Facts about Secretariat
Secretariat Biography
Secretariat was the Muhammad Ali of racehorses, a brash and charismatic champ who was the breakaway winner of the 1973 Triple Crown. In 21 career starts, the big chestnut stallion finished first 16 times and earned a total of $1,316,808. He set a track record of 1:59 2/5 in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, and won the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, by an astonishing 31 lengths. After his three-year-old season he was retired to stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Secretariat died at the young age of 19; he was euthanized when a chronic foot disease called laminitis became too painful for him to bear.
Extra credit
Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes in 2:24 flat, a world record for 1.5 miles… His sire was Bold Ruler, his mother Somethingroyal… Secretariat was known as ‘Big Red,’ a nickname he shared with 1930s Australian legend Phar Lap.