Americans love an “underdog”…and ‘underhorses”, too! The Kentucky Derby is next week and there is one horse forever linked with that event and the other jewels in the Triple Crown (the Preakness and Belmont Stakes): The legendary “Secretariat.”
In 1969, horse breeder and stable owner Penny Chenery lost a coin toss over rights to a new foal and as a result won the colt who would become a racing legend. Coming into the 1973 Kentucky Derby as an underdog (underhorse?), Secretariat not only won all three races of that year’s Triple Crown, he set records in each that have not been bested in nearly 50 years, including gapping the field by1/16 of a mile (31 lengths!) in the Belmont Stakes. Many experts believe this is a record that cannot be broken.
In 1999, Secretariat was ranked among the 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century and the only horse to make the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated in the same week.
To help you get in the mood for next Saturday’s Race, take four minutes for a video that summarizes and celebrates his remarkable animal’s life and accomplishments, set to the music of the late Dan Fogelberg’s achingly beautiful song “Run for the Roses.”
