Secretariat
| Secretariat | |
| Race: | English blood |
| Father: | Bold ruler |
| Mother: | Somethingroyal |
| Mother, father: | Princequillo |
| Gender: | stallion |
| Year of birth: | 1970 |
| Year of death: | 1989 |
| Country: | United States |
| Colour: | Fox |
| Breeder: | Meadow Stud |
| Owner: | Meadow Stables |
| Record: | 21 starts: 16 wins, 4 places |
| Prize amount: | $ 1,316,808 |
| Greatest wins, titles and awards | |
| Greatest victories | |
| USA Triple Crown 1973, Belmont Stakes | |
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Infobox last modified on: December 7th, 2007. |
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Secretariat (March 30, 1970 - October 4, 1989 ) was an American racehorse, which is considered by many to be the best racehorse of all time. On the list of the 100 best American racehorses of the 20th century , compiled by Blood Horse Magazine, he is number 2 after Man o 'War . His nickname was "Big Red", after Man o' War, who was also called that. Both were very large horses, while number 3, Citation , was rather small and wiry.
His father was Bold Ruler , his mother Somethingroyal. Secretariat was born on Meadow Farms Stables in Doswell, Virginia. The owner was Ms. Helen “Penny” Chenery (Mrs. Helen Tweedy), coach of Canadians Lucien Laurin, and his jockey, Canadians Ron Turcotte. Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby , Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes and became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years since Citation won that title in 1948. Many fans believed that this event would never happen again. Secretariat's course records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes have not been reached again to this day, and the second is also the world record of one and a half miles (2.4 km) on a dirt track to this day. Secretariat would still hold the official course record of the Preakness Stakes to this day if the timekeeper had not been defective.
Secretariat's strongest competitor in the Kentucky Derby was Sham, who, with a time of 1:59 4/5, would have won any other race on this track both before and after. Our Native finished third, 8 lengths behind Sham.
In the Preakness Stakes race he faced Sham again, who finished second again. Secretariat won by two and a half lengths, while Our Native was third again, eight lengths behind Sham.
Then came the Belmont Stakes race in which only 4 competitors competed against Secretariat. Sham was there again, kept up well at the beginning, but then fell back and was last. Secretariat won by 31 lengths in one of the most dramatic horse races ever to take place.
Secretariat has featured on the covers of major magazines that year, Time Magazine , Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.
His athletic abilities became particularly evident after it was found that he ran every quarter mile faster than the one before in the Kentucky Derby. Usually horses slow down as they race.
On an ESPN list of the 100 greatest athletes of all time, he was number 35, one of three animals on this list alongside the horses Man o 'War and Citation .
Secretariat was voted Horse of the Year twice and was the first horse to receive this award at the age of two. In 1974, Secretariat was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing.
After the 1973 racing season, Secretariat was retired from horse racing and used for breeding purposes. Many of his fans came to visit him, including those who otherwise had nothing to do with horse racing.
Some say he wasn't that successful at breeding, but at least he produced a fair number of winners, e.g. B. 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret and 1988 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner, Risen Star. Perhaps the disappointment with his offspring was only so great because after his racing successes too great expectations were placed on him. In any case, he fathered more than 600 foals.
In the fall of 1989 he developed laminitis , a painful hoof disease, and was put to sleep on October 4th. He is buried on Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, and received the highest honor for a horse. It was buried in its entirety, whereas otherwise traditionally only the head, the heart and the hooves are buried with racehorses.
Before he was buried, an autopsy took place at the University of Kentucky which found Secretariat literally had a big heart. Horses normally have a heart that weighs approximately 3.2 kg, his weight 9.6 kg.
On October 16, 1999, the US Post issued a postage stamp with his image.
In 2010, Secretariat's life was filmed with the German title " Secretariat - A Horse Becomes a Legend " by Walt Disney with Diane Lane in the role of owner Penny Chenery and John Malkovich as Secretariat's trainer Lucien Laurin. In the adult animation series BoJack Horseman , created in 2014, the protagonist Bojack, a worn-out actor, strives for the role of his childhood idol Secretariat, who has already died in the series, and finally gets the role. Secretariat - a horse man like Bojack - appears in the series in several flashbacks as a famous runner who eventually jumps off a bridge and commits suicide because of a betting scandal.
- Race as a two year old
- Victories:
- Sanford Stakes
- Hopeful stakes
- Belmont Futurity
- Laurel Futurity
- Garden State Stakes
- Champagne Stakes (disqualified second)
- Race as a three year old
- Victories:
- Kentucky Derby (New Track Record)
- Preakness Stakes (New Track Record)
- Belmont Stakes (New World Record)
- Bay Shore Stakes
- Gotham Stakes (Set Track Record)
- Arlington Invitational
- Marlboro Cup (New World Record)
- Man O 'War Stakes (New Course Record)
- Canadian International
- Second:
- Woodward Stakes
- Whitney Stakes
- Third:
- Wood Memorial Stakes
literature
- William Nack: Secretariat. The making of a champion . Da Capo Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2002, ISBN 0-306-81133-2 .
Web links
- official Secretariat homepage
- Pedigree of Secretariat
- Secretariat in the Unofficial Thoroughbred Hall of Fame
- Photo of the Secretariat and the grave site at Claiborne Farm Equine Cemetery