Secretariat ran the Belmont in what is considered an unbreakable time of 2:24, which broke the old track record by over two seconds--or 13 (!) lengths--and he won by an unconscionable 31 lengths. He is also the only horse to ever run the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes. By far the best SportsCentury is Secretariat's. Apparently the trainer and others who know horses were terrified that the jockey was pushing him too hard at Belmont; they thought he would collapse, but as the jockey said, the horse did it himself. He was an absolute machine: the Lance Armstrong of horse racing, only more dominant. They also said that when they did an autopsy on Secretariat, they discovered his heart was enormous.
"We were all shocked," Swerczek said. "I've seen and done thousands of autopsies on horses, and nothing I'd ever seen compared to it. The heart of the average horse weighs about nine pounds. This was almost twice the average size, and a third larger than any equine heart I'd ever seen. And it wasn't pathologically enlarged. All the chambers and the valves were normal. It was just larger. I think it told us why he was able to do what he did." Link
Im surprised Pharlap is so well known in the U.S. I clicked on this link expecting to see no mention of the greatest race horse ever.
My wife would have me vote for Man O'War. Most of the horses on that list are his offspring. You can't find a thoroughbred today whose line is not traced to Man O'War.
Including Secretariat, if I'm not mistaken. Wasn't Man O'War the one originally found in Arabia or thereabouts? Or his sire? Read something about it as a kid...
I am familiar with Affirmed, Seattle Slew, and Citation, but they all pale in comparison to Secretariat. Not only is he the Babe Ruth of horses but he is also to horse racing what Pele was to soccer. Not even close.
Thanks for the info ~ those times make it pretty clear Secretariat is the all time greatest. With that heart he could be called the Lance Armstrong of horses (ok enough comparisons to humans).
About 200 years ago is when Thoroughbreds first came around. All TBs trace their line to two Arabian horses...forget their names but the wife knows all about it. She had a book sitting next to the computer entitled "Man o'War" so....you know....Mahuba is Big Red's (Man o'War) Dam but I do not believe she is Arabian although her name suggests otherwise. Man o'War and Secretariat are not related. My wife says most people like one but not the other. There has been a divide on which horse is the better. Man o'War only ran two seasons and lost once. From his only loss rose questions as to whether or not his jockey purposely had him lose. He was relatively young when they started racing him, at 2, and really young when they retired him for breeding. That's got to be the life, be retired after two years of work and then do nothing but have a lot of sex. They say after his groom died, Man o'War died a month or so after of heartbreak. I don't think there are many TBs that don't have Man o'War in their pedigree. My wife's TB has him in there, I know that much. Anyway, just a bit on Big Red.
ragingFire, Thanks for the site! That site is awesome! I now wished that I had waited to make my vote until I read it. I am going to rent "Seabiscuit" and watch it hopefully this week.
By the way...everyone know the story about War Emblem?? going for the triple crown....breaks his leg in the last turn...and races his heart out still...jockey said he was waiting for him to go down...and he never did...i think he finished 2nd at the Belmont, but I may be wrong. incredible desire to win...i love that stuff. it's stories like that which make me love horse racing. just a great classic sport.
