June 9, 1973 - Secretariat Wins The Belmont Stakes

Didn't want to let the fortieth anniversary of this remarkable event pass without comment.

Listening to Chick Anderson’s call for me is a lot like watching Casablanca; the quotes are just so well known, and they stay with you forever:

"They’re on the turn, and Secretariat is blazing along! The first three-quarters of a mile in 1:09 and four fifths. Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine! Secretariat by twelve, Secretariat by fourteen lengths on the turn! Sham is dropping back. It looks like they’ll catch him today, as My Gallant and Twice a Prince are both coming up to him now. But Secretariat is all alone! He’s out there almost a sixteenth of a mile away from the rest of the horses! Secretariat is in a position that seems impossible to catch. He’s into the stretch. Secretariat leads this field by 18 lengths, and now Twice a Prince has taken second and My Gallant has moved back to third. They’re in the stretch. Secretariat has opened a 22 length lead! He is going to be the Triple Crown winner! Here comes Secretariat to the wire. An unbelievable, an amazing performance! He hits the finish 25 lengths in front! It’s going to be Twice a Prince second, My Gallant third, Private Smiles fourth, and Sham, who had it today, dropped back to fifth."

Quoting from the official DRF chart of the 1973 Belmont:

“SECRETARIAT, sent up along the inside to vie for the early lead with SHAM to the backstretch, disposed of that one after three-quarters, drew off at will rounding the far turn and was under a hand ride from Turcotte to establish a record in a tremendous performance.”

Possibly the most difficult thing to teach a race horse is to go against its natural herd instinct.  In the wild, leaving the herd is courting danger; safety is with the pack.  Run too far away from the herd and you could be running right into the mouth of a predator.

So you try to teach the horse that it’s okay to run away from the pack when its on the race track; that there are no predators lying in wait for them down the home stretch.  You also have to teach them that they’re not just out for an afternoon jog with their friends; that the other horses are competitors, and they need to leave those competitors as far behind as they can after passing them, and not slow down to give them a chance to catch up.

Most horses never really learn those things.  It’s just too contrary to their survival instincts.  Running far away from the herd goes totally against untold centuries of breeding in the wild.

Secretariat didn’t just beat a race that day.  He beat Nature.

Peace and Love,

Jimbo