Secretariat.com

I'll never forget the 1973 Belmont Stakes.
First, you must understand America and us Baby Boomers at that time. We were getting older. We had our doubts about Santa, Easter Bunny, etc.. America had very little, if anything, to be proud of.
Vietnam, Watergate, A President resigning, heck even the Green Bay Packers could not have a winning season!
Then along comes this red horse with the checkered head cloth. About everything he did he did it HIS way, and like any proud American he won doing it his own way. Everywhere he set foot a track record would fall. He had bombed the sacred 2 minute barrier in the 1 1/4 mile Kentucky Derby. He still owns that record. And he would have another in the Preakness, had there not been problems with the Pimlico clocks. But The Belmont, the 1.5 mile Belmont Stakes is where he would leave his mark for eternity. Even though the field was tiny, all America stopped mowing their lawns, grilling their hot dogs, etc. We ALL NEEDED to see him and see him do something great. Just to remind everyone that America can still dig down and perform miracles when they were needed. I won't bore you with the entire race, but I must mention a couple items, to give those who were not yet born an understanding of what America's favorite son did that Saturday afternoon. As soon as the race started there was simply NO DOUBT who was going to win. What he would accomplish while doing it was another matter. After 3/4 of a mile, only HALF of the huge Belmont stakes distance, the public at home and at the track was jolted by announcer "Chic"Johnson, his voice a full octave higher than normal and he was so awe struck, I for one wondered if the Second Coming had just occurred in the Belmont booth! Then the words slowly sunk in, "Secretariat has just DESTROYED the Belmont track record for 6 furlongs!' ( Dang! I told myself I wasn't going to cry recalling these once in ten millenniums events. Guess I lied to myself). With another 3/4 of a mile to go in the Belmont, Secretariat has SHATTERED the Belmont track record for 6 furlongs!! I for one ran my fingers in my ears. I just knew I did not hear that correctly. Oh but we ALL did. And two of the horses foolhardy enough to TRY to stay close to him ended up walking off the track, as the lactic acid in their bodies would not allow them to run one more step. They were totally exhausted. But he was not done! Not by a long shot. We watched him run down the never ending backstretch. And I dare say ANYONE who heard Chic's words that day will NEVER forget them. As he entered the turn, Chic yelled out for every American to hear:"AND SECRETARIAT IS MOVING LIKE A TREMENDOUS MACHINE!!" He exited the fourth turn about the same time the remaining horses were entering the third turn. The only question remaining was by how much would Big Red win? Lengths become meaningless after a certain distance. Nobody refers the distance between Earth and the Sun in lengths. After he crossed the finish line, and the crowd gave one tumultuous cheer, it started to get quiet, as everyone wanted to hear the time. Had these other champions been adversely effected all at once, somehow? Then Chic gathered himself up and with a cracking voice, he said in effect: "We have just witnessed something that has NEVER happened before. Secretariat has run the 1 1/2 miles in... (one more pause to be certain this was correct. It was) Secretariat has broken the WORLD'S RECORD for the distance of 1 1/2 miles, completing the distance in 2:24 FLAT!" That is two full seconds faster than the previous track record. His margin of victory estimated and later confirmed at 31 lengths. That time of 2:24 has never been equaled, let alone surpassed. In just a couple more Belmont's it will have been One Half of a Century since that day in June. Fifty, (50 years), and it has never been equaled on dirt.
As everyone left Belmont that day, we all stood a little bit straighter, carried or heads a bit higher. Yes, America has had some terrible events occur in the last couple years, but do not EVER give up on The Stars and Stripes! No matter how downtrodden we feel, how badly things have gone, you just never know where the next American Hero will rise up and even the score! All I can say in closing is I am glad there is not a Skype camera here. Recounting that unbelievable day in June of 1973 has me looking like a blubbering fool. But, in this case I am not the least bit ashamed of it. This is about Secretariat.. one of the Greatest Americans of the 20th Century!!