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Does Secretariat still hold the Belmont Stakes record?
Secretariat paid $2.20 to win and his 2:24 remains a world record for 1 1/2 miles on a dirt track, and it’s still two full seconds better than subsequent challengers to his Belmont Stakes record. The 2 3/5 seconds by which he broke Gallant Man’s 16-year-old track record was the equivalent of 13 lengths.
Did a horse named Onion beat Secretariat?
The Whitney was held on August 4, 1973, at Saratoga in front of a record crowd of 30,119. Secretariat was the 1:10 favorite, with Onion a 5:1 second choice among bettors. Onion however, held off the challenge of the younger horse and pulled ahead in the final strides to win by a length.
Has any horse ever beaten Secretariat?
Only four horses challenged Secretariat in the Belmont, even though the previous seven horses to have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness withered in the 1 1/2-mile race, unable to match Citation’s 1948 Triple Crown. “Big Red” changed all that on June 9, 1973.
Did Secretariat have a nickname?
In 1973, arguably the greatest race horse of all time, Secretariat, won the Kentucky Derby. Nicknamed “Big Red”, for his reddish brown color, Secretariat broke several records in his 16 month racing career.
Why was Secretariat not a 4 year old?
At the beginning of his three-year-old year, Secretariat was syndicated for a record-breaking $6.08 million (equivalent to $35.4 million in 2020), on the condition that he be retired from racing by the end of the year. Secretariat died in 1989 due to laminitis at age 19.
Who defeated Secretariat 1973 Whitney Stakes?
Onion
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Aug. 4—Secretariat of the Meadow Stable attracted a crowd of 30,119, a record for Saratoga racing, to the $53,850 Whitney Stakes today, but the Hobeau Farm’s Onion won the race.
Sired by the famous Bold Ruler and out of Somethingroyal , Secretariat was foaled one day after Man O’ War’s birthday anniversary. Like the greatest two-legged athletes, Secretariat always seemed to come through in the big races. As a three-year-old, he set track records in the Preakness and Belmont which still stand.