Kentucky Derby Past Performances Easy to Read
May v, 1973 ~ Kentucky Derby ~ 1 1/4 mile ~ Churchill Downs
The First Sat in May of 1973 institute a record 134,476 fans crowding into the aboriginal stands and sprawling beyond the infield lawn of Churchill Downs for the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby. The horse on well-nigh everyone's mind was Secretariat. The Big Ruby-red Horse had come up into the year equally the nearly famous horse in a generation, and had begun a campaign toward the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown in m style, with two stylish scores. But in his final prep for the Derby, the Big Red Equus caballus had been beaten, and there was only a tiny, nagging doubt in the minds of even his nearly ardent rooters that the grueling distance of the Derby would be Secretariat's undoing.
Only as the field of thirteen was led into the gate at 5:37 EDT, the doubts that might have lingered in the minds of many in Secretariat's huge following gave way to hope in their hearts. The Kentucky Derby is restricted to horses who are three years old, so a filly has merely one risk at immortality. This was Secretariat's chance.
Could he do it?
Equally the field bankrupt from the gate, Secretariat let the speed horses become and dropped in toward the rear of the pack. Equally they came by the stands for the first time, jockey Ron Turcotte had Secretariat in 11th identify, with just ii horses behind him. The Daily Racing Form chart caller reported in the race notes that Secretariat "relaxed nicely and dropped back last leaving the gate equally the field broke in skillful club." He noted that Secretariat "moved betwixt horses to begin improving position inbound the first turn but passed rivals from the outside thereafter."
The Derby is a very long race, and many top horses take won by coming from well-behind. The great riders don't bustle the come-from-behind horses along the backstretch. Rather, they let their horses improve their position at their own speed, picking upward one horse at a fourth dimension. That's the way Turcotte did information technology, never asking for a thing until the turn for domicile and the long run down the homestretch below the Twin Spires.
The Form's report continues equally the field rounded the far turn, with Secretariat now fifth and gaining:
"Turcotte roused (Secretariat) smartly with the whip in his right paw leaving the far turn and Secretariat strongly raced to the leaders, lost a footling momentum racing broad into the stretch where Turcotte used the whip over again, but then switched information technology to his left hand and but flashed it as the winner drew abroad in record breaking time."
As Secretariat passed Sham in the stretch, thousands screamed their lungs out at the track, and millions more Tv set viewers cheered at home. Radio man Cawood Ledford chosen the race on a national radio network, reaching around the earth through the U.s. Military machine Radio. He chanted the unproblematic words that The Big Red Equus caballus¹south millions of fans were waiting to hear: "It'due south SECRETARIAT! And he'southward got his Kentucky Derby!"
Secretariat would join an aristocracy list of immortals on that First Saturday of May in 1973 when he got his Kentucky Derby. All hats were off to him for an electrifying performance that included a new track record of ane:59 2/5.
Time is oft overrated as a factor in evaluating racing functioning, generally considering times vary and then much by track condition and how the race was run. And jockeys don't endeavor to set speed records. They just desire to win the race in any time information technology takes.
Only racing fans will always talk about Secretariat'south Kentucky Derby fourth dimension. Outset, considering his final time of i:59 two/5 bankrupt the track tape for 1 1/4 miles in the world's most important equus caballus race. And second, because The Big Crimson Horse ran faster every quarter mile of the race, but edifice power like a locomotive and finishing similar a jet.
To come up with the horse's "fractional" times, experts began with the electronically-recorded times for the leader for each of the v quarter miles of the 1 1/4 miles Derby. And then, by figuring Secretariat's racing position in relation to those times, they were able to extrapolate Secretariat's own times for each quarter mile. They were something!
Secretariat's quarter mile fractions:
- 0:25 1/5
- 0:24
- 0:23 4/five
- 0:23 two/five
- 0:23
Click here to read near "The 2d Fastest Derby"
That'southward a remarkable set of fractions because it is the opposite of how nearly horses and horse races are run. Commonly, Thoroughbreds speed the fastest at the beginning of races and gradually ho-hum as they tire. Even horses who save their big run for the stretch are likely not running faster than they were earlier, just are more than likely passing tiring horses in an ever-slowing race.
Non Secretariat. He had come up with a truly remarkable speed statistic in a very long race an celebrated annotation to his Derby time record, that volition exist long-remembered. He had run every quarter mile faster than the one before.
And he wasn't through making history.
Kentucky Derby Past Performances Easy to Read
Source: https://www.secretariat.com/past-performances/kentucky-derby/