Secretariat ended the 25 year Triple Crown drought
The American Thoroughbred racehorse, Secretariat was born on 30th March and lived for nineteen years dying on 4th October 1989. He is the most popular for being the horse who was awarded the United States Triple Crown in 1973. This
was after twenty-five years that an American horse was able to win the Crown.
Before Secretariat, it was Citation who won the Crown in 1948 and after Secretariat it was first won by Seattle Slew in 1977 and then the last winner till yet stands out to be Affirmed in the year 1978. Secretariat’s popularity is due to the gap of a good
twenty-five years after which the title was awarded to anyone.
The essentials for winning a Unites States Triple Crown include the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes.
Secretariat shared the same nickname “Big Red” as his grand sire Nasrullah and was a majestic chestnut colt that used to stand approximately 16.2 hands (66 inches, 168 cm) and weighed around 1,175 pounds during his prime racing stage.
Secretariat’s very first attempt as a juvenile at racing on 4th July 1972 failed but the next five races were won in a row which included three very important stakes, the Sanford Stakes, Hopeful Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. It was during the
same season that Secretariat won the Eclipse Award for American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse and broke yet another record by being the top in the balloting of American Horse Of The Year.
Next year after winning the Bay Shore Stakes, Secretariat won the second race of this season, Gotham Stakes, leading wire to wire. However, his next start saw him finishing third only in the Wood Memorial which made some doubt his chances at the Kentucky
Derby.
Secretariat’s rival Sham did not get the chance to command the track for long as Secretariat thundered away with the tile by 2 ½ lengths. At the Preakness Stakes, Secretariat was the last out of the stall but then made the drastic last to first move. Yet
again finished by 2 ½ lengths with Sham in the tracks.
The final leg for the Triple Crown could only attract four contestants, one of them obviously being Sham who had been on heels, right behind Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. The show actually ended with Sham and Secretariat neck
to neck but then the latter started widening the gap which was put in the following way by the commentator:
"Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine”!
His series of incredible wins did not end even after the achievement of the Triple Crown, the horse had in him immense and an enviable never ending stamina.
The only inability that turned out to be controversial during his career was the failure of siring a colt who was his of caliber, he did sire numerous fillies that had very successful careers.
By 1989, Secretariat was diagnosed with laminitis which is an incurable hoof condition which ultimately led to him being euthanized on 4th October when he was nineteen years of age.
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