Secretariat

As we approach the Belmont with California Chrome as a possible Triple Crown winner for the first time in 30 years, I can’t help think back to Secretariat. I was 9. My parents grew up in Louisville, so Derby Day was an event and we always watched. I wasn’t particularly a horse racing fan and I’m still not, but Secretariat was something to watch.

His winning time in the Belmont is still the record. I heard someone say today that the next closest time in history would have lost by 10 lengths (Secretariat won by a ridiculous 31 lengths).

I still remember watching that race, simply because it was no contest. How often do you see a horse race where not only is the winner the only horse visible on the screen, but the camera man has to pan left quite a bit to see the runner up.