Secretariat

One of the greatest race horses of all time Secretariat was raised at Meadow Stables in Virginia. In 1973 Secretariat became only the ninth horse to win the Triple Crown, his legendary accomplishment was highlighted by
the style of his victories. Nicknamed
Big Red the chestnut colored horse
set records in two of the three legs of the triple crown that still stand today.
Starting with the Kentucky Derby a mile and a quarter or 10 furlong race set on a dirt track, Secretariat's time
of 1:59.4 is not only the derby record but the Churchill Downs record as well.
Only one other horse Monarchos in 2001 has run the Kentucky Derby
in a time better than 2 min flat, 1:59.97
was the time posted by Monarchos in
2001. The second leg of the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes run on a dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in
Baltimore Md.,the 1 and 3/16 of a mile race is the shortest of the three races.
Secretariat won the Preakness easily and may have actually broken the
record time but the tracks electronic timer was off by so much that it's time of 1:55 was thrown out. Pimlico officials gave Secretariat a hand timed
1:54 and 2/5. This time will forever be mired in controversy because CBS who televised the event showed footage of Secretariat's race alongside
record holder Canonero's 1:54 flat timed race and Secretariat gets to the finish line first. Finally the Daily Racing Form entered a time of 1:53 2/5 for Secretariat's Preakness time.In the final leg of the Triple Crown Big Red
cemented his legacy by both smashing
the Belmont Stakes time record and winning the race by an astounding
31 lengths. Secretariats time in the 1.5 mile race was 2:24 which is a full 2 seconds better than the next fastest time. Some of Secretariat's honors are:
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame 1974
U.S. Postal Stamp 1999
#2-Top U.S. Race Horses of the 20th
Century
Statue at Belmont Park & Kentucky Horse Park
Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park
Secretariat Street in Napa, California
Secretariat Street in Howell, New Jersey