From SI, May 14, 1973

"It Was Murder," by Whitney Tower

"When Secretariat was beaten in such mystifying fashion by Angle Light and Sham in the Wood Memorial three weeks ago, the axiom was recalled: 'If a horse is great, you won't have to say, "Throw that race out." The great ones never need that kind of excuse.'

"After the happening at Churchill Downs last week, the old saw may need revising...No colt in history ever picked a better time or place to line up his opponents and mow them down, one by one, with brutal effectiveness. Before the largest crowd to see a horse race in this country,...Secretariat threw a 23-second final quarter at his 'grudge' rival Sham and won the 99th Kentucky Derby in the [still] track-record time of 1:59 2/5...

"And so while [Pancho] Martin [Sham's trainer] held court outside of Sham's stall, looking down toward [Lucien] Laurin's end and telling everyone who came to call that 'Lucien is always having excuses when he gets beaten,' Laurin was concentrating on doing more training and less talking. He stayed away from traditional press functions, which is unlike him, and spent far less time than usual playing host to the press at his end of the barn.

"There was pressure to contend with. Winning a first Derby is nerve-wracking. Trying to do it two years in a row--and with a horse owned by a carload of breeders who have paid $6 million at $190,000 a share--causes added pressure...'I've never been through anything like this in my life,' groaned Laurin more than once during Derby Week. 'First I get the bit about Bold Rulers not being able to go a mile and a quarter. Then, people say my horse has bad knees and won't even start in the race. A few drops of blood came out of Angle Light's nose on Friday morning, nothing serious at all, and total strangers tell me they hear he's to be scratched.'

"By Derby afternoon Laurin was so jumpy he took momentary refuge in the office of Racing Secretary Doc Lavin. Churchill Downs had been receiving calls from New York requesting confirmation of rumors that both Angle Light and Secretariat were Derby scratches. 'What's going on, Doc?' asked a tired and puzzled Laurin. 'Nothing, really,' replied Lavin. 'It's the Derby, you know, and anything can happen.'

"What would happen in the race itself, many thought, was that Secretariat would make liars out of his critics by winning big or he would run well for a mile or so and then finish, say fourth, just like his daddy. Secretariat would not be beaten by a nose or a head. With him, it would be all or nothing.

"And it was a magnificent all...Sham, on the inside, and Secretariat, going almost overcautiously wide, swung past the quarter pole at the head of the long Churchill Downs stretch. The handsome colts stormed toward the wire, running the next furlong as a phenomenal team, but approaching the eighth pole it was apparent Sham had met more than his match. Secretariat, brilliantly hand-ridden by [Ron] Turcotte, inched away from his rival, and although Sham was running a race of remarkable distinction (he lost part of two teeth by banging his head against the starting gate), Secretariat's performance was more. That final quarter of 23 seconds was faster than Shecky Greene's first quarter [unheard of in a mile-and-a-quarter race]...

"After watching Secretariat paraded off to the happy end of Barn 42, Penny Tweedy sighed, 'Well, that's one Bold Ruler who can go the distance.' When Lucien Laurin was asked if he had any thoughts about Pancho Martin now, he replied, 'He's a wonderful trainer.' Laurin thought about that for a moment and then added, with a twinkle, 'and he should be made to pay the man who gave the information to Jimmy the Greek that Secretariat had a bad knee.'"

...