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Sunday I found this pretty heated argument from a few years ago about which horse was the best ever in the comments on a you tube video. I don't know if its possible to really compare the 2 given that their respective times were so far apart (Man o' War foaled in 1917 and Secretariat in 1970). I did find out a lot of interesting things that I never knew about either horse. I am sure having grown up on the legend of Secretariat as a kid in the 70's I am biased but just for fun I would pick Secretariat (having also read more about each of them) but its a tough pick. Its a lot like old school boxing guys arguing between Ali ,Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis.Read the comments for yourself and decide.
Also after this racing season is over it will be interesting to see where racing historians begin to rate American Pharaoh as I assume he won't race again after this fall(2 more races this year I think?). No one has used the term superhorse but it was great to see another TC winner after such a long gap.On top of the Belmont I won't forget how his rider made that gutsy move to the outside to win the Kentucky Derby.
Last edited by senecaman; 06-08-2015 at 04:41 PM..
It's no secret that I've always loved Secretariat! I would pick Secretariat against any other horse on the planet. I wouldn't care about the other horse's stats at all. Secretariat totally. Always. Hands down!
It's no secret that I've always loved Secretariat! I would pick Secretariat against any other horse on the planet. I wouldn't care about the other horse's stats at all. Secretariat totally. Always. Hands down!
You know I always felt the same way. I loved Secretariat because over years I saw the June 73 Belmont Stakes replayed over and over and he was always referred to as a superhorse but I never really looked to see what other horses had done.But after I read more about Secretariat and Man o' War I am even more impressed with Secretariat. A lot of Secretariat doubters point to a loss he had at the Belmont track in Sept 73 but this was only 2 weeks after he had set a world record at a race called the Marlboro Cup with a field that included the previous years' Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner. After the loss Secretariat ran in of all things the Man o' War Stakes which was at the time a mile and a half(same track length as the Belmont) and he set the track record and won by 5 lengths. In his very last race Secretariat ran a mile and 5/8ths and won by 6 and 1/2 lengths. This was all after the Triple Crown. Secretariat's owners didn't take it easy on him after the TC. After the Belmont Stakes in June 73 he was in 6 more races the rest of the year(his last race ever was Oct 28 73) and he was 4 for 6. By contrast American Pharaoh is scheduled for only 2 more races before he retires.
Last edited by senecaman; 06-08-2015 at 06:47 PM..
Here is something that puts Secretariat's 73 Belmont Stakes win into perspective. American Pharaoh was very impressive winning by 5 and 1/2 lengths but Secretariat ran the Belmont 2 seconds faster which would be roughly 8 to 10 lengths.
We went through a long drought without a Triple Crown winner. I used to watch every race, but stopped after I'll Take Another. California Chrome was another who disappointed but I have great respect for both. I got hooked on horse racing when Sunday Silence lost to Easy Goer in 1989. Affirmed last won 2 years after I was born, so I was always interested in the TC, but this one caught me by surprise. I wrote a letter(not an e-mail - an actual pen on paper letter) to Nintendo in 1987 asking them to produce a Triple Crown game. They wrote me a very nice response. I was a huge horse racing fan for a long time. Now that American Pharoah has won, that is awesome. He has become a legend. However, I will still remember 2009 with Mine That Bird winning the Derby, and Rachel Alexandra winning the Preakness.
Man o' War was suppose to be something special, winning 20 of 21 starts, once won a race by 100 lengths and beat the 4 yo Sir Barton (the first TC winner) by seven lengths in a match race. He never raced at Churchill because his owner didn't want him to travel out West.
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.
I had never watched this closely but this is the 1973 Preakness Stakes where Secretariat went from 4th to 1st , after breaking last out of the starting gate, like a bullet shot from a gun as the horses rounded the 2nd turn.He went on to win the race in a record time that still stands today.
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.
Secretariats' last 2 races. Both were commanding wins. The first was at 1 1/2 miles and was a track record and the second was at 1 5/8 miles and you can see that even though Secretariat was slowing near the end he still destroyed the field and won by 6 1/2 lengths.
Last edited by senecaman; 06-09-2015 at 01:40 AM..
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