Secretariat (horse)

Won Garden State Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Garden State)
Won Hopeful Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Saratoga)
Won Futurity Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Belmont)
Won Laurel Futurity (USA, 8.5FD, Laurel)
Won Sanford Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
2nd Champagne Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont; disqualified from first)

1973:

Won Kentucky Derby (USA-G1, 10FD, Churchill Downs; new track record 1:59-2/5)
Won Preakness Stakes (USA-G1, 9.5FD, Pimlico; new track record 1:53)
Won Belmont Stakes (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont; new world record 2:24)
Won Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont; new world record 1:45-2/5)

Won Man o' War Stakes (USA-G1, 12FT, Belmont; new course record 2:24-4/5)
Won Canadian International Stakes (CAN-G2, 13FT, Woodbine)
Won Gotham Stakes (USA-G2, 8FD, Aqueduct)
Won Bay Shore Stakes (USA-G3, 7FD, Aqueduct)
Won Arlington Invitational Stakes (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
2nd Woodward Stakes (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
2nd Whitney Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Saratoga)
3rd Wood Memorial Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Aqueduct)

Honors

National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1974)
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2013)
Saratoga Hoofprints Walk of Fame (inducted as part of the inaugural class in 2013)
Eclipse Award, American Horse of the Year (1972, 1973)
Eclipse Award, American champion 2-year-old male (1972)
Eclipse Award, American champion 3-year-old male (1973)
Eclipse Award, American champion turf horse (1973)

Assessments

Secretariat was ranked #2 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century according to expert panels assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005), the Associated Press, and Sports Illustrated, trailing only Man o' War.

In their book A Century of Champions (1999, Portway Press Ltd.), British experts John Randall and Tony Morris rated Secretariat as the best North American racehorse of the 20th century.

Highweighted at 129 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1972, 4 pounds above second-rated Stop the Music.

Highweighted at 136 pounds on The Blood-Horse's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1973, 9 pounds more than second-rated Sham and Forego.

Highweighted at 136 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old males of 1973, 7 pounds above second-rated Sham and Forego.

Highweighted at 135 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap for turf horses of 1973, 9 pounds above second-rated Big Spruce.

As an individual

Secretariat was a massive, powerful chestnut said by many observers to resemble his sire's broodmare sire, Discovery. He had excellent overall conformation with a distinctively sloped croup. He stood 16.2 hands. He was generally even-tempered and had the reputation of being a ham who would happily pose for the camera at any opportunity. At his death, Dr. Thomas Swerczek, head pathologist at the University of Kentucky, estimated the weight of Secretariat's heart at 22 pounds compared to 8.5 pounds for the heart of a normal Thoroughbred.

As a stallion

According to Jockey Club records, Secretariat sired 341 winners (51.4%) and 54 stakes winners (8.1%) from 663 named foals; Thoroughbred Times credited Secretariat with 57 stakes winners. He had a notable influence on breeding through his maternal grandsons A.P. Indy, Chief's Crown, Choctaw Ridge, Dehere, Gone West, Storm Cat and Summer Squall. Secretariat is an Intermediate/Classic chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system. He tended to pass on his strong hindquarters and sloping croup.

Sire rankings

Per the American Racing Manual series (Daily Racing Form):

8th on the American general sire list in 1988.
Led the American broodmare sire list in 1992; 5th in 1994; 6th in 1985; 10th in 2000.
Led the American juvenile sire list in 1978.

Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):

8th on the American general sire list in 1988.
Led the American broodmare sire list in 1992; 3rd in 1996; 5th in 1995 and 1997; 6th in 1993 and 1998; 7th in 1990 and 1994; 8th in 1985 and 1999; 10th in 1991.
7th on the combined English/Irish broodmare sire list in 1984.
8th on the French broodmare sire list in 1986.

Per Thoroughbred Heritage (www.tbheritage.com):

Led the American broodmare sire list in 1992.

