Secretariat Wins Triple Crown: A Racehorse Legend Is Born
Secretariat's heart weighed 22 pounds. A normal horse's weighs seven. Vets discovered it after he died in 1989, and suddenly everything made sense. In the 1973 Belmont Stakes, he didn't just win — he won by 31 lengths, pulling away from the field like they'd stopped moving. Jockey Ron Turcotte stopped riding and just held on. Owner Penny Chenery had nearly sold him in a coin flip to cover estate taxes. She won the toss. And that impossible heart carried him to three records that have outlasted every horse since.
June 9, 1973
53 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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