Ron Turcotte

In His Own Words

Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte was the definitive source for first-hand knowledge and personal experiences riding Secretariat (as well as Riva Ridge). Ron was a vital part of the success of the Meadow Racing Stable, and his contributions were invaluable in attaining the unprecedented heights of Big Red's record-breaking 1973 Triple Crown.

Secretariat.com is honored to provide viewers with Ron's remembrances and unique insights in the words that only he could share. Please enjoy a selection of topics and direct comments from this legendary jockey.

"It was love at first ride"

~ Ron Turcotte

Aug. 22, 2025 - We mourn the passing of Ron Turcotte, please click here for more information

Do you think we’ll ever see another Secretariat?

Not in my lifetime, I don’t. To me, he was just the perfect horse. He had it all! He had the temperament, the ability, the soundness, and the versatility. He could run any way you wanted him to. He could run on the lead, come from behind or lay in the middle of the field. He was bold and would come between horses, on the rail or stay lapped on other horses on the outside.

I could make more than one run with him like we showed in the Preakness. Your average horse has one or two runs in him and you have to be careful not to use it too early. With Secretariat, nobody could predict my strategy; I could really run the race the way it came up. I didn’t need a pace setter. We could set our own pace like we did in the Belmont and the Man O’ War Stakes, where we just played with Tentam, letting him come to us then pulling away to discourage him. He could sustain his runs longer than any horse I’ve ever ridden like he did in the Hopeful at Saratoga as a 2-year-old.

He could run on a fast track, he could run in the slop or the mud, he could run on the turf whether it was hard, firm, soft or deep turf. You may say I’m prejudiced but of all the great horses I have ridden, he stands out. He was the toughest I’ve ever seen. He could take hard training and even thrived on it. And he still holds all the Triple Crown records. Secretariat loved to compete, and he just loved to run.

You have said the Preakness was your favorite race in the 1973 Triple Crown. Why?

I knew he was ready to run because he had worked 5/8 of a mile in :57 and pulled up 3/4 in 1:10 the Sunday prior. Lucien and I talked before the big day and he'd given me free hand to use my own judgment and reactions during the race. I had no orders or restrictions on how to ride Secretariat. The riding decisions were mine. Secretariat was well prepared and ready to go — I know Penny (Chenery) later told the media "Ronnie rode him just like we planned,” but I can tell you that the plan was just between Secretariat and me!

They call it "The Move" -- you taking Secretariat wide on the first turn and into the lead. It was totally unprecedented and unexpected. Why?

Unexpected yes, but not unprecedented. Everyone seems to be afraid of the first turn at Pimlico. If you get caught on the outside, you could end up in the neighborhood parking lot. But I was familiar with the horse and with the track, and I'd made that move before when I rode at Pimlico regularly in 1963 and 1964.

In the Preakness, they tried to slow the pace. It was my chance to surprise the rest of the field and catch everyone sleeping. All I had to do was chirp to him on the first turn, then stay quiet and in motion and try to be part of him. I knew Secretariat was a horse of many moves, and I could get him to settle down again; that's the type of horse he was. After we cleared the field, I dropped him to the rail to set my own pace the rest of the way. I had a lot of horse and nobody could catch us.

What did you think about the alleged "official" time of 1:55 that flashed after the race?

I didn’t believe it. When I got upstairs to the press box, I told (Daily Racing Form writer) Joe Hirsch, "There is no way this could be right, this horse raced much faster than that." Then he told me the Form clocker had the time as a little over 1:53. I said, "That's more like it." I could have gone faster, but I was already thinking about the Belmont.

In 2012, when I heard the Maryland Racing Commission corrected the official time to 1:53 flat... Oh man, I’m telling you, as the saying goes, "I was happy as a pig in sh*t!"

In the 1973 Gotham Stakes, you and Secretariat employed a different strategy in the race by going to the lead. Was that by design?

Yes it was. The morning of the race, I said to Lucien, “I might put him on the lead today.”

Usually I’d let Secretariat take his time and settle into himself before we made a move. But getting closer to the Derby, I wanted to see how he'd handle being on the lead early in a race. Sometimes when horses get the lead they look around, and for a change I wanted him to run away from horses instead of running at them.

Lucien said, “I swear to my God, Ronnie, don’t make a mistake this late in the game."

I said, "Better to know now, if we happen to be on the lead in the big races coming up."

As it turned out it was good plan, and the lesson came in handy for us later during the Triple Crown.

