Thursday, June 05, 2008
The Belmont - Remembering 1973
In 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont.
These two pictures memorialize the moment.
In my humble opinion, Secretariat's performance in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, was THE single greatest horse racing performance EVER...
And if you care to watch, just press the "Play" button:
If you arrived via a direct link, go to the top to read the story>
These two pictures memorialize the moment.
In my humble opinion, Secretariat's performance in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, was THE single greatest horse racing performance EVER...
Prior to the 2004 Belmont Stakes, Frank Fitzpatrick wrote this in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Sometime next Saturday afternoon Smarty Jones will try to join the elite club of Triple Crown winners in the race where his great-great-grandfather transcended them all.
This year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will be a heavy favorite to capture the 136th Belmont Stakes and become just the 12th Triple Crown champion, and the first in more than a quarter-century.
But unless the unbeaten Pennsylvania-bred does so by transforming himself into a Pegasus, sprouting wings and flying around the track, he will not match Secretariat's goosebump-inducing performance of June 9, 1973.
Perhaps no horse ever will.
"Seeing is believing," The Blood-Horse magazine columnist Kent Hollingsworth wrote that day, "but Secretariat's Belmont challenged credulity. He ran so far beyond known reference points, he left us with no measurable comparison. We saw it, believed it; we are having trouble, however, comprehending the preternatural."
Thirty-one years later, the breathtaking sight of that big red horse relentlessly drawing further and further ahead, winning by 31 lengths, smashing the Belmont record by 2-2/5 seconds - the equivalent of 13-1/2 lengths - remains an iconic image of 20th-century sports.
So does the awestruck call of incredulous track announcer Chick Anderson.
"Secretariat is widening now," Anderson said deep into the backstretch, his voice rising on every syllable as if it were trying to keep pace. "He is moving like a tremendous machine. Secretariat by 12... Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn... Secretariat is all alone. He's out there almost a sixteenth of a mile away from the rest of the horses."
Jaded sportswriters in the Belmont press box are said to have been moved to tears that afternoon. More than 67,000 fans, hard-eyed railbirds, tony clubhouse socialites and those who were drawn there that day by the promise of greatness, stood, applauded and waved their programs.
"Belmont Park began to shake," said William Nack, Secretariat's best-known biographer. "The whole place was on its feet."
A photographer captured the moment as jockey Ron Turcotte, hearing Anderson's impassioned call, turned his head to check on his four rivals. They were mere dots on the misty horizon.
"I know this sounds crazy," Turcotte said, "but the horse did it by himself. I was just along for the ride."
•
As a 2-year-old, Secretariat had been the unanimous choice as horse of the year. The following winter, Meadow Farm, where the horse had been foaled in March 1970, sold his breeding rights for a record $6 million, with the stipulation that he would retire after his 3-year-old season.
But a stunning Wood Memorial loss to entrymate Angle Light and some lingering health concerns made him just a 3-2 co-favorite in the May 5 Derby.
He broke poorly but gathered himself to win by 2-1/2 lengths in the record-setting time of 1:59-2/5 seconds, the first sub-2-minute Derby.
Six days before the Preakness, Secretariat worked five furlongs in a lightning-fast 57-2/5 seconds at Pimlico. On race day, he started slowly again. But on the first turn, he rushed from last to first with a jaw-dropping move.
He stayed in front and though the Daily Racing Form timed him in a Preakness-record 1:53-2/5, a Pimlico timing malfunction prevented him from being credited with that mark, too.
Suddenly, with no Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948, and with the country wounded by Vietnam and Watergate, Americans began paying attention to this large horse with the distinguished name.
In the two weeks preceding the Belmont, Secretariat stories appeared in several national magazines and on network TV. CBS anticipated an unprecedented horse-racing audience of perhaps 30 million for the race.
The horse's workouts were so impressive and his reputation growing so swiftly that only four horses challenged him in the Belmont.
On that morning, when Turcotte checked on him, Secretariat seemed sluggish.
