45 Years

Today marks the 45th anniversary--can it really be that many years--since Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby in 1:59.2, which all these years later is still the track record for that distance at Churchill Downs.

What was incredible about his race was he ran each quarter mile faster than the previous one, which is almost unheard of in horse racing.

This race was the beginning of the national obsession with this great horse.  He already had a huge following in racing circles, but it was television coverage of the Triple Crown that put this horse into superstar status.  I was no different than millions of other people obsessed with this horse.  At the time, I was 18 years old and about to graduate from high school.  I had to have tons of dental work done on my mouth (I need to have it done now, years later, but I can't afford to do it) because I believe I was grinding my teeth too much thanks for having had to wear a brace previously because of scoliosis.  I think it ruined my mouth, and it never recovered.  Anyway, I was going through a lot of pain with root canals and such, and Secretariat was a great diversion.  I also missed some school because I had wisdom teeth extracted, and I was under pressure to get all my credits in order to graduate. 

The week I graduated in 1973 was the week leading up to the 105th Belmont Stakes.  The country's fascination with Secretariat was at a fever pitch, and his connections felt tremendous pressure to do what hadn't been done since Citation won the Triple Crown in 1948.  Quite honestly, the only thing I cared about that week was not my graduation, which was a knock-down, drag-out fight with my mother about what clothes to wear to graduation, but whether Secretariat would win the Triple Crown.  He certainly didn't disappoint and vastly exceeded expectations.

Anyway, enough of that ramble.  Secretariat was the subject of a celebration this week.

The race:



Today's Derby winner, Justify, is a seventh-generation descendant of Secretariat on both sides of his pedigree.  Not that it matters all that much that many generations removed from the champ.  Literally thousands of thoroughbreds are descended from him.

For fun, here is Bill Nack's article about the Belmont, when he worked for Newsday.