Secretariat ended up winning by 3 lengths, equaling the track record and Eddie Arcaro presented the trophy that day. Eddie was the jockey for (Secretariat’s sire) Bold Ruler and he always had nice things to say about Secretariat, but even after the Gotham he told me, "I still don’t think you can get him to go a a mile and a quarter."

Boy, was he wrong about that one!

Secretariat_Gotham Post Parade_Trophy Presentation

In the 1972 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga, observers estimated you were nearly 14 lengths back at one point before Secretariat stormed from last place to first on the stretch turn. What was it like to be that far back in just a 6½-furlong sprint, and were you ever concerned?

[chuckling] He was so far behind that he looked like he was racing in the next race. At one point they were close to 1/16 of a mile ahead of me.

But I wasn’t concerned at all. I dropped back but I could have moved a little closer earlier. I knew he had a blind splint on his left as a result of being slammed coming out of the gate in his first race. I told Lucien about that. So that’s the reason I never pushed him early during his entire 2-year-old season. I was just leaving him alone because I knew he could move whenever I asked him. I had a lot of confidence in him; that’s why I let him take his time.

In the Hopeful, I was waiting until he got to the stretch turn and he switched to his left lead. I knew I could pick up the other horses anytime I wanted to. I just waited for the right time to chirp to him and he took off. I have never ridden any horse, regardless of age, who could run as fast as Secretariat around a turn.

From the 3/16 pole to the 1/4 pole, we went from last to first. And I never really set him down – I didn’t even have to ask him. They still say today that they’ve never seen a horse move and pass horses like that around the turn at Saratoga. He was passing horses at his own speed. For him to do that as a 2-year-old, everybody was impressed with him that day. I was impressed with Secretariat every day.

When you first met Secretariat in 1972, you already had been riding another great Meadow Stable champion, Riva Ridge. Can you compare what it was like to ride them?

You know, Secretariat and Riva Ridge were different than a lot of horses I rode. I was more friendly with them because I spent so much time with them.

I was riding Riva Ridge in 1971 — I rode him to his 2-year-old championship. He was such a nice horse after I schooled him to be less timid than he was; he spooked a little more than Secretariat. To me, Riva Ridge was charming. He always ran smooth.

As much as I loved him, he didn’t like to run in the mud. He wouldn’t extend himself in the mud. He was tall and kind of top-heavy and narrow chested and that’s probably why he didn’t trust himself on that surface, because he didn’t have as much balance.

Whereas Secretariat had a broad chest but he was not wide on top. Put it this way: In the saddle, my knees were farther apart much more on Riva Ridge than on Secretariat. He was like a bulldozer and could run on anything.

Being there to work Riva and Secretariat in their workouts and all of that, I was so close to both of them.

They were both wonderful horses. I understood them very well. And they seemed to understand me.

I loved them equally. But I surely don’t think we’ll ever see another Secretariat.

In early 1972, Secretariat was among the yet-untested Meadow Stable colts at Hialeah. What was it like meeting him as a 2-year-old?

Well you see, I'd been riding Riva Ridge for Meadow Stable, and he was going into his 3-year-old season. After I came back from my vacation in 1972, the first thing I did was go see Riva in the morning. And I saw this horse in the stall just before I got to Riva’s stall, and he just grabbed my eyes. I mean, I had to do a double-look.

I said to Lucien [Laurin, the Meadow Stable trainer], “Who’s this pretty boy?"

That was Secretariat. When I got the chance to work him, I got on him, I galloped him, and believe me, he was like an old horse. He was so beautiful.

When I headed him through the walking ring, to Fitzsimmons Path, and on to the race track, he was doing it like he’s been doing it all his life. He was very easy to control, he was beautiful, a very intelligent horse, and a very nice horse to ride. So for me, it was love at first sight, and love at first ride.

What was it like leading up to Secretariat's first race on July 4, 1972?

I got him ready to run his first race. I would get on Secretariat most days. When I was away riding races in California or Kentucky, Paul Feliciano worked him a few times.

It was a good year for us [the Meadow Stable]. That spring, we had another horse called Upper Case that I’d won the Florida Derby with, and then came back and won the Wood Memorial too, and I was winning other stakes races with other horses. I’d won the 1972 Black-Eyed Susan on Summer Guest for [owner] Paul Mellon, and made a commitment to ride her again in the Monmouth Oaks in New Jersey on July 4.

Well Lucien wanted to start Secretariat on the 4th of July at Aqueduct in New York. I said to Mr. Laurin, “Can’t you find another race? I can’t ride him then.”