Notable progeny

Cinegita (USA), Dactylographer (USA), Fiesta Lady (USA), General Assembly (USA), Image of Greatness (USA), Kingston Rule (USA), Lady Winborne (USA), Lady's Secret (USA), Medaille d'Or (CAN), Risen Star (USA), Six Crowns (USA), Super Staff (USA), Terlingua (USA), Tinners Way (USA), Weekend Surprise (USA)

Notable progeny of daughters

A.P. Indy (USA), Al Mamoon (USA), Captive Miss (USA), Cherokee Rose (IRE), Chief's Crown (USA), Classic Crown (USA), Choctaw Ridge (USA), Dare and Go (USA), Dehere (USA), Go Deputy (USA), Gone West (USA), Honor Grades (USA), Irgun (USA), La Gueriere (USA), Lacovia (USA), Lambent Light (USA), Listening (USA), Perfect Soul (IRE), Pioneering (USA), Secreto (USA), Spinning Round (USA), Summer Squall (USA), Storm Cat (USA), Ta Rib (USA), Tiger Ridge (USA), Weekend Storm (USA), Well Chosen (USA)

Connections

Secretariat was bred in Virginia by Christopher Chenery at his Meadow Stud. He was owned by Meadow Stable, which passed to the control of Chenery's daughter Penny Tweedy following Chenery's death. (Following her divorces from husbands John Tweedy and Leonard Ringquist, Tweedy resumed using the name "Penny Chenery" in her later years and continued the use of her maiden name through her death in 2017.) Secretariat was trained by Lucien Laurin. He stood in Kentucky at Claiborne Farm, inheriting the stall in the stallion barn that had belonged to his sire Bold Ruler. He was humanely destroyed due to laminitis in 1989. He was buried intact at the main Claiborne horse cemetery, an honor shared with Nasrullah, Princequillo, Round Table, and Swale; all the other burials have followed the tradition of burying the head, the heart, and the hooves in order to conserve the available space.

Pedigree notes

Secretariat is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to 1967 Selima Stakes winner Syrian Sea, dam of Grade 2 winner Alada (by Riva Ridge) and third dam of 1992 American champion 3-year-old filly Saratoga Dew. Another full sister, The Bride, produced Argentine Group 2 winner At Ease (by Hoist the Flag) and is the second dam of 1990 John A. Morris Handicap (USA-G1) winner Personal Business and the third dam of three-time Japanese champion Nishino Flower. Secretariat is also a half brother to the high-class racer and sire Sir Gaylord (by Turn-to); to First Family (by First Landing), winner of the 1966 Gulfstream Park Handicap; and to Grade 1-placed Somethingfabulous (by Northern Dancer), a useful regional sire in California.

Secretariat's dam Somethingroyal (Princequillo x Imperatrice, by Caruso) is the 1973 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. He is a half sister to six stakes winners including 1948 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Scattered (by Whirlaway), dam of 1957 Alabama Stakes winner Here and There (by Middleground).

