Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know next to nothing about horse-racing, but I still find it astounding that Secretariat's records have endured for more than 40 years on all three tracks. A track and field record will sometimes stand for a decade or two, but inevitably, it falls. And yet, I have a strong suspicion that the record time at the Belmont Stakes will be 2:24.00 on the day that I die. Has any human athlete ever approached that level of dominance?
Secretariat I believe is still the only horse to run each 1/4mile faster than the previous 1/4 mile at the Derby, which means he was accelerating at the end of the race.
As for the '73 Belmont, it's not even close, no horse past or present was beating Secretariat that day, Turcotte pulled off of him 3/4's through the race and just let him run, imagine how fast he would of been if Turcotte pushed him.
I had never watched this closely but this is the 1973 Preakness Stakes where Secretariat went from 6th to 1st , after breaking last out of the starting gate, like a bullet shot from a gun as the horses rounded the 1st and 2nd turns.He went on to win the race in a record time that still stands today. Amazing where his owner says she thinks the horse broke to the front so fast down the backstretch not because his rider wanted him to but because the Secretariat wanted to.
In many ways Secretariat's move on the first turn at the Preakness is just as remarkable as his win at the Belmont. I remember the first time I saw the Preakness video a few years ago (I was an infant in spring 1973), I was stunned by Secretariat's move.
It should be noted that Secretariat did have to beat a legitimately excellent horse in the Triple Crown races, his half-1st cousin Sham. (The two horses had the same maternal grandfather, the great sire and damsire Princequillo.) Some horse racing experts feel Sham would have won the 1973 Triple Crown had Secretariat not also been a 3-year old horse that year. Sham actually ran one of the fastest Kentucky Derby races on record, probably a tiny bit under 2 minutes, but lost because Secretariat ran the fastest Kentucky Derby on record. Likewise in the Preakness, Sham had a very good time, but Secretariat ran one of the best times ever at the race. (Officially, Secretariat holds the race record, though that was only established a few years ago, some 40 years after the race was run.) In both races, Secretariat was gradually pulling away from Sham at the finish, and Sham was pulling away from the other horses at the finish. Obviously Secretariat totally outclassed Sham in the Belmont, but that was only after the two horses engaged in an inadvisable speed duel for the first 3/4 mile to 1 mile of the race. The fact Secretariat posted such an incredible time after running a suicidal pace with Sham in the first half of the race is part of the reason why Secretariat's Belmont performance was so remarkable.
I'm personally of the opinion that had the great horses Affirmed/Alydar (1978) and Sunday Silence/Easy Goer (1989) raced against Secretariat, all four of those horses would have played Sham's role instead of being remembered for their great races against their chief Triple Crown rival.
One final thing - I remember the 1988 Belmont when Risen Star, who also won the Preakness that year and might have won the Kentucky Derby with a more fortunate ride, pulled way away from the field and won by like 14 lengths, sort of like a mini-version of what Secretariat did. At the time, Risen Star's Belmont-winning time was the 2nd fastest ever. However, as great as Risen Star was, he still wasn't the best horse in his immediate blood line. The horse that was even greater? His dad - Secretariat.
I know next to nothing about horse-racing, but I still find it astounding that Secretariat's records have endured for more than 40 years on all three tracks. A track and field record will sometimes stand for a decade or two, but inevitably, it falls. And yet, I have a strong suspicion that the record time at the Belmont Stakes will be 2:24.00 on the day that I die. Has any human athlete ever approached that level of dominance?
It's not just that the record stands, it's that it is still the record by over 2 full seconds. Additionally, that Belmont time is the world record on any dirt track for 1 1/2 miles. Keep in mind that a 3 year old horse is considered the equivalent to a human teenager, and has not reached full maturity yet. (To be fair, most excellent race horses often don't race past the age of 4, something that's become even more true in the last 25-30 years.)
The only thing I can think of that is similar in human athletics, or more accurately was similar, was Bob Beamon's long jump record at the 1968 Summer Olympics at 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches. (That was a very famous record for people like myself who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s.) For many years no one came remotely close to 29 feet, and most long jumpers didn't break 28 feet. Then finally in 1991, Mike Powell broke the record at a meet in Tokyo with a jump of 29 feet, 4 1/4 inches. The great long jumper Carl Lewis also broke 29 feet at the same meet (albeit with a jump a little shorter than Beamon's previous record) and set a personal best, but finished second at the meet. Beamon's jump in 1968 (still an Olympic record) and Powell's and Lewis' jumps in 1991 remain the three longest long jumps in track and field history.
It's not just that the record stands, it's that it is still the record by over 2 full seconds. Additionally, that Belmont time is the world record on any dirt track for 1 1/2 miles. Keep in mind that a 3 year old horse is considered the equivalent to a human teenager, and has not reached full maturity yet. (To be fair, most excellent race horses often don't race past the age of 4, something that's become even more true in the last 25-30 years.)
The only thing I can think of that is similar in human athletics, or more accurately was similar, was Bob Beamon's long jump record at the 1968 Summer Olympics at 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches. (That was a very famous record for people like myself who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s.) For many years no one came remotely close to 29 feet, and most long jumpers didn't break 28 feet. Then finally in 1991, Mike Powell broke the record at a meet in Tokyo with a jump of 29 feet, 4 1/4 inches. The great long jumper Carl Lewis also broke 29 feet at the same meet (albeit with a jump a little shorter than Beamon's previous record) and set a personal best, but finished second at the meet. Beamon's jump in 1968 (still an Olympic record) and Powell's and Lewis' jumps in 1991 remain the three longest long jumps in track and field history.
Wow. Incredible. Of course it's certainly possible that another horse will eventually come along and break Secretariat's seemingly unbreakable record... however that possibility may take a long time!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