He said, "I don’t want another jockey on him."

But July 4 was the day that Mrs. Tweedy [Penny Chenery, Secretariat’s owner] could be in New York. I said to Lucien, “Why don’t you let Paul ride him? He’s been on him before and Secretariat is well schooled.”

And so that’s why I didn't get to ride Secretariat in his first race.

I wasn’t there, but I saw the film. Secretariat got hit hard by the horse Quebec coming out of the gate, but he got right back on his feet and caught up to the field. As they turned for home, Paul let him draw to the inside but he had no place to go, and so he got beat.

Talking with Paul later about the race, he told me, “Boy, Lucien was mad at me, I thought he was going to eat me. He was like a lion."

What kind of tack did Secretariat wear?

Secretariat wore a plain D bit bridle, and I used a Lee Wincher saddle. It was a custom built saddle and I had four pouches built in to add lead weights depending on the weight my mounts had to carry. It could weigh between 5 to 12 pounds, depending on how much weight I needed to add. I could pack up to 126 pounds, including my own weight, with the lightest lead saddle pad. What I call a lead saddle pad is simply a felt and leather saddle pad with pockets added to insert the lead weights. A light pad could have two to four pockets where a heavy lead pad could have up to eight pockets. I owned both a light and a heavy lead pad so I could do up to 126 pounds if I needed to.

Secretariat also wore blinkers. For some reason, the stable team put them on to work one morning when I was out of town to ride another horse. I guess Lucien [Laurin, Secretartiat's trainer] felt they helped in keeping Secretariat focused. I never thought he needed them; he worked great without them. I broke track records working him in the morning without the blinkers. As far as I was concerned, they didn’t make much difference either way, but they did give him a special look. He looked great in them.

Secretariat_1973 Triple Crown Saddle (Courtesy of The Jim Irsay Collection) copy

How would you describe Secretariat’s temperament?

What some people call his temperament, I call his disposition. Secretariat had the most even and kind disposition of any horse I ever knew. He was even tempered and always ready to respond to whatever move you asked of him. He was bold without being aggressive. He was a very calm horse. He could be playful at times but always ready to respond to you.

I’ll always remember the time he gave a playful buck because he was feeling so good and so full of energy coming back from a workout. I wasn’t expecting it, and I guess I wasn’t paying attention. I landed on my feet on the ground. He could have taken off but instead he just stood there and looked at me as if he was saying, “Hey, what are you doing down there?” He just waited for me to walk back to him. I passed the reins back over his head, padded him a little on the neck, grabbed a handful of mane and jumped back on. He just kept going calmly back to the barn as if nothing had happened.

Maybe the most important aspect of his temperament or disposition is that he never sulked or refused to try in a race. He was always ready to respond to whatever move you asked. He was always ready to give you everything he had.

Compared to your other rides, did Secretariat feel significantly different under you (other than being obviously wider)? What did you notice or feel when kicked into that “extra gear”?

Secretariat was not really extra wide on top where my saddle sat, but he had a broad chest so that his front legs were spread farther apart than Riva Ridge, who was wide on top but had a narrow chest so his front legs would be planted closer together. That did give Secretariat a better balance so he could handle any type of surface. He was more sure-footed than Riva Ridge and that explained why Riva didn’t perform well on a muddy track or on the turf. We call that top heavy. To explain this better, say you were to load heavier stuff on top of a vehicle than on the bottom. It would be easier to tip your vehicle while turning than if you had put most of the weight first and than the lighter stuff on top.

When it comes to conformation, I would say that Secretariat was as close to a perfect specimen as you could find. If one wanted to get real picky about it, I guess the only thing you could probably find fault with would be what Penny [Chenery, Secretariat's owner] used to call his slight goose rump, which is the way his rump sloped down right at the end. Personally, I think that was to his advantage because it allowed his back legs to reach farther under him and he could propel himself farther with every stride than any horse I ever rode.

I don’t know how to explain how it felt when he would kick into that “extra gear,” as they say, except to compare it to the feeling you get when you really press down on the accelerator and feel that immediate surge forward. You could really feel it. The beauty of it is that when he was right, he was always so generous and manageable that I could do it at any time in the race then get him to relax and do it again depending on how the race was developing. It allowed me to make whatever move was needed to get position and I knew that I still had enough to finish the race. It made it very hard for other riders as he was so versatile they never knew what to expect. There was no way to plan a strategy around his style of running. His stamina was also unbelievable. He could sustain a move for longer than any horse I’ve ever known, and he proved it in the Derby and the Belmont.