In March of 1970 a foal was born at The Meadow in the state of Virginia that was going to bring not only America but the world alight; his name was Secretariat. He would prove to be one of, if not the greatest racehorses of the modern era.

When winning his first race as a two year old a renowned pundit predicted that he would go on to win the Triple Crown; he was right, 1973 was to be ‘Big Red’s’ year. He never lost a race (disqualified once but he did finish in 1st place!), and if you should watch the video of this phenomenal horse you will see that his jockey Ron Turcotte never touches him with a whip; when the horse is asked to stretch Ron just waves his hand and the response is willing.

It was unfortunate for Secretariat’s rival Sham that he was born the same year because he was to be the bridesmaid in many of the races won by the publics favourite. In many of the top races Secretariat left in his wake such horses as Our native, Riva Ridge and of course Sham; many of the horses he beat went on to be influential sires of their own right.

Some may argue that there are other horses that compare but they just don’t. This horse had world record times and track records never being totally pushed. Admire this ‘Superhorse’ at full stretch in the 1973 Kentucky Derby with the video below....