America’s beloved Secretariat, the legendary Triple Crown winner whose records still stand today, gets bigger than life honor.

Secretariat, the champion and most beloved thoroughbred racehorse of all time, finally has been honored with a bronze statue worthy of the incredible accomplishments of such a super horse.

A magnificent new statue has been installed in the home of Bluegrass racing, Lexington, Kentucky, to honor the Triple Crown champion of 1973.  Today, forty-six years after the astonishing success of Secretariat, many of the world records Secretariat achieved remain unbroken, a testament of the superiority of the champion.

Renowned sculptor Jocelyn Russell created a larger-than-life monument of Triple Crown racehorse Secretariat.  Known as the “people’s champion” Secretariat completed the most amazing Triple Crown record in history.

   

Nearly 50 years ago he galloped memorably into our lives, muscles pulsing hard beneath a coat of brilliant red, hooves stretching farther forward in a stride longer than any horse before or since. He was a wonder, Secretariat, a vision of the perfect horse who left us all too soon.

Just as Secretariat was red, or chestnut, in real life, his bronze monument bears a red patina. He could not look more lifelike, which was Russell’s concern all along when she accepted this commission 18 months ago.

The artist said many times that she knew her audience would be a tough sell, in the heart of horse country.

Virginia-bred Secretariat’s final home at Claiborne Farm Kentucky just up the road from Lexington in the heart of thoroughbred horse farms, is a revered stop for Kentucky horse fans ever since Secretariat retired from racing in 1973 until his death in 1989 at age 19.

A reprint of an earlier article of the life of Secretariat follows.

Kentucky Derby Countdown - Secretariat 1973 - The Greatest Triple Crown and Thoroughbred Champion of all Time

Secretariat - The People's Champion

It is Kentucky Derby week and once again time to share our top thoroughbred stories of the legends of Horse Racing.  Our next offering is the greatest champion in our history, Secretariat.

I had occasion to see this magnificent horse in Kentucky and to watch the three races along with millions of Americans as Secretariat not only made history but shattered records every time he stepped on a the track at a Triple Crown race.

You should take a few minutes to watch the three videos showing the Triple Crown that year, 1973, when Secretariat became an American legend. Nothing has ever been achieved close to his performance before or since that spring.

Although Seattle Slew and Affirmed both won the Triple Crown the same decade of the 1970's the performance by Secretariat stands alone in the history books.

Enjoy a flashback to the most incredible six minutes in horse racing history.

The Kentucky Derby - 1973



The Preakness Stakes - 1973



The Belmont Stakes - 1973



Secretariat’s Record-Breaking Run, 46 Years Later

(Originally posted 2017)

By Barbara Maranzani

Forty-six years ago Secretariat galloped to victory at the Belmont Stakes, capturing the final leg of the Triple Crown and becoming the first horse in 25 years to achieve one of sport’s most difficult feats. In a career that spanned just 21 races over the course of a year, the 3-year-old thoroughbred captured the hearts and minds of a nation weary from the soon-to-be-ended Vietnam War and ongoing Watergate investigations. Four decades after Secretariat entered the record books, check out eight surprising facts about one of America’s most famous athletes.

1. Secretariat’s fate rested on a coin toss.

In the fall of 1969, stable owners Ogden Phipps and Penny Chenery met in the offices of the New York Racing Association for what turned out to be one of the most important coin tosses in sports history. The winner would receive the recently born foal of the sire Bold Ruler and the mare Hasty Matelda, while the loser would get a second foal from Bold Ruler with a different mare, Somethingroyal. Phipps won the coin toss, but Chenery won for the record books: In March of the following year Somethinroyal gave birth to a red chestnut colt with three distinctive white “socks” on his legs–Secretariat. Chenery went on to fame as the legendary horse’s owner, while the Phipps family, successful breeders for six generations, didn’t win the Kentucky Derby until May of this year, when Orb captured the 139th Race for the Roses.

