Super Horse

Secretariat in front by 31 lengths

There have only been 11 Triple Crown winners. One of the most renowned Triple Crown winners was Secretariat. He won The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness by 2 and a half lengths, nosing Sham out of the competition. Sham was his main competition. At The Belmont, Secretariat won by 31 lengths. That is still a record today. Sham came in last out of the 5 horses that ran in The Belmont. Secretariat became famous for his Triple Crown win. He was on the cover of Newsweek, Time,  and Sports Illustrated all in the same week. This is highly unusual for a racehorse. Secretariat only lost 5 races in his career. He lost his maiden race (a racehorse's first race), The Champagne Stakes, The Wood Memorial, The Whitney Stakes, and The Woodward Memorial. Some people say he lost The Wood Memorial, The Whitney Stakes, and The Woodward because they all start with 'w.' 

On the first Saturday in May of 1973, Secretariat would be running in the Run for the Roses. He ran the mile and a quarter in 1:59 2/5. He beat his old rival, Sham. Secretariat won by 2 lengths. Two weeks later in Pimlico, Secretariat won The Preakness Stakes. He won by 2 and a half lengths, and once again he beat Sham. Secretariat broke the track record with a time of 1:53. After winning two legs of the Triple Crown, Secretariat was declared a Super Horse. History took place in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by an amazing 31 lengths. He set a new world time, 2:24 for the mile and a half. With his win, he became the 9th winner of the Triple Crown. The first since Citation in 1948. After his Triple Crown win, Secretariat only raced 6 more times before he retired. In Secretariat's stud years, he produced about 663 foals in about 13-14 years. Secretariat didn't foal any winners, he foaled 6 great offspring in his whole stud career. Secretariat died October 4th, 1989 of laminitis. Laminitis is an in-curable hoof disease. He had to be out down. It was October 4th, 1989, that he was given lethal injection, and that racing would lose one of its greatest horses ever.