He never broke well, except in his greatest performance. People tried to describe him as a closer, but he was not. He won on the lead, he stalked on a rare occasion, he could make a move on the outside, but he could also skim the rail. Never intimidated, twice in his career he squeezed between two horses in a stretch drive to win easily, and each time he did it against stakes competition. He thrived in the slop, twice coming very close to stakes or track records splashing home in it. He was built unlike any thoroughbred has ever been; he looked like a quarter horse, and yet he won, and won impressively, races ranging from six furlongs all the way to a mile and five-eighths, and anyone who saw him race thought he could have handled two mile races with ease. The longer the race, the better he was. Running on grass was second nature to him, and he beat older grass champions with shocking ease. His jockey rarely went to the whip, but when he did, he responded. Perhaps the most amazing thing, in retrospect, about him was that he was at his absolute best when the spotlight shined brightest upon him. He broke world records pulling up two times in his career, something no other horse has ever done one time. Setbacks did come to him, but he was gallant even in defeat, and always gave his best. After he died his autopsy revealed to the world his gargantuan motor, two and a half times larger than normal. But that heart wouldn't have made a bit of difference were it not for one thing: this horse loved to run, and when he was right, he could run farther and faster, and with more dazzling power than anyone has ever seen in a thoroughbred, before or since.
Charles Hatton, the turf writer who coined the phrase The Triple Crown, had actually seen the previous incarnation of equine perfection, the great Man o' War, and he said there was no comparison, so did Hollie Hughes. These men had seen it all, and they were both so stunned by this chestnut colt born on March 30, 1970, that not only were they sure that he was the best they'd ever seen, they were sure that he was the best that anyone would ever see. Like Man o' War, he was retired at three, leaving people in awe just thinking about him racing at four and five. His name was SECRETARIAT, and he is, quite simply, without peer. When watching him at his best, it's like watching Babe Ruth hit the first roof shot homerun at Comiskey Park, Michael Jordan hit the shot against Craig Ehlo, and Muhammad Ali knockout George Foreman.
Because he is most fondly remembered his earth-shattering performance in the Belmont Stakes, I'm going to share it with you here, but don't make the mistake of thinking he was only great that day. Light continuously shined upon him, but on June 9, 1973, that light exploded outward, overwhelming the entire sport of horse racing. It was a a supernova, on par with Bobby Thomson's "Shot heard round the world", something that will never be seen again.
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I like Man O' War.He was amazing.Only losing ONE race;by a NOSE.HE was awsome.
-Booboo
yo you ya a mean running star who made moillions of people happy PS i LOVE Joe Talamo more than you and i know alot more thanyou about him and horses SO HA to you Tesha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't really care how much you know about horses and Joe and you don't know how much i know about horses or Talamo? Who do you think you are acting like that? All I said was that I met a lady who said she had owned Secratariat's brother and she said he was mean so shut your mouth and Joe Talamo was never part of the conversation! Keep your issues to yourself, you must really be bored because you have to find and excuse to argue on something stupid like how much you 'claim' to know about horses and Joe, seems to me like you don't got no life except to argue with me so you can go jump off of a bridge or what ever but leave your comments to yourself.
Tesha
all i said was ,well,I , it,hey,sorry I just lost the best horse in the world to me and he saved my life so its has been hard and i think things and when I do say them they sound mean.i hope you are not too mad if you are i am 5OO% sorry. you are so right I did go looking for trouble and I am guessing you know more about Talamo.PS my horse was a bay colt his name was Runner also he was 4 and died of a break in his back legs and he saved my life by screaming about a fire in the barn we were bolth in.
I don't really care how much either of us know about Joe, it's really his own business not ours, thanks for apologizing, I feel so bad about your horse, I would be like devestated if I lost my little pony, Sassy, she's my life, gosh that really has to be hard... just try to keep your frustrations to yourself and not at other players. Hope things go well for you.
Tesha
you know what i am not even going to think about Joe because well i do not know.also i will try really hard thanks for excepting my sorry.hope we can be friends!!
from Anna Harly
That leaves only 1 horse and that is " Colin " who was 15 for 15 The horse was never beaten on the track, But yet it can be said and has been many times Man O' War was the best of all time . 20 of 21 and never turned a race down match race or any other.
secratariat, As a horsemen like you.. I feel secratariat raced with no one that year in New York what was it a 5 horse feld? And the only horse that was not a alw horse was " sham " Who they said went into the race coming off a 1/4 crack. Yes he set a all time recored in the race but he was un challenged and left alone for most of the race. I wounder if he was pushed the hole way if he would have helfd up? He was a great horse best of all time i don't think so. This is nothing but a opion no disrespect at all here.
Secretariat was a monster, a freak , a great horse. But i'd like all of you to pay some attention to a horse running in Europe at the moment, Sea the Stars...he's possibly one of the best of all time. he's won the guineas, the derby, the eclipse, the international, the irish champion stakes. that's five gr1's in as many months in distances from 8f to 12f..he goes in the prix de l'arc this weekend...and it will take some hell of a horse to beat him. I just know that sometimes stateside ye dismiss our European champions but this colt is one of the best ever and I'd like ye to enjoy him while he's racing because he'll only run twice more . He's a horse that's worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Secretariat and in my Irish biased opinion I'd class him higher. If he goes for the BC Classic he'll win it once he travels over in his box ok. He's not a racehorse, he's a phenomenon and I'd like ye to watch him so in 20 years when we're debating which were the greatest horses that you'll have memories of his running to help you with your argument.
I think the greatest race horse is Barbaro but in the Preaness in 2006 his jockey Edagar Prado felt something wronge with him so he pulled him up and Barbaro's leg was fractured. they had too put him down .poor Barbaro but that is just part of horse racing jockeys and horses get hurt.
I completely agree that he was the best EVER! There wil never be another like him. R.I.P Secretariat. (a.k.a. Super Horse)
I think the greatest racehorse that ever lived was definitely Man O' War no doubt. Sure Secretariat was great, but I don't think he was as good as Man O' War. Man O' War won all of his races with complete EASE. In most of his races he won with his head in his chest from being held so much. And he didn't even try when he beat Hoodwink by 100 lengths. Nobody will ever be greater than Big Red- in my opinion!
I say the are both in a league of their own,just imagine if they where both in the same racing seasons,that would have been pure amazing,but God can only put one great race horse on the planet at a time ;)
-Bailey-
MAN THAT HORSE CAN RUN HE WAS OUTCLASSING THE FIELD IN THE BLEMONT STAKES WHERE HE WON THE TRIPLE CROWN. I CHOSE THIS HORSE TO SIRE MY FIRST HORSE ON THIS WEBSITE AND CODYT HAS BEEN UNREAL SO FAR. HE COMES FROM GOOD STOCK.
No doubt spectacular bid was the greatest horse i ever seen. 26 wins in 30 starts. Spectacular Bid won 13 Gr. I stakes at 10 different tracks.He set or equaled eight records at seven different tracks. i was 15 in 1980 when i saw him race at arlington park in the washington park handicap.
he coulda shoulda woulda won the triple crown if not for jockey error .
so i would dare say he was better than secretariat.
My Grandmother was alive when she saw Secretariat run. She said he was beautiful. He was just a bolt out the gates. She also said so was Seabuiscut. She told me many storys of him. I watch races on youtube. I watch the ones with him only. I agree, he was beautiful.
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