2. Secretariat was named Horse of the Year twice.

After losing his very first race, at Aqueduct on July 4, 1972, Secretariat lost just once more in his 2-year-old campaign, and even that was due to a controversial disqualification in a race. At the end of that season, he was unanimously voted the winner of the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year—the first 2-year-old to be so honored. In fact, only one other 2-year-old has won the award: Favorite Trick, in 1997. He was a shoo-in the following year, when his Triple Crown wins earned him top honors in every major racing award.

3. Nerves were on edge when Secretariat lost the run-up to the Derby.

Secretariat easily won the first two races as a 3-year-old, before running a disappointing third in the Wood Memorial, his final tune-up before Churchill Downs. With many in the racing world dismissing his chances at the Derby, Secretariat’s owner and trainers believed that their horse’s showing at the Wood had little to do with his stamina or possible nerves. Just days before the race, an abscess had been discovered on the top of the colt’s mouth, leaving him in severe pain. While some prognosticators now touting another horse, Sham, a half-cousin of Secretariat’s, as the Derby favorite, Secretariat’s team successfully lanced the painful infection and the horse was soon on the mend.

4. Secretariat set records that are still standing today.

As the 1973 Derby began, Secretariat broke out of the gate last, before quickly moving up on the field. Accelerating with each quarter-mile segment, he crossed the finish line at 1:59 2/5th, a new (and still standing) course record. In the 40 years since, only one other horse, Monarchos, has finished in under 2 minutes. Two weeks later at the Preakness he once again raced to catch up with the rest of the field before winning easily. Though his victory was never in doubt, his official time remained a point of controversy for almost 40 years. Members of the Daily Racing Form had clocked him at 1:53 2/5th, a new track record, while officials at Pimlico posted his official time as 1:54 2/5th. It wasn’t until June 2012 that the Maryland Racing Commission, using a forensic review of the race, determined that not only had Secretariat set a course record in 1973, he had been even faster than previously believed—1:53 flat.

5. Secretariat was a media superstar.

Secretariat-mania reached a fever pitch as he prepared for the final leg of the Triple Crown: The week before the Belmont, Sports Illustrated, Time and Newsweek magazines featured him on their covers in the same week—an unheard of accomplishment that has never been repeated. After his victory, demand for the thoroughbred’s time grew go great that his owners hired the William Morris Agency to oversee his public appearances, surely making him the rare horse with a Hollywood agent. His fame continued long after his career ended. He was inducted into the Horseracing Hall of Fame just a year after winning the Triple Crown. In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative Secretariat stamp, making him the first equine to earn the honor; and ESPN named him to their list of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century.

6. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a jaw-dropping margin.

Racing against only four other horses in New York, Secretariat was considered such a favorite that no third-place “show” bets were accepted on him. As was the case at both the Derby and the Preakness, Secretariat faced off against Sham, but this time his cousin was unable to truly challenge him, finishing last. Secretariat, however, opened an enormous lead on the field that kept growing with every stride. By the time he crossed the finish line in yet another record-setting time of 2:24, he was a full 31 lengths in front of the second-place finisher. Secretariat had become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown. Rather than trade in their winning tickets (which would have netted just $.20 in profit), most people who bet on Secretariat decided to keep them as souvenirs instead.

7. Secretariat bailed out his financially beleaguered owners even before he won the Triple Crown.

Helen “Penny” Chenery had inherited her father’s Meadow Stable in Virginia following his death in 1973, but the organization had begun losing money years earlier. Desperate to shore up the family’s shaky finances, Chenery agreed to a “syndicating” agreement with Seth Hancock, the new owner of one of the country’s most prestigious breeding operations, Kentucky Claiborne Farm. In February 1973, four months before his history-making victory at Churchill Downs, it was announced that 32 breeding “shares” had been sold at a record-breaking price of $190,000 a share, netting Claiborne Farms and Meadow Stable more than $6 million—$30 million in today’s money.

