The day of June 9, 1973 is a day that has been marked in history books and the minds of horse racing enthusiasts for all time. This was the day that Secretariat ran in the Belmont Stakes, taking the 9th Triple Crown in history and the first since a 25 year drought in Triple Crown winners.
There were only four horses on the track that day to compete against Secretariat. One of those horses was Sham. The colt finished second behind Secretariat in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. There were three other horses in the field that day, but they had little chance of winning and there were no "show" bets placed that day at Belmont. Bettors had their fate laid out - Secretariat first and Sham second.
The crowd that day at Belmont Park numbered 67,605 and all eyes were on "Big Red." Secretariat and Sham set the pace early and it was fast. They opened up ten lengths between them and the rest of the field, but at the 6 furlong mark, Sham was tired and actually ended up placing last. He had fought long and hard to keep up with Secretariat in the mile and quarter Derby, the mile and three-sixteenths Preakness Stakes and now the mile and a half Belmont. This was by far the longest stretch the horses had seen, but Secretariat was still running hard and fast.
In the stretch, Secretariat had a 31 length (1 1/6 mile lead) over the rest of the field. This broke Count Fleet's margin of victory record of 25 lengths. He had also just run the fastest mile and a half on dirt in history at 2:24 flat. He broke the stakes record by more than two seconds. The estimated average speed for Big Red's entire performance was 37.5 miles per hour.
No other horse has ever broken 2:25 for one and half miles on dirt. It is estimated that if the Beyer Speed Figure had been created at the time, the horse would have earned a 139. It would have been one of the highest figures ever assigned.
Another interesting event that occurred that day was that the 5,617 winning parimutuel tickets for Secretariat were never redeemed. It is believed that the bettors decided to keep them as souvenirs instead of cashing in.
Whether or not a day like this will ever be recreated depends on the horse racing trainers and jockeys of today, but it's always fun to reminisce when the next Belmont Stakes is just a few weeks away.
Simon Skinner has worked in the online betting industry since 2000. He has worked for some of the premier online sportsbooks and now runs internet marketing for BetAmerica - the premier online US horse racing website.
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