"He looked like he was getting ready for a lazy day," Turcotte said.
As a band played "Sidewalks of New York," Secretariat and his four rivals sauntered onto the track. Turcotte's opinion still had not changed.
"I tapped him and he didn't respond like normal," he recalled.
He easily entered the gate and, at 5:38 p.m., Secretariat, the 1-10 favorite, bolted from the chute and headed toward history.
"Right away I knew he was his himself," Turcotte said. "He was saving himself for the race."
At 1-1/2 miles, the Belmont is too long for a sustained sprint. But Secretariat went for the lead immediately. So did Sham. They were flying, far too fast for the early stages of a Belmont.
Sham held a slight lead as they hit the backstretch but was beginning to tire. Secretariat sensed his rival's weariness and, without any prodding from Turcotte, began to accelerate.
The fractions were so fast - 46-1/5 seconds for the first half-mile, 1:09-4/5 for six furlongs, 1:34-1/5 for the mile - that veteran horsemen were convinced even a horse as great as Secretariat could not keep it up.
What no one knew then, and what they would not learn until his death 16 years later, is that Secretariat had a heart nearly 21/2 times the size of an average thoroughbred's.
"A perfect racing engine," Nack called it.
Not only did Secretariat maintain the killer pace in the final half-mile, he actually sped up.
"I was seeing it but not believing it," Nack said. "Secretariat was still sprinting."
The crowd and Anderson were unable to contain themselves as Secretariat hurtled down the stretch, widening the gap with every stride.
"Secretariat is in a position that seems impossible to catch," Anderson shouted. "He's into the stretch. Secretariat leads this field by 18 lengths... Secretariat has opened a 22-length lead. He is going to be... the Triple Crown winner. Here comes Secretariat to the wire... An amazing, unbelievable performance by this miracle horse."
He paid $2.20 to win and when the time of 2:24 was posted there was an audible gasp. In the ensuing three decades, no Belmont winner has come within two seconds of it.
Turcotte insists Secretariat ran so effortlessly that day he never worked up a lather.
"It was like all his life had been building for that race," he said.
He raced six more times - setting a 1-1/8-mile world record in winning the Marlboro Cup - then retired to Claiborne Farm as a stallion.
Surprisingly, given how prolific his father, Bold Ruler, had been, Secretariat was something of a disappointment although fans lined up every day at Claiborne Farm in Lexington, Ky., to visit him.
In 1989, suffering from an incurable hoof disease, he was put down.
In the years since, his legend - the centerpiece of which remains his incredible Belmont performance - continues to grow.
Just like his lead as he rumbled down the Belmont stretch that long-ago afternoon. Uncatchable. Unimaginable. Unmatched.
"His only point of reference," trainer Charlie Hatton once said, "is himself."
And if you care to watch, just press the "Play" button:
If you arrived via a direct link, go to the top to read the story>
Comments:
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Steve:
Don't know if this will be dated in any way, but it's June 22, 2008 (my 55th birthday).
I was making wedding plans in 1973, and to this day I still can't believe I didn't see any of the Triple Crown races. My wedding wasn't until October!
However, today, on my birthday, I stumbled across the video of Secretariat's Belmont. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this available. Tears were flowing before the gates opened.
Don't know if this will be dated in any way, but it's June 22, 2008 (my 55th birthday).
I was making wedding plans in 1973, and to this day I still can't believe I didn't see any of the Triple Crown races. My wedding wasn't until October!
However, today, on my birthday, I stumbled across the video of Secretariat's Belmont. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this available. Tears were flowing before the gates opened.
Happy Birthday!, and thank you for your comment.
I think I know how you feel.
For some reason, Secretariat's Belmont performance lights up my emotions every time I see or read about it.
I'm glad I could provide a little pleasure to your day.
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I think I know how you feel.
For some reason, Secretariat's Belmont performance lights up my emotions every time I see or read about it.
I'm glad I could provide a little pleasure to your day.
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