8. Secretariat was euthanized at just 19 years old.

Secretariat’s record off the track was not as successful as it had been on it. Put out to stud in late 1973, he sired nearly 600 foals, including one horse that sold for more than $1 million at auction—but nearly all of his male offspring failed miserably at the racetrack. Secretariat’s grandsires fared a bit better, with grandsons A.P. Indy a Horse of the Year winner and great-granddaughter Rags to Riches the 2007 Belmont Stakes champion. In the fall of 1989, the 19-year-old champion developed laminitis, an incurable hoof condition; he was euthanized in October of that year.

First the Kentucky Derby - now the Preakness - another X Files like day at the track in Triple Crown Racing

A new thoroughbred hero is born

After the most bizarre Kentucky Derby in history where the winner lost and the loser won in the first disqualification in the 145 years of the Run for the Roses, we thought those mischievous Derby devils would leave the Preakness alone.  It was just not to be.

Bodexpress at birth

You see, the last horse to qualify for the Derby was one Bodexpress, and after two horses scratched (dropped out), leaving Bodexpress in the Number 20 position.  He finished Number 13 in the race, a rather ominous omen heading into the Preakness.

Bodexpress, a substitute for Derby

Then the Derby had the near disastrous finish as horses were bumping off each other like bowling pins from a strike as they thundered toward the finish.  In the end Maximum Security, the winner, was disqualified, the first time in history, and Country House, an unknown 45-1 long shot who finished second was named winner.

There was an official inquiry and after more than 20 minutes, the winner was disqualified.  Because the finish is being contested in court, Maximum Security owners decided not to run in the Preakness, a grueling two weeks after the Derby.  Then the eventual Derby winner was disqualified from the Preakness because of a cough.  The top two Derby finishers were not even going to run in the Preakness.

In the Preakness, a new Thoroughbred Hero of the Twitter age suddenly emerged when the 13th place Derby horse, Bodexpress, tossed his rider out of the starting gate as the other horses broke out.  Not considering losing a rider a big deal, the feisty Bodexpress took off anyway and before long was catching up with the main pack heading into the last turn.

The Bodexpress Preakness riderless ride

He might have even caught the leaders but a track rider tried to pull him from the pack and the Bod Master resumed his riderless race across the finish line.  You really must watch the race video, hearing the stunned announcer trying to explain why a riderless horse was in the race.  The photos i this story tell the rest.

With or without a rider that thoroughbred came to race and race he did, not only finishing in the middle of the pack, but went on to make another circle of the entire racetrack before finally being caught by the officials.

In the end, the very horse that was bumped and knocked out of contention in the Derby by Maximum Security, War of Will, would finally get a well deserved Triple Crown trophy.

         

Kentucky Derby Countdown - Feel up to betting the Derby - So just what do the odds mean and how much do they pay?

Ever since time began and people showed up, they have been trying to figure out how much they win based on the odds.

I mean, if the odds were ten to one that Moses dropped the Ten Commandments, then how much did you win?

So here is exactly what you will win if you bet $2.00 on a horse to win the Kentucky Derby.

ODDS	PAYS		ODDS	PAYS		ODDS	PAYS
1-5	$2.40		8-5	$5.20		6-1	$14.00
2-5	$2.80		9-5	$5.60		7-1	$16.00
1-2	$3.00		2-1	$6.00		8-1	$18.00
3-5	$3.20		5-2	$7.00		9-1	$20.00
4-5	$3.60		3-1	$8.00		10-1	$22.00
1-1	$4.00		7-2	$9.00		15-1	$32.00
6-5	$4.40		4-1	$10.00		20-1	$42.00
7-5	$4.80		9-2	$11.00		30-1	$62.00
3-2	$5.00		5-1	$12.00		50-1	$102.00 .

For those of you into deep-diving into the facts behind the facts, here is the rest of the story.

