.

The Great Ones

Ron Turcotte sent this picture 
 to R. W. 'Bud' Mathes well known Canadian thoroughbred trainer. 

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The following dates from the NTRA Notebook and their Racing to History.

March 30, 1970: 
Secretariat was foaled at The Meadow, Doswell, Va.

Aug. 3, 1971:
 The yearling Secretariat was shod on his front feet for the
first time and transferred to the Meadow training center for breaking.

Nov. 21, 1971: 
Secretariat completed his preliminary training at
Meadow training center.

Jan. 20, 1972: 
Secretariat was shipped from Virginia to Florida to be
trained by Lucien Laurin.

June 15, 1972: 
In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat
worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1-5.        

July 15, 1972: 
After finishing fourth in his racing debut on July 4,
Secretariat won his first race, under jockey Paul Feliciano. 
The six-length victory occurred at Aqueduct.

July 31, 1972: 
Secretariat, ridden for the first time by 
Ron Turcotte, 
won his second victory in three starts, on opening day 
at Saratoga Racecourse. 
The pair were sent off at odds of 2-5.

Aug. 11, 1972: 
In preparation for his stakes-racing debut,
 the Aug. 16 Sanford at 
Saratoga Racecourse, 
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :59.

Aug. 16, 1972: 
Secretariat won his first stakes race, the Sanford Stakes, at
Saratoga Racecourse. 
The time for the six-furlong race was 1:10, the fastest
time for the distance at Saratoga that year.

Sept. 16, 1972: 
Sent off at odds of 1-5, Secretariat won the
Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park by 1 3-4 lengths, 
creating a minus show pool
at the track of $4,985.

Oct. 14, 1972: 
After finishing first in the Champagne Stakes at
Belmont Park, Secretariat was disqualified 
and placed second, after bearing
in on Stop the Music, who was declared the official winner.

Oct. 28, 1972: 
Secretariat won the Laurel Futurity by eight lengths,
sent off at odds of 1-10, at Laurel.

Nov. 18, 1972: 
Secretariat capped his two-year-old racing season
with a 3 1-2 length victory in 
the Garden State Stakes at Garden State Park.
The winner's share of the purse was $179,199, the most Secretariat ever won in a single race.

Jan. 27, 1973: 
Penny Chenery accepted the Eclipse Award for Horse of
the Year on behalf of Secretariat, who was also voted champion two-year-old
of 1972.

Feb. 26, 1973: 
With Secretariat having been named Horse of the Year
for 1972 and champion two-year-old, it was announced by Claiborne Farm that
the colt had been syndicated for a then-record $6,080,000-equivalent to 32
shares at $190,000 each.

March 14, 1973: 
In his final preparation for the March 17 Bay Shore
Stakes, the first race of his three-year-old season, Secretariat worked
three furlongs in a blistering :32 3/5.

April 7, 1973: 
In his second start as a three-year-old, Secretariat won the
Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct as the 1-10 favorite. His time of 1:33 2-5 for the
mile equaled the track record for that distance.

April 21, 1973: 
In a surprising defeat, Secretariat finished third to
stablemate Angle Light and runner-up Sham in the Wood Memorial Stakes at
Aqueduct, his last start before sweeping the Triple Crown. The following
day, Secretariat was found to have had an abscess in his mouth, which may
have caused him discomfort while racing.

April 23, 1973: 
Secretariat and his stablemate Angle Light were flown to
Louisville, Ky., to prepare for the Kentucky Derby.

April 27, 1973: 
At Churchill Downs, Secretariat worked six furlongs in 1:12
3/5 in preparation for the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

May 2, 1973: 
In his last workout prior to the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat
went five furlongs in :58 3/5.

May 5, 1973: 
Secretariat became the first horse 
to complete the 1 1/4-mile course for the Kentucky Derby 
in less than two minutes when he won the 99th
Run for the Roses in a record 1:59 2/5, which was 3/5 faster than 
Northern Dancer's 1964 mark of 2:00, to set a track and stakes record that still
holds. He ran each successive quarter-mile of the race faster 
than the previous one, with split times of :
25 1/5, :24, :23 4/5, :23 2/5 and :23.

May 7, 1973: 
Secretariat was flown to Pimlico Racecourse 
to prepare for the Preakness Stakes after his record-breaking performance in the Kentucky Derby.

May 13, 1973: 
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57 2/5 at Pimlico
Racecourse in preparation for the May 19 Preakness Stakes. He was eased
after completing his workout distance, but still ran six furlongs in 1:10.

May 19, 1973: 
Secretariat's winning performance in the Preakness Stakes was
marred by a controversy over the timing of the race. The original teletimer
time was 1:55 for the 1 3/16-mile race;
 Pimlico amended it to 1:54 2/5 two days later.

