40 years later, Secretariat still the best

Published 8:08 pm Saturday, June 8, 2013

By Chris Parry

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, leads the field of Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, June 9, 1973, to win and take racing's Triple Crown. The Meadow Stable colt became the first horse since 1948 and Citation to win the Triple Crown. (AP Photo)

In sports, we like to debate about who was the best. In baseball was it Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle or “insert name here.”

In football was it Jim Brown, Jerry Rice …

In basketball was it Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar …

See what I mean.

Well, in horse racing, there is no debate. Anyone who has ever watched a Kentucky Derby on television or knows anything about this sport, and some like myself who are still relative novices, knows Secretariat was the greatest racehorse of all time.



Every great needs to have a signature moment; something that sets them apart from the rest — Ruth’s called-shot home run or Michael Jordan’s series-winning shot to win the 1998 NBA Championship.

Secretariat’s “moment” is considered one of the greatest in sports history. In the 1973 Belmont Stakes, Secretariat had already won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but naysayers felt the Belmont’s distance would be too much for him.

He not only won, but left the field in his wake by 31 lengths, setting a course record that 40 years later, on Sunday, still stands. Go and watch the replay of the race at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V18ui3Rtjz4

I did and 40 years later it is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in sports.

Happy anniversary, Secretariat.