Mehallow, Kelly.  Secretariat.  May 2005.  <the date you are viewing this, day month year.> <copy and paste the link to your paper and you're done.>

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Annual North American Registered Foal Crop. Accessed 16 Mar. 2005; available from http://www.jockeyclub.com/factbook.asp?section=2; Internet.

“The Belmont Stakes.” Directed by Tony Verna. CBS. June 9, 1973.

Capps, Timothy T. Secretariat. (Lexington: Eclipse Press, 2003).

The Life and Times of Secretariat: Am American Racing Legend. ESPN Classics.

The Life and Times of Secretariat, Commemorative Issue. ESPN Classics.

Kiernan, Thomas. The Secretariat Factor: The Story of a Multimillion-dollar Breeding Industry. (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1979).

Nack, William. Secretariat: The Making of a Champion. (New York: Da Capo, 1975).

Wilkinson, Michael. The Phar Lap Story. (Victoria: Budget Books, 1983).

Secondary Sources

Bedford, Julian. The World Atlas of Horseracing. (New York: Mallard Press, 1989).

Blood Horse, The. Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20^th Century. (Lexington: Blood-Horse Publications, 1999).

Edward, Elwyn Hartley, ed. Encyclopedia of the Horse. (New York: Crescent Books, 1977).

Haun, Marianna. The X Factor: What It Is & How to Find It: The Relationship Between Inherited Heart Size and Racing Performances. (Neenah: Russell MeerdinkCompany, 1997).

Hawcroft, Tim. The Complete Book of Horse Care. (New York: Howell Book House, 1993).

Secretariat: Part 2

If Man o’ War set the standard for the American thoroughbred in the early 20^th Century, Secretariat met that standard and then some. Ask any died hard racing fanatic who would be in their fantasy match-race and odds are they would say would the two “Big Reds.” Author Timothy Capps said it best in his book:

“The romantic ideal is that the two would have come to the finish line together, two mighty gladiators straining to win the race of a lifetime. In the stretch run of racing history, they’re side by side, swapping the lead with each bob of their respective heads. ‘It’s Secretariat, now Man o’ War, now Secretariat, now Man o’ War, and as they hit the wire in this race of races, the winner is the chestnut son of…’”[1]

It would have been the race of the century and one that could only be raced on their best days; for Secretariat it would have been his Belmont day, and for Man o’ War his Potomac Handicap. He carried a record 138 pounds to set a track record of 1:44 4/5 for the mile and a sixteenth beating an all-star field. Truth of the matter, it is impossible to measure any horse against each other outside of a few years, and definitely in a case where there is more than 50-years. Track conditions are different, training styles, medicines, supplements, the breed itself having evolved, and the foal crop ratio has grown.  

The year Sir Barton was foaled in 1916, there were 2,128 registered American thoroughbreds. Gallant Fox in 1927, 4,182. Omaha in 1932, 5,256. War Admiral in 1934, 4,924. Whirlaway in 1938, 5,696. Count Fleet in 1940, 6,003. Assault in 1943, 5,923. Citation in 1945, 5,819. Secretariat in 1970, 24,361.[2] The estimated figure from the Jockey Club for registered Thoroughbreds born in 2004 is 34,070.[3] One look at those numbers, it is easy to see just why there has not been a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. These numbers also give more perceptive on the Secretariat’s magnitude, he rose above the rest and has stood out for more than 35-years.  There have been other Thoroughbreds who have won more races, more money, more championships, and even other Triple Crown winners. In 1989, ESPN asked owner Penny Tweedy why she thought Secretariat was the standard by which all great racehorses are measured. Her response, “I don’t know, he just, he has charisma, he has sex-appeal, I know we tend to personalize animals we love, but I do think he still trying to do his best.”[4]

One can never say that there will never be another Secretariat. The odds of it happening are just slim to see two in one lifetime. He was a freak of nature, with his abnormal heart, perfect confirmation, and with his ability to run like the wind. With the age of cloning and the capability of doing so, it just seems wrong to make another Secretariat. In December 2002, to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown win, ESPN released The Life and Times of Secretariat, Commemorative Issue, at end of the video, Chris Fowler closed with, “An American original, Secretariat could not be duplicated.”[5] This is driven home by Secretariat’s bronze statue in the paddock at Belmont Park, when it was unveiled after Secretariat’s death, prominent horsemen Paul Mellon said, “Secretariat belongs to history, with the romance of the turf, and he belongs to the people.”[6]