation. The field for the 1 mile race included Champagne Charlie, second place finisher in the Bay Shore. Secretariat carried top weight of 126 lb., which was not considered a burden for “Big Red”, as he was increasingly referred as. What was surprising in the race is that Secretariat, as an experiment by his connections, was asked to show early speed. He did so by going straight to the lead, something he had not done in any of his previous races.  Secretariat, bounding along, set a fast pace and had a clear lead until Champagne Charlie mounted a challenge in the stretch. As we in the stands held our breaths to see what would happen,  Ron Turcotte, using his whip once, asked more from his colt, and Secretariat responded with that rhythmic stride of his to draw clear without undue effort, but in the process equaled the track record. Champagne Charlie was second again, this time beaten 3 lengths with Flush 12 wide lengths back in third.

Just two weeks later, the 9 furlong Wood Memorial was not just a prep race for the Kentucky Derby, but a rare confrontation of the two best three-year-old prospects. Sigmund Sommer’s Sham, a sharp winner of the Santa Anita Derby, had shipped to New York from California specifically to face Secretariat. In the build up to the race, there was controversy involving entries from both Lucien Laurin and Sham’s trainer, Frank “Pancho” Martin. Laurin entered speedy Angle Light who had faced Secretariat several times as a two-year-old. Martin entered two other horses owned by Sigmund Sommer, Knightly Dawn and Beautiful Music. Charles Hatton, columnist for The Daily Racing Form suggested there might be some intention to “herd” Secretariat by Sham’s camp. Hot tempered Martin got very angry at this insinuation, and, after several exchanges, ultimately scratched the two entry mates. This had the effect of drastically changing the flow of the race.  

It was a gray chilly day at Aqueduct for the Wood Memorial setting the stage for what would transpire. Angle Light who had tired in the Louisiana Derby went to the front and set a moderate pace while Jorge Velasquez, substituting for Sham’s regular rider Laffit Pincay Jr., sat in second place waiting for Secretariat to make his rally. That never came as Secretariat, who did not train with his usual gusto up to this race (reports of a tooth abscess would surface later), seemed out of sorts and only mildly rallied on the outside. Velasquez, realizing the threat to victory was not behind him, but in front, roused Sham who closed, but could only cut down Angle Light’s lead to a head at the finish. Secretariat finished third 4 lengths behind Sham in a race run in relatively slow time. In a unsettling result, no one seemed happy, least of all Lucien Laurin who had to be cajoled by Mrs. Penny Tweedy to go to the winner’s circle not realizing he had won with his “other horse”. The outcome as you might have guessed shocked the racing world and raised all kind of questions about Secretariat’s soundness, stamina and Laurin’s training methods. I left Aqueduct that day deflated, thinking the dream of a Triple Crown winner was just an illusion.

 

(To be continued in Part II. Roses in May)