Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Here’s why!
Secretariat utilized something called a double-suspension transverse gallop that allowed him to carry sprint speed over distances of more than half a mile. In a normal, single-suspension transverse gallop there is only one moment where all four hooves leave the ground.
In a double-suspension transverse gallop there are two.
Secretariat had a stride longer than any other horse, but he also ran elastically, and was able to develop an extraordinary amount of downward-and-backward thrust, thus achieving double-suspension. He ran straighter and more efficiently than any other horse.
The elasticity refers to the flexibility of his back and loin conformation. The muscles of the pelvis, rib cage, and spine form a flexible and powerful spring that is the biomechanical root of speed. Secretariat had increased ability to coil the loin, and with it, increased elastic up-and-down flexibility of the back. The more flexible the back is, the longer the stride.
It is this long stride, and the incredibly powerful downward-and-backward thrust of his hind legs that allowed him to have a double-suspension transverse gallop. I don’t know of any other horses that have achieved double suspension, but it has been speculated that if we had more footage of Man O’ War we would see that he ran at a double-suspension transverse gallop as well.
Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby with a time of1:592⁄5. A record that was not broken until 2001 byMonarchos.Secretariat ran each quarter-mile segment faster than the one before it. The successive quarter-mile times were 251⁄5, 24, 234⁄5, 232⁄5, and 23. This means he was still accelerating as of the final quarter-mile of the race.
In the1973 Preakness Stakeson May 19, Secretariat broke last, but then made a huge, last-to-first move on the first turn. After reaching the lead with 51⁄2furlongs to go, he was never challenged, and won by 2½ lengths.
The time of the race was controversial. The infield teletimer displayed a time of 1:55. The track’s electronic timer had malfunctioned because of damage caused by members of the crowd crossing the track to reach the infield. ThePimlico Race Courseclocker, E.T. McLean Jr., announced a hand time of 1:542⁄5. However, twoDaily Racing Formclockers claimed the time was 1:532⁄5, which would have broken the track record (1:54 byCañonero II). Tapes of Secretariat and Cañonero II were played side by side by CBS, and Secretariat got to the finish line first on tape, though this was not a reliable method of timing a horse race at the time. The Maryland Jockey Club, which managed the Pimlico racetrack and is responsible for maintaining Preakness records, discarded both the electronic and Daily Racing Form times and recognized 1:542⁄5as the official time. However,Daily Racing Form, for the first time in history, printed its own clocking of 1:532⁄5next to the official time in the chart of the race.
On June 19, 2012, a special meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission was convened atLaurel Parkat the request of Penny Chenery, who hired companies to conduct a forensic review of the videotapes of the race. After over two hours of testimony, the commission unanimously voted to change the time of Secretariat’s win from 1:542⁄5to 1:53, establishing a new stakes record.
In the105th Belmont Stakes on June 9, 1973, only four horses competed against Secretariat; Sham,Twice A Prince, My Gallant, and Private Smiles.Before a crowd of 67,605, Secretariat and Sham set a fast early pace, opening ten lengths on the rest of the field. After the six-furlong mark, Sham began to tire, ultimately finishing last. Secretariat continued the fast pace and opened up a larger and larger margin on the field.In the stretch, Secretariat opened a 1/16 mile lead on the rest of the field. At the finish, he won by 31 lengths (breaking the margin-of-victory record set by Triple Crown winnerCount Fleetin 1943, who won by 25 lengths), and ran the fastest 1½ miles on dirt in history, 2:24 flat, which broke the stakes record by more than two seconds.This works out to a speed of 37.5mph for his entire performance. Secretariat’s record still stands; no other horse has ever broken 2:24 for 1½ miles on dirt.
Check out the races below!
Check out what the Jockey and Owner of Secretariat had to say about him..
..and if you’re STILL craving some more about this fantastic horse, here’s a 40minute documentary about the superstar.
Tags: horse heroes, horse racing, secretartiat
