50th anniversary of Secretariat’s Belmont stakes win

[harshthakor]

Today the racing world commemorates the greatest feat of athleticism on a race track.Secretariat winning the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths in record time,defied conventional bio mechanics ,touching metaphysical zones or region sunexplored.Secretariat touched heights of immortality,no racehorse ever did .No horses ever looked as much as a manifestation of a divine power or made a thoroughbred look supernatural.One cannot find an adjective to describe he manner Secretariat established supremacy over Sham,pulling away or extending his lead. with he effect of a plane leaving an airbase.One was reminded of flour being crushed in a windmill.When widening his margin,Secretariat reminded one of an invincible emperor,annexing territory after territory.The colt gave vibrations of travelling in land unexplored.The colt’s energy reserves or power that day scaled heights untranscended in racing.Let alone horse racing,arguably t scaled supremacy in sport,at a level unparalleled.Those at Belmont that day witnessed the sensation of a miracle.Sports fans should study the time segments of Secretariat’s Belmont ,which were simply astonishing.Ron Turcotte pressed his mount till the winning post,a phenomena unprecedented with a horse so far out in front.Secretariat ran the last half of the race in o.46.4,which was phenomenal.That time would;d place him in the lead of the first half of most sprint races.Finally ,he won,establishing a world record time of 2.24.

Secretariat broke the track record in every leg of the Triple crown,which no horse ever accomplished before.It won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness stakes with a spectacular finish or acceleration,reminding one of a motor car switching gears,winning with a stunning burst.It had the effect of a thunderstorm intervening on a hot summer day.

Later in the Marlboro cop conceding 6lb.Secretariat overpowered previous year’s Kentucky Derby winner Riva Ridge and class horse Cougar.Never was previous year’s Derby winner treated with such disdain.

Secretariat won 16 out of 21 starts,and did not have as impressive a record as Ribot,Man O’War,Sea Bird,Nijinsky or Brigadier Gerard,statistically.However in setting track records ,and manner of accomplishing victories,Secretariat was the best of all.Still,Secretariat did not equal the sheer versatility of Citation or Spectacular Bid ,over different types of ground and distances or prove as great handicapper as Forego,or Man O’War.Secretariat did not prove himself on turf.

Officially Blood horse experts place Secretariat 2nd to Man O’War ,but many experienced judges rate Secretariat the best ever,even above Sea Bird.In my view,it would possibly be an unfair comparison,if you consider varying racetrack conditions,opposition etc.On raw abilty,Secretarial,possibly the best ever.No horse was ever as charismatic or pulled or drew the public to such an extent.Scaling timeform ratings.possibly,Secretariat could be close to Frankel,and touch and go with Sea Bird.Racing Post rates the star at 144,just 1lb below Sea Bird.In my book overall,Secretariat joins Arkle,Sea Bird,Frankel and Ribot .amongst the greatest equine stars ever.

I recommend every racing fan to purchase the book by Willam Knack,titled,’Secretariat,The Making of a Champion.’, classic in it’s own right.The chapter on the Belmont Stakes could make a book itself.

[LD73]

Was torn between Best Ever American Racehorse and Amongst 3 Best Ever Flat Racehorses and came down on the side of the former.

For all his Belmont Stakes was the ultimate jaw dropping performance people forget that Sham (his only real competition in the race) was just 2.5L behind him in the Kentucky Derby (where he actually hit his head on the stalls and lost two teeth!) and the same distance behind in the Preakness but in the Belmont he rang absolutely no race in finishing last (virtually pulled up) and was subsequently found to have fractured a cannon bone during the race and sadly never ran again.

Not saying Sham would have beaten him if not for that injury (he only ever finished in front of Big Red once – the Wood Memorial when they were 2nd and 3rd) but you can be sure that he would have been close enough to where Secretariat’s 31L win would not have been the story that we all remember coming out of the race.

That being said the fact that Secretariat still holds the Belmont track record for the race and that since, no horse has got within 2 seconds of his time just simply boggles the mind.

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