Fractional Odds Explained

Let’s finally move onto fractional odds, which are most common in the UK, as well as horseracing.

These are the funny-looking odds – like 9/5 or 1/2 – that you see when you flip on the Kentucky Derby

These are the funny-looking odds—like 9/5 or 1/2—that you see when you flip on the Kentucky Derby. The first thing to know is that, if you want to say fractional odds, like 9/5 or 1/2, aloud, you would say “nine to five” or “one to two.”

The number on the left (9) dictates how many times the relevant outcome could fail; whereas the number on the right (5) tells us how many times the outcome would succeed.

Fractional Odds in Action

Let’s say Golovkin hypothetically receives the 8/13 odds. These odds mean that, if this fight happened 21 times (8 + 13), Golovkin would lose 8 bouts and win 13.

To calculate the implied probability of Golovkin winning the fight, take the number of times he is expected to win (13) and divide it by the total number of trials (21). This results in a 61.9% chance for Golovkin to win the fight.

The formula, plus what it looks like after we input Golovkin’s odds:

To calculate Alvarez’s probability of winning the match, we do the same thing. Let’s say, hypothetically, odds are 11/8, meaning if the fight happened 19 times (11 + 8), Alvarez would lose 11 times and win 8 times.

Therefore, the probability of Alvarez winning the fight is calculated by dividing 8 (the number of times he would win) by 19 (the total number of trials). Alvarez has a 42.1% chance of winning the fight.

Our formula would look like this:

Remember what we said earlier about the “juice” or the “vig”? This is the cut the bookmakers take. It means that that the implied probabilities of both outcomes added together is going to be greater than 100%.  

We haven’t even factored in the probability of a draw yet, and the sum of the probabilities is already over 100% (61.9 + 42.1 = 104). You’ve got to pay to play, unfortunately.

If you want to bet on Golovkin to win the fight (8/13 odds), your winnings are calculated by multiplying your wager by the quotient of 8 ÷ 13 (0.615). If you wish to bet $10, then your winnings will be $6.15 (10 x 0.615). That number is added to your wager (your “return” or how much money you receive back). In this case, you’ll receive $16.15 back ($10 + $6.15).

Here’s what the formula looks like, plus what it would look like after we input Golovkin’s odds:

If you want to bet your $10 on Alvarez, multiply that sum by the quotient of 11 ÷ 8 (1.375). Your winnings would be $13.75 ($10 x 1.375).

Your return would be $23.75 ($10 initial stake + your winnings of $13.75). Below is how to solve that using the formula.

There is a greater payout when betting on Alvarez, the “underdog” in this fight. Betting on underdogs in any sport typically allows you to risk less in order to win more. Remember, however, that there’s a reason they are the underdog, whether it’s a rookie season, there’s been a recent injury, or they face serious competition.

If you side with Golovkin, the “favorite,” you’ll need to risk more to get the same return.

Let’s See What You’ve Learned

Just like we did with American odds, use the formulae you’ve learned (and the fractional odds below) to answer the following questions:

·         Probability of Real Madrid Winning:

·         Probability of a Draw:

·         Probability of Juventus Winning:

·         Winnings if betting $10 on Real Madrid:

·         Return if betting $10 on Real Madrid:

·         Winnings if betting $10 on a Draw:

·         Return if betting $10 on a Draw:

·         Winnings if betting $10 on Juventus:

·         Return if betting $10 on Juventus:

Answers (all percentages are rounded to one decimal place):

·         Probability of Real Madrid Winning: 36.4%

·         Probability of a Draw: 31.3%

·         Probability of Juventus Winning: 35.7%

·         Winnings if betting $10 on Real Madrid: $17.50

·         Return if betting $10 on Real Madrid: $27.50

·         Winnings if betting $10 on a Draw: $22.00

·         Return if betting $10 on a Draw: $32.00

·         Winnings if betting $10 on Juventus: $18.00

·         Return if betting $10 on Juventus: $28.00