Books and media

Secretariat's official website is www.secretariat.com. The site includes text, video and photographs related to Secretariat's life as well as a store for Secretariat merchandise.
A major biography of Secretariat, Big Red of Meadow Stable, was written by William Nack and published by Arthur Fields Books in 1975. Nack updated his work in the 2002 release Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (Da Capo Press), which was re-released by Hyperion as a paperback in 2010 under the title Secretariat to coincide with the release of the Disney movie about the horse (see below).
Raymond J. Woolfe originally wrote the 1974 biography Secretariat (published by Chilton Book Company) in partnership with Elisabeth Jakab. Woolfe later expanded and re-released Secretariat in 2001 (Derrydale Press).
Secretariat, by Timothy T. Capps, is the 19th book in the Thoroughbred Legends series (2003, Eclipse Press).
“Secretariat” is Chapter 9 of The Most Glorious Crown by Marvin Drager (2005, Triumph Books).
Laurence Scanlan is the author of two books on Secretariat: The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse (2007, Thomas Dunne) and The Big Red Horse: The Story of Secretariat and the Loyal Groom Who Loved Him (2010, HarperCollins). Both focus on the relationship between Secretariat and his devoted groom, Eddie Sweat.
Walt Disney Studios released the live-action film Secretariat on October 8, 2010.
Secretariat's Meadow: The Land, the Family, the Legend provides the back story of the farm where Secretariat was bred and raised through the eyes of Christopher Chenery's granddaughter Kate Chenery Tweedy. A Silver Medalist in the Sports/Fitness/Recreation category of the 2011 Independent Publishers Book Awards, the book was released by Dementi Milestone Publishing in 2010.
Secretariat's record-breaking Derby win is the subject of “The Legend of Big Red,” the first chapter in The 10 Best Kentucky Derbies. Written by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horse, the book was published by Eclipse Press in 2005.
Secretariat is the ninth of the 13 American Triple Crown winners profiled in Edward Bowen's The Lucky 13: The Winners of America's Triple Crown of Horse Racing (2019, Lyon Press).
Secretariat is one of 75 stallions profiled in Tony Morris' Thoroughbred Stallions (1990, The Crowood Press).
Secretariat is profiled in Chapter 10 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2012 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Secretariat is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
Secretariat is one of 50 Thoroughbreds profiled in Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds. Written by racing historian Jim Bolus with illustrations and commentary by noted equine artist Richard Stone Reeves, the book was released by The Blood-Horse, Inc., in 1994.
Video clips of Secretariat in action can be accessed at Walter Lazary's Historical Horse Racing (https://www.historical-horse-racing-lazmannick.com/1a-americas-best-turf-horses-of-the-20th-century/).
The excellent article series "Children of Secretariat," by Patricia McQueen, can be accessed at Thoroughbred Racing Commentary (https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/children-secretariat/).

Fun facts

Secretariat's Belmont Stakes was ranked #4 in Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, a review of racing in the 20th century compiled by The Blood-Horse and released in 2006. It was also ranked at #13 on Sports Illustrated's March 8, 2016, list of the 100 greatest moments in sports history.
Secretariat became the first equine inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in March 2007.
ESPN ranked Secretariat 35th among the top 100 North American athletes of the 20th century, the highest rating given to any non-human.
At the time of his syndication for $6.08 million, Secretariat was actually worth more ounce for ounce than gold.
Secretariat appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek and TIME during his 3-year-old season.
In most American horse races, the horses run the opening quarter-mile fastest and slow down thereafter. Secretariat accelerated with every quarter-mile of his Kentucky Derby, running fastest of all at the end of the race.
Secretariat is a link in one of two three-generation chains of Preakness Stakes winners in American racing history. His sire Bold Ruler won the 1957 Preakness, and he himself sired 1988 winner Risen Star. The other such chain begins with 1945 Preakness winner Polynesian, who sired 1953 winner Native Dancer, in turn the sire of 1966 winner Kauai King.
The Secretariat Stakes ran from 1974-2020 at Arlington Park. It was carded for 3-year-olds and was a Grade 1 event for most of its existence.
The U.S. Postal Service honored Secretariat by placing his image on a 33-cent stamp released October 16, 1999.
The annual Bourbon County Secretariat Festival was first held in 2007. It runs during the third weekend in September in Paris, Kentucky.
The annual Secretariat Birthday Celebration is a highlight of the Virginia Horse Festival, held each spring at The Meadow Event Park.
The annual Secretariat Vox Populi Award was founded by Penny Chenery in 2010. It is awarded to the horse judged to have brought the most excitement and attraction to the sport of horse racing in North America. Its first recipient was the great mare Zenyatta.
The New York Turf Writers Association presents its annual Secretariat Award to the horse judged to have accomplished the most notable feats in New York racing during the year.
The Meadow Historic District, part of The Meadow Event Park, was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register on March 19, 2015, and to the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 2015. The landmark includes the barn where Secretariat was foaled and the training barn where he was broken to saddle.
A horseshoe worn by Secretariat during the running of the 1973 Kentucky Derby was auctioned for US$80,736 through a Lelands.com sports memorabilia auction that closed August 17, 2018, eclipsing the previous record of nearly US$37,000 for a horseshoe. The proceeds went to benefit the Secretariat Foundation, a non-profit created by Penny Chenery to assist the Thoroughbred industry in the areas of research, rehabilitation, retirement and recognition.

Last updated: August 27, 2022