Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Aleine — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:22:53 GMT

What a shame we live in a world where great horses live out their racing lives, die in retirement then are only remembered by the public at large through, ....Disney films. Give me a break!! If your kids had to go to see the movie about Secretariat then the parents didn't do their jobs! My kids have enough Secretariat stuff to reference around the house (as well as his birthplace just up the road from me) to open their own library. Will Barbaro one day be remembered in a Disney film? Oh..can't wait until Citation and Whirlaway come out next (just kidding). Wow...Secretariat is close to my heart as he is (and always will be ) "a local boy." But shame on the Amnesiac States of America as it stands now (not just in horse racing) to let our legends drift away from our dinner table discussions. Don't wait for Disney to dole out the "memories" to your kids.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Monty — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:38:05 GMT

I really enjoyed the movie, but did'nt think it did the horse justice, too much about Penny Chenery and her family etc. Rent or buy (2003) "Seabiscuit", now that's a great horse movie ! The little horse nobody wanted, with the heart of a lion, and the will to win, once treated with care. Bridges, Maquire,& Cooper were all excellent ! Thanks Gary Ross & Dreamworks Pictures ...

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Peggy — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:59:55 GMT

I saw Secretariat with my two grandchildren (girls, 7 and 4)yesterday. We had all been looking forward to this movie, but I think that they were disappointed, and I know that I was.

Briefly, the movie doesn't work for kids. Mine both wanted to go to the restroom during the Belmont Ball scenes. They voted with their feet.

I think that the producers and writers didn't have a clear idea of who their audience was so they threw out something for (they thought)everyone, failing to satisfy anyone in the process.

The racing fans who have commented about the movie so far have made legitimate complaints about the liberties taken with the truth regarding Riva Ridge, Sham, and Keeneland posing as Belmont.

Not being a long time racing fan I noticed other things and was bothered most by the misuse of Eddie Sweat, Secretariat (and Riva's)groom placing him at the Meadow Farm almost as a servant of the Chenery's.

I have lots of other problems with the movie, but will not take up space here. Suffice it to say, I don't think that it will be a children's classic. I bought the gk's a remake of Black Beauty last year. They loved it and watch it often. Same for Black Stallion. The Secretariat movie doesn't have any of the themes that make a movie one that children want to see again. Do you think that Penny worrying about how to syndicate Secretariat for $6 million to save her farm will make the kids feel sorry for her plight?

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Melissa — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:07:16 GMT

I loved the movie just for what it was. I was lucky enough to see Secretariat's first foal in MN. Quite a few years later on I owned a Thoroughbred mare and she was boarded at a farm in MN and this is where I found Secretary of War. Secretary of War to me was the spitting image of Secretariat and I was very honored to be near a very famous horse who's sire was Secretariat.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

ShireLassie — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:01:41 GMT

Saw the opening of Secretariat last night and thought it was a very good movie. I was very disappointed however, in there not being any mention at all of Riva Ridge. I remember sitting in front of the TV with my Nana and sister and yelling "Go Riva Go!!" I was ten at the time of Secretariats TC wins - and I remember watching and cheering him on. He was a wonder horse, although 2nd in my heart to Man o' War (the ORIGINAL Big Red). One cannot truly compare the speeds of these two Great Champions - MoW ran in the days before they had the advantages of faster, better groomed track surfaces not to mention no starting gates so there were plenty of "false starts" and races could be help up for up to six minutes before they were given the okay to break (which often used up a good bit of their energy). In fact, in the only race that MoW lost he was partially turned around at the time the group were given the go ahead and had to play catch up for the first time -- he was closing in fast on Upset and if the race had only been a fraction longer he would have passed him by. Also, MoW was NEVER allowed to run full out so we will never know exactly how fast he could run. I would absolutely LOVE it if they would ever make a movie about MoW!!!

