Secretariat Horse

Thirty years after what is widely considered the greatest of the Triple Crown sweeps, Secretariat still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. In the eyes of many, he also shares the Preakness record with Louis Quatorze, who won the second leg of the Triple Crown in 1996, and Tank's Prospect, the 1985 winner. Pimlico, the site of the Preakness, and the Maryland Racing Commission say not so.

Thirty years after what is widely considered the greatest of the Triple Crown sweeps, Secretariat still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. In the eyes of many, he also shares the Preakness record with Louis Quatorze, who won the second leg of the Triple Crown in 1996, and Tank's Prospect, the 1985 winner. Pimlico, the site of the Preakness, and the Maryland Racing Commission say not so.

As the five horses were about to be loaded into the starting gate for the 1973 Belmont Stakes, a prominent turf writer and Pat Lynch, a renowned handicapper, stood high atop the track in the Belmont Park press box. They were in agreement that Secretariat, a brilliant winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, would add the Belmont to his collection, becoming the first Triple Crown champion since Citation 25 years before.

It was 25 years ago that the lightly regarded Onion upset Secretariat in Saratoga's Whitney Handicap. Trainer Allen Jerkens and jockey Jacinto Vasquez, who engineered that shocker, may do some reminiscing this weekend at the upstate New York track, Jerkens trying to win another Whitney with another longshot Saturday and Vasquez in town for his induction into the Racing Hall of Fame on Monday.

Dear Secretariat: How is it in the stallion barn? Who all do you know there? I wish I could meet you, but you see I don't live anywhere near you. I live in Lincoln, Neb. Please send me a picture of you. I'm sending you a picture of me so you will know what I look like. --Letter from a girl to a horse The first time I saw Secretariat at stud, at Claiborne Farm in the rolling hills of Northern Kentucky, he was in a big paddock next to Riva Ridge.

Secretariat, whose 1973 Triple Crown triumph stamped him as the people's horse, was humanely destroyed at Claiborne Farm here Wednesday. He was 19, getting on for a horse but awfully young for a folk hero. Secretariat's 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes gave America its first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. In a year of turmoil that included Watergate and Vietnam, Americans latched onto him as though he were human.

It was 25 years ago that the lightly regarded Onion upset Secretariat in Saratoga's Whitney Handicap. Trainer Allen Jerkens and jockey Jacinto Vasquez, who engineered that shocker, may do some reminiscing this weekend at the upstate New York track, Jerkens trying to win another Whitney with another longshot Saturday and Vasquez in town for his induction into the Racing Hall of Fame on Monday.

Holy Bull, who is built like Secretariat and also wins the way he did, scored the biggest landslide in recent Eclipse Awards voting history Friday, when he was named 1994 horse of the year at the annual Eclipse Awards dinner in Washington. Holy Bull, bred to sprint but a winner at distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, won an earlier Eclipse by easily outpointing all rivals from one of the best 3-year-old fields in years.

Peanuts Gallery: Ever since "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz announced his retirement, readers have been wondering what will happen in the final installments of the comic. So Off-Kilter commandeered Caltech's experimental time machine and sent our time-traveling journalist into the future for a preview of the strip's final days: * Dec. 29: Charlie Brown misses the football and accidentally kicks Lucy's head off. Despite heroic efforts by Rex Morgan, MD, Lucy is pronounced dead at the scene.

Remember all that Arazi hype? Best horse since Secretariat. Best horse in Europe in the last 50 years. Wonder horse. Pegasus reborn, but with more speed. Well, never mind. Assessments of Arazi's greatness were, apparently, premature. The undisputed 2-year-old champion of the world has become a lout at 3 under the masterful handling of a cigar-chomping, arrogant Frenchman who has said nothing of Arazi this season in neither French nor English that has even flirted with truth.

As the five horses were about to be loaded into the starting gate for the 1973 Belmont Stakes, a prominent turf writer and Pat Lynch, a renowned handicapper, stood high atop the track in the Belmont Park press box. They were in agreement that Secretariat, a brilliant winner of both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, would add the Belmont to his collection, becoming the first Triple Crown champion since Citation 25 years before.

Secretariat, whose 1973 Triple Crown triumph stamped him as the people's horse, was humanely destroyed at Claiborne Farm here Wednesday. He was 19, getting on for a horse but awfully young for a folk hero. Secretariat's 31-length victory in the Belmont Stakes gave America its first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. In a year of turmoil that included Watergate and Vietnam, Americans latched onto him as though he were human.

Dear Secretariat: How is it in the stallion barn? Who all do you know there? I wish I could meet you, but you see I don't live anywhere near you. I live in Lincoln, Neb. Please send me a picture of you. I'm sending you a picture of me so you will know what I look like. --Letter from a girl to a horse The first time I saw Secretariat at stud, at Claiborne Farm in the rolling hills of Northern Kentucky, he was in a big paddock next to Riva Ridge.

Del Mar stewards Ingrid Fermin, Dave Samuel and George Slender suspended jockey Pat Valenzuela for five days, beginning Monday, after meeting with him Friday morning. Valenzuela, 34, was cited for a failure to follow established procedures for being excused from mounts. A winner with only two of 57 mounts since he returned Aug.

Bob Baffert has already proclaimed War Emblem a "superhorse," and stopped just short of guaranteeing that his colt will become the first Triple Crown champion in nearly a quarter-century. The trainer made his remarks the morning after War Emblem added the Preakness Stakes to his Kentucky Derby victory. Should he conquer the one mile in the Belmont Stakes on June 8, War Emblem would give racing its 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978.