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Life IS history in the making. Every word we say, everything we do becomes history the moment it is said or done. Life void of memories leaves nothing but emptiness. For those who might consider history boring, think again: It is who we are, what we do and why we are here. We are certainly individuals in our thoughts and deeds but we all germinated from seeds planted long, long ago.

Monday, June 9, 2014

America's Superhorse

This Day in History: June 9, 1973

If you are into horse racing, this day in 1973 held 100,000 people spellbound! This story is not about just any horse, it is about the most famous horse in horse-racing history, Secretariat, Triple Crown Champion and America's Superhorse! Secretariat was owned by Penney Chenery Tweedy, trained by Lucien Laurin and groomed daily by Eddie Sweat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_%28horse%29
Secretariat during his retirement as photographed by Dell Hancock
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

It is not just the fact that Secretariat, aka "Big Red", won but what he won and by what margin. He had already won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes setting the stage for the final win, which would earn him the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing


By the time the race was over and all counts were in, Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, won the Belmont Stakes by a spectacular victory which awarded him the Triple Crown...he set a new record completing the 1.5-mile race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, a dirt-track record for its distance. That wasn't all either! He didn't just win...he beat his greatest competitor Sham (not only his peer but also his half-cousin) by an unheard of 31 lengths!

http://greatmuseums.org/explore/more/horse_power_the_national_museum_of_racing
Secretariat, a horse that was revered during his lifetime, is now immortalized in bronze in the courtyard at The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. A major attraction in the Museum, this sculpture captures the excitement and thrill of Secretariat’s Triple Crown win in 1973.
 Will there ever be another superhorse? I would speculate not in my lifetime!


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