Secretariat completed horse racing’s Triple Crown on this day, June 9, fifty years ago, in 1973. He was the first three-year old horse to win the crown in 25 years and did so commandingly, contending to be the greatest race horse of all time.
There is a long history of misuse, if not abuse, in the sport of horse racing, but in its purest the sight of a horse proudly speeding away is inspiring, and Secretariat captured that spirit. He was large and also larger than life, and according to those around him, seemed to know it. He was playful and proud, lending a sense that animals can, in their own way, be sentient.
Secretariat’s owners had to syndicate him before racing in his third year, due to estate tax issues following the death of the owner of his stable. Though he’d had a mixed record up to that point, the move allowed Penny Chenery to retain ownership of “Big Red” as he’d come to be known. His breeding results never led to a champion of his caliber, but then he was unique.
Secretariat died in 1989 of a hoof disease. Before burial, they measured his heart and found it to be two and a half times that of a normal horse. Anatomically, this certainly played a role in his stamina, but it also symbolized something special in a truly great horse.
In recent news, a number of horses died or were put down at Churchill Downs this season. An investigation is pending and may lead to better care for horses in the future.