Ruffian is another favorite of mine and who is to say how much greater she would have become if she had lived. I was very disappointed in the TV movie that they made of her life and can only hope that won't keep the Big Studios from making a better/more factual movie about her. Lucien Lauren did make the observation that she "may be better than Secretariat" but alas, her 3 yr old season was cut short by tragedy. I don't remember offhand which race it was, but she did set the record for the fastest 1/4 mile ran by a racehorse of either gender -- amongst all the other records she set in her 10 race career (in which she either equaled or set a new track record EVERY time). I was disappointed in The Bloodhorse when they relegated her to #34 of the top TBs of the 20th Century -- much too far down the list in my opinion.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Joy — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:01:46 GMT

Thank you for such a great article!

I just went to see the Secretariat movie, and as much as a few things bothered me, I had to keep reminding myself that if there were people who knew the Superhorse up close and personal and love the movie, than me, a 14 year old girl who has just recently fallen in love with horse racing, should love it, too.

It's now one of my favorite movies, and all the inaccuracies aside, I think it will bring a lot of people to love horses, if not horse racing itself.

Thanks again for the amazing article from an aspiring writer! I hope the movie does well!!

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Kristen Ohler — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:00:50 GMT

Dr. Drunkinbum,

And every other Secretariat fan. I own a DVD on him that traces his days a a foal at the Meadow to his death in the fall of '89. It follows his racing career and interviews with his jocks and trainers. I got it in '06. The web site is Secretariat.com It's called "The life & Times of Secretariat, An American Racing Legend. It's awesom. You will see all his great races. As for the shampoo. I went out to my barn to get the poo. It is actually "Secretariat Hair Polish" put out by Farnam Co. which is a big horse product co. It is 98 percent full. The bottle is a small bottle about 6" tall. Big Reds pic is on the bottle. It is in great shape since I've had it for 30 plus years out in a barn. It is supposed to produce a shiney coat after you bath your horse. It aids in the prevention of stains from grass, manure and leather. Gentle and safe even for sensitive skin. Whatever. His name is on the bottle. That was probably good enough back then. Also for anybody interested in an awesome book about the Secretariat family in the early years, check out "Secretariats Meadow" written by Penny's daughter Kate Chenery. Published in 2010. www.secretariatsmeadow.com. Awesom pics and stories.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Peggy — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:42:37 GMT

Shortskinnylady,

Glad to see you here. I just stumbled into this post by chance. Most of the action re the trip has been on the Rachel blog. Your name has been mentioned by ruffianruns several times as the source of some of our best pictures.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Shortskinnylady — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:30:14 GMT

Hi everyone, I'm new to this blog, and was part of ruffiansrun group at HP on Fri/Sat, so first of all, I need to thank Mr. Haskin for facilitating that "Queen Z" awesome adventure! As a background, I grew up about 3 miles from SA, and saw many of the early stars as a kid in the late 50's and into the 60's, but unfortunately, the only one that I clearly remember was "Candy Spots," and mainly for his name! BUT, the main reason I'm writing was to say that I, too, was fortunate enough to take my then-husband and pre-teen kids to Claiborne Farm in 1983. Not only did the management bring out Secretariat for us to see, we also saw the Bid, Damascus, and a host of others too numerous to mention (and not withstanding my memory has also faded a lot in the ensuing years!) However, we weren't allowed to touch - these guys were there for one reason, and when pulled out of their stalls, thought that that's why. You get the picture.... Secretariat was much bigger than during his running years, of course, and the hormones had bulked his neck, as on all of them. Glorious, and impressive. And on that note, I'll leave you with this other small story: As we were leaving this gorgeous farm, after seeing the graves of the big names who'd died in prior years, I asked whether Round Table, who basically built Claiborne with his winnings, was buried nearby. I was told he was still alive, and after asking to see him, was given permission. We drove a short way from the main farm, and there, pulled out of the barn, was a noble, 28-ish year old swaybacked, bay gentleman. I was honored to see such a wonderful animal, even in his old age. And that one, we were allowed to pet! I'll remember him as much as the elegant 'boys' we'd seen earlier, including the majestic Big Red #2 (a ode to Man O'War). RT may not have been a Secretariat in his day, but he made a name that this young California woman (at the time) remembered from her youth! Thanks again, Mr. Haskin, for making our fantastic adventure possible over the weekend!

