There has been debate by many sports historians on which event was the greatest in sports history. Some say it was when America defeated the Soviets in hockey in Lake placid in 1980. Others say it was when the Rangers won the Stanley cup. Some radicals even say it was Evil Knievel's crash at Caesar's palace in 1967.
Historians around the globe agree on one thing. Secretariats performance at the Belmont stakes in 1973 was one of the most spectacular sporting events in history. On a beautiful day in Belmont New York, Secretariat raced into the record books. The beauty and magic of this race was that he was faster in every quarter than the previous quarter. His record still stands today. Every triple crown winner since has been compared to Secretariat and their times are two to three seconds slower. He was the greatest Thoroughbred to ever live.
Watching this race from start to finish and hearing Chic Andersons call of this iconic race still gives me chills. I grew up around race horses, as my father had many race horses and instead of going to Disney World we went to racetracks. As I got older, I remember vaguely being at the Belmont stakes with my father watching this iconic race. We debated for years after if Secretariat had taken a drug called Lasix. At that time there was no way to test for it but his performance indicate perhaps he was on Lasix. The jockey, Ronnie Turcotte, road Secretariat into the history books and never once took out his whip. Big Red as Secretariat was known was "moving like a tremendous machine" and defeated Sham, the number two horse in grandiose fashion. Sham never raced again. It truly was a spectacular showing by the legendary iconic Secretariat. There's no denying what Secretariat did on that day was worthy of the title of one of the greatest sporting events in history. He won the Belmont by 31 lengths. Today with all the advances in feeding and training a horse has never come close to beating his record. I truly believe that record will stand forever.
Historians around the globe agree on one thing. Secretariats performance at the Belmont stakes in 1973 was one of the most spectacular sporting events in history. On a beautiful day in Belmont New York, Secretariat raced into the record books. The beauty and magic of this race was that he was faster in every quarter than the previous quarter. His record still stands today. Every triple crown winner since has been compared to Secretariat and their times are two to three seconds slower. He was the greatest Thoroughbred to ever live.
Watching this race from start to finish and hearing Chic Andersons call of this iconic race still gives me chills. I grew up around race horses, as my father had many race horses and instead of going to Disney World we went to racetracks. As I got older, I remember vaguely being at the Belmont stakes with my father watching this iconic race. We debated for years after if Secretariat had taken a drug called Lasix. At that time there was no way to test for it but his performance indicate perhaps he was on Lasix. The jockey, Ronnie Turcotte, road Secretariat into the history books and never once took out his whip. Big Red as Secretariat was known was "moving like a tremendous machine" and defeated Sham, the number two horse in grandiose fashion. Sham never raced again. It truly was a spectacular showing by the legendary iconic Secretariat. There's no denying what Secretariat did on that day was worthy of the title of one of the greatest sporting events in history. He won the Belmont by 31 lengths. Today with all the advances in feeding and training a horse has never come close to beating his record. I truly believe that record will stand forever.
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