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Super Horse Masqueradet Research Paper

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10 Amazing Facts About Super-Horse Secretariat

Often referred to as the greatest racehorse that ever lived, in 1973, Secretariat broke track records in all three legs of the Triple Crown that remain unbroken 45 years later. Since 1919, in the past 99 years, there have only been twelve horses to win the Triple Crown, including three after Secretariat, but his records still stand. In June 1973, Secretariat, a huge chestnut colored thoroughbred, graced the cover of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated all at the same time, something that had not happened before and has not happened again since. (1)

10. Greatest Race of all Time: Secretariat’s win at the Belmont Stakes, the third race of the Triple Crown, has been called the greatest horse …show more content…

Revelations of New technology: Based on new video analysis technologies, it has revealed he ran faster than once thought, and has been proven to have won the Preakness in 1:53 minutes flat, faster than his official recorded time of 1:53 ⅖ recorded in 1973. (2) 8. Winning the Kentucky Derby in Record Time: In the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat also set a track record for a 1 1/4 miles race of 1:59 min and 2/5ths sec, 2 ½ lengths ahead of his cousin, Sham, considered a real contender, that came in second. When Secretariat and Sham later raced each other in the Belmont, Sham came in last. (3)

7. His Gigantic Heart: Upon autopsy it was discovered his heart weighed a whopping 22 lbs, compared to the average horse’s heart at 7.5 to 8 lbs, (8) Although Secretariat's heart was larger than average for a thoroughbred, the gene for a huge heart has been passed down through the generations in this horse breed. It was traced through his pedigree back to a mare seven generations earlier, that then passed down the mutation through the females in his family tree. …show more content…

Gentle Giant: Secretariat was a stunning red thoroughbred standing 5’6” at the shoulder, weighing 1,199 lbs with a miraculous stride of 24 feet 11” that created an angle of 110 degrees between his fully extended legs and his body. Those who knew him described as intelligent and kind. (1)

4. Backseat Passenger: Ron Turcotte was Secretariat’s jockey in all 3 Triple Crown races and agreed with others had said that Secretariat knew his purpose was and had his own ideas about running a race. Turcotte was criticized by people in the stands at one early point in the Belmont, who said he seemed to be guiding Secretariat to an unsafe move, but after winning the Belmont, Turcotte said that “he was just a backseat passenger”, and that Secretariat made his own choices. (5)

3. Tragedy Strikes: Ron Turcotte was a very successful Canadian jockey who won a total of 3,032 races before tragedy in 1978 when a fall from a horse resulted in his becoming paraplegic. (6)

2. Final Race: Secretariat won the last race of his career in October 1973 defeating Canada’s Horse of the Year, by over 6 lengths. He was then retired as a three-year-old stud that sired 600 foals, none of which ever achieved their father’s potential.

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