Today it was announced that Canadian-born jockey Ron Turcotte, 84, best known for having piloted Secretariat in the legendary 1973 Triple Crown series, died early today at his home in New Brunswick, Canada. Turcotte, who was one of 12 children, with five of the boys having become jockeys though none of the others were as successful as he, first came to prominence as a jockey in the 1960s, with his first winner in the classics being Tom Rolfe, the winner of the 1965 Preakness. A few years later, owner and breeder Penny Chenery of Meadow Farm hired Turcotte to ride Riva Ridge, and together they won the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont. Of course, Turcotte gained international fame as the jockey of the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and the greatest racehorse ever to step foot on a racetrack, Secretariat. Turcotte had the easiest job of his life riding Red, for the horse did it all. Turcotte simply sat on him. He rode Secretariat from his third start through the Man O'War Stakes in 1973. He had been suspended and couldn't ride Secretariat in his final start, the Canadian International. Eddie Maple substituted for Ron in that race.
Turcotte loved to talk about Secretariat. He probably knew the horse better than anybody else who was associated with him during his racing career. Five or six years ago, he published a series of articles for the official Secretariat webpage called "Turcotte Tuesday" discussing his career and his most famous horse. He could be found on various Secretariat Facebook fan pages engaging in conversations with fans about the horse.
His riding career ended in a 1978 accident where a horse stumbled at the starting gate and threw Turcotte. He wound up paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He was in a great deal of pain and faced life-threatening infections over the years. These setbacks didn't stop him at all. He traveled a great deal, attending signing events, giving interviews, and even attending a few Triple Crown races in person. He also raised money for injured jockeys.
With Turcotte's death, an era has ended. All the people who were directly involved in the racing career of Secretariat, including the champion himself, of course, have passed away. Penny Chenery, the owner and breeder; Lucien Laurin, trainer; Turcotte, jockey; exercise riders Jim Gaffney and Charlie Davis; and groom Eddie Sweat are all gone now. Turcotte was the last living connection to Team Secretariat.
“He was a superstrong horse, superintelligent — you name it, he had it,” Turcotte told The New York Times in 2013. “He was great every which way you can think of. There’s nothing that any horse had over him. Every time he was right, he never got beat.”
Ronald Joseph Morel Turcotte was born on July 22, 1941, in Drummond, New Brunswick, where his father, Albert, worked as a lumberjack. His mother, Rose (Devost) Turcotte, stayed home raising their 12 children, of whom Ron was the third, in a farmhouse with no central heating or running water. The family spoke French at home.
At 14, Ron dropped out of school to work alongside his father. Because he was too small to wield an ax or saw — he stood 5-foot-1 and weighed 130 pounds — he was put in charge of the horses that hauled the timber out of the forest, valuable training for his future profession.
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