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Secretariat (also known as the Big Red) was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse. He became famous in 1973 as the ninth horse to win the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, by winning the constituent races of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. He was the first horse to win the Triple Crown since 1948, and he set a new speed record in all three of the races. His record has remained unbroken into the 2020s.
Secretariat was officially bred in Christopher Chenery's Meadow Stud, but the breeding was actually arranged by Christopher's daughter Penny Chenery. She had taken over the administration of the Stud in 1968, due to her father's declining health. Secretariat's father was Bold Ruler (1954-1971), a former Preakness Stakes winner who became the leading sire in North America eight times between 1963 and 1973, the most of any sire in the 20th century. Secretariat's mother was Somethingroyal (1952-1983), who was also the mother of three other stakes winners. Somethingroyal was named the 1973 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, for having given birth to the most successful offspring of the era.
Secretariat was born at the Meadow Stud in Caroline County, Virginia. He was a bright-red chestnut colt with three white socks and a star with a narrow stripe. He was given his name by the Stud's secretary Elizabeth Ham. She named him after the rank of her previous employer, the secretariat of the League of Nations. Secretariat grew into a massive, powerful horse with an unusually large chest and powerful, well-muscled hindquarters.
Secretariat raced in Meadow Stables' distinctive blue-and-white-checkered colors. When he started training in January 1972, Secretariat was initially awkward and clumsy. His trainers noticed that, despite his large size, Secretariat was not aggressive when interacting with other horses and he habitually avoided bumping incidents with them. By June 1972, he had completed his training and was considered eligible for races. In his debut race in July 1972, Secretariat was bumped hard by other horses, but he avoided any serious injury and he finished fourth among the competing horses.
In August 1972, Secretariat gained a surprise victory at the Sanford Stakes, outrunning the highly-regarded racehorse Linda's Chief. Within a few months, Secretariat won the Hopeful Stakes and the Belmont Futurity, and came second in the Champagne Stakes. He followed the same pattern in each of these of these races: Secretariat started slowly and then made a big move around the turn, blowing past his rivals to win.
By the end of the year, Secretariat won the Eclipse Award for American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse and topped the balloting for the 1972 American Horse of the Year honors. He controversially edged out the undefeated filly La Prevoyante in the votes for the award, despite having about 6 months of experience as a racehorse and having lost in a couple of his races.
In January 1973, Christopher Chenery died and the taxes on his estate forced his daughter Penny to consider selling Secretariat. She instead sold 32 shares of partial ownership over Secretariat, gaining 6.08 million dollars from the sales. Chenery retained four shares in the horse and continued to have complete control over his three-year-old racing campaign. Later that year, Secretariat finished third in the Wood Memorial, his final preparatory race for the Kentucky Derby. At the time, Secretariat had developed a large abscess in his mouth and was apparently in pain during the race.
In May 1973, Secretariat easily won the Kentucky Derby. His main competitor Sham came second, after suffering minor injuries both before and during the race. Secretariat was the first horse to win the Derby in less than 2 minutes. Later that month, Secretariat won the Preakness Stakes, surprising the spectators with his unusual speed. He completed the second quarter mile of the race in under 22 seconds.
In June 1973, Secretariat and Sham had a rematch at the Belmont Stakes. Only three others horses actually contested the race, as it was considered impossible to defeat either of the two favorites. The race was televised by CBS and was watched by over 15 million American households, an audience share of 52%. Secretariat actually won the race by pacing himself, while Sham and a few other horses exhausted themselves early. His jockey commented that Secretariat was a smart horse. Secretariat won the race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, setting a new speed record.
In August 1973, Secretariat was acting sluggishly in a number of races and had a surprise defeat at the Whitney Stakes. At the time, he was suffering from a viral infection with symptoms of low-grade fever and diarrhea, but Chenery thought that this would not affect his racing performance. She later had to admit that she was wrong in not allowing any recovery time for the horse. By mid-September 1973, Secretariat was back in health and won the inaugural Marlboro Cup, winning the highest prize money offered at the time in any race.
The syndication deal for Secretariat precluded the horse racing past the age of three. He competed in his last race in Toronto during late October 1973. Secretariat won 16 of his 21 career races. After his retirement from racing, Secretariat was used as a stud to sire a new generation of race horses. In 1975, Secretariat's first official foal crop consisted of 28 foals, the best of which was Dactylographer, who went on to win the William Hill Futurity in October 1977. Ultimately, Secretariat officially sired 663 named foals, including 341 winners (51.4%) and 54 stakes winners (8.1%). It was thought that Secretariat sired an unusually high number of quality mares as daughters. In 1992, Secretariat was the leading broodmare sire in North America.
In the fall of 1989, Secretariat became afflicted with laminitis, a painful and debilitating hoof condition. When his condition failed to improve after a month of treatment, he was euthanized in early October at the age of 19. Secretariat was buried at Claiborne Farm, given the rare honor of being buried whole. Traditionally only the head, heart, and hooves of a winning race horse are buried.