May 20, 1973: 
Having won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes,
Secretariat shipped from Pimlico to New York in preparation for the Belmont
Stakes, final jewel in the Triple Crown.

June 1, 1973:
 In his final tuneup for the Belmont Stakes 
and the Triple Crown, 
Secretariat went six furlongs in 1:11 3/5, doing the first three
furlongs in :35 2/5 and five furlongs in :59.

June 9, 1973: 
Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths-the longest
winning margin in the race's history-while setting a track record of 2:24,
which has not been surpassed. 
The time was 2 3/5 seconds faster than the
mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth
Triple Crown winner 
and first since Citation had swept the 
Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.

June 11, 1973: 
Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the
covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.

June 19, 1973: 
Officials of Arlington Park invited Secretariat to compete in
a specially created race, the $125,000 Arlington Invitational Stakes.

July 27, 1973: 
In preparation for the Aug. 4 Whitney Stakes,
Secretariat worked a mile at Saratoga Racecourse in 1:34 
over a muddy track.
His workout time was 4-5 of a second 
lower than the 55-year-old track record for the distance. 
He galloped out another eighth of a mile for a final time
of 1:47 4-5, which was 2-5 of a second 
lower than the track record.

Aug. 4, 1973: 
In his first race against older horses, 1-10 favorite
Secretariat was defeated in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga by 
Allen Jerkens'
four-year-old trainee Onion, who beat him by a length.
 Secretariat was
subsequently found to be suffering from a virus.

Sept. 12, 1973: 
Fully recovered from a virus that had beset him at Saratoga,
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57 
as his last preparation for the
Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap.

Sept. 15, 1973: 
Secretariat won the Marlboro Cup Invitational
Handicap in the then-world record 
time of 1:45 2-5 for 1 1-8 miles. 
He defeated his stablemate, Riva Ridge, by 3 1-2 lengths. 
The winner's share of
the purse, $150,000, made Secretariat a millionaire.

Sept. 17, 1973: 
Penny Chenery announced that Secretariat would make
his inaugural start on the turf in the Oct. 8th
Man o' War Stakes at 
Belmont Park.

Sept. 21, 1973: 
Secretariat had his first workout 
on a turf course,
going a half-mile in :48 3-5 at Belmont Park.

Sept. 29, 1973: 
With Meadow Stable's Riva Ridge scratched because of
rainy weather, his stablemate Secretariat
 was left to compete in the 1 1-2
mile Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park. 
Prove Out, trained by Allen Jerkens,
beat the 3-10 favorite Secretariat, who faded after 1 1-4 miles to finish
second by 4 1-2 lengths. Another Jerkens trainee, Onion, had defeated
Secretariat in the Whitney Stakes on Aug. 4 at Saratoga.

Oct. 8, 1973: 
Secretariat made his grass-racing debut in the Man o'
War Stakes at Belmont Park, winning the 
1 1-2-mile race by five lengths in a
time of 2:24 4-5.  He overran the finish line by another furlong, 
running 15-8 miles in a world-record-equaling time of 2:37 4-5.

Oct. 18, 1973: 
The owners of Secretariat announced that his last
race would be the Canadian International Championship Stakes at Woodbine Racecourse.

Oct. 22, 1973: 
Secretariat was flown to Woodbine Racecourse, where
he would compete in his final career race,
 the Canadian International Championship Stakes

Oct. 28, 1973: 
With jockey Eddie Maple substituting for  Ron Turcotte, 
who was sidelined by a suspension, 
Secretariat concluded his
racing career with a 6 1-2 length victory in the 
Canadian International Championship Stakes 
at Woodbine Racecourse. 
It was his second victory in as
many tries on the turf.

Nov. 11, 1973: 
Secretariat was flown to Claiborne Farm to begin his
stud career.

Oct. 4, 1989: 
Secretariat, 1973 Triple Crown champion, 
was euthanized at
Claiborne Farm, Paris, Ky., after suffering a severe case of laminitis.
 He was 19.

May 19, 1999: 
Secretariat was honored as the 35th greatest athlete of the
20th Century by ESPN's SportsCentury, a series of programs profiling the top
athletes of the past 100 years. 
Secretariat was the only non-human to make the top 50.

 Click to enlarge

Coglianese Photo courtesy of The Thoroughbred Record

Jan. 1, 1975: 
Secretariat was represented by his first Thoroughbred foal, 
a filly named Miss Secretariat, 
born in Kentucky to the mare My Card.

Slight navigation required for Belmont Chart. 
Reduction compromises integrity of print.
Download time expected - but worth it!

Belmont Chart courtesy of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association

Click photos to enlarge 

Secretariat Trivia
Click for direct link to Bill Hahn's stirring tribute to Secretariat.
 One-on-one interviews with Jockey Ron Turcotte and Penny Tweedy Chenery

 SECRETARIAT, REMEMBERING A RACING LEGEND

SECRETARIAT MEMORIAL