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Stephie Clare — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:16:58 GMT

Loved those two photos! Thanks so much for sharing them with us. He was drop dead gorgeous!

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Dr Drunkinbum — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:12:38 GMT

Kristen Ohler

Thanks for your response, and thank you for the compliment. That's great that you have that scrapbook to read. I wish I would have been smart enough to even get one thing of Secretariat's. There is more to Secretariat than his Triple Crown and Belmont, and an Arc win wouldn't have surprised me despite the obstacles. I always go back to his Belmont because I am so fascinated by it. I should see if there is a photo I could buy. His time 0f 2:24 has stood the test of time, and is that much more special because he won by 31 lengths, around 6 seconds I think, so it's not like it was a souped up track. It was a slow or average track for the others in the race, and the 31 lengths is special because of the time. The two together just makes it the monster performance of all time because they can't go that fast for that long on dirt, but it happened before our very eyes. Good luck with Indy. Quarter horses-now that is fast. That's the most power most of us could ever see from an animal. Secretariat's name is all over the pedigree sheets of many of the top horses, I don't care how it got there, it's an important link, and I always love seeing his name on there, top or bottom. I give the horse extra credit if Secretariat is on there just in case he has some of his extraordinary talent.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Aluminaut — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:04:07 GMT

Well, maybe Westways, Auto Club's magazine got it wrong or there are regional differences in the dish.

Back to Secretariat...I don't think the world needs a Poutine blog.

I think Secretariat would look great on all the fancy phones, ipads and such if he was born into high tec times.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

sceptre — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 01:34:30 GMT

Take a look at Bill Christine's column in Thurs. DRF (on line) about Penny Chenery. No doubt a lot more reality to it than the movie, let alone some of the posts here.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Kristen Ohler — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:47:46 GMT

Dr. Drunkinbum

You're very funny. Anyone would be truly ammazed at my album. I just started looking at it again when the movie was being made. My first page is the 1973 cover of Newsweek magazine with Big Red on it. Across the top says "Superhorse". Indeed he was. Then there is a pic of Turcotte kissing Red on the nose with the caption "Kiss from a good jockey; And, at times a hit". A pic of Red grazing with I assume Eddie Sweat the day before the Derby. Angle Light bleed but OK for Derby. "Secretariat favored to sweep'. "Secretariat makes Belmont a farce". "Prove Out upsets Secretariat". "Secretariat upset in Whitney". "Older horses next for Sectariat" after his win in the Arlington Invitational. How about "Secretariat match race". Lucien Lauren told the Saratogian, a N.Y. newspaper he would race Triple Crown winner Secretariat against Our Native in a race. The owner of Linda's Chief would not race at the proposed distance of 1 1/8 miles. The race turned out to be the Arlington Invition. My Gallant raced along with Our Native and Blue Chip Dan. The total purse was $125,000.00. The winner getting $75,000.00, $30,000.00 for the runner up and $20,000.00 for the third place finnisher. The results "Secretariat toyed with 3 rivals as expected but failed to set a track record yesterday as he won the $125,000.00 Arlington Invitational at Arlington Park. Racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, cheered every step of the way by an enthusiastic crowd, won by nine lengths over My Gallant". "Cougar II to face Secretariat". "Secretariat roars to victory", which was the Marlboro Cup. "Secretariat Paris-Bound?:Syndicate must OK Arc Race. Here's the enteresting part. The race in "73 was worth almost $500,00.00. Tweedy was interested. Lucien was not. His reasons according to the article why he wasn't: An American horse can't win the Arc because, the travel to France, and the time it takes the horse to get accustomed. "Then there's the matter of proper feed and water. There's the fact they race clockwise around the track in France. The race is on grass and it's not level. The turns are not uniform as they are here. And, maybe most inportant of all, they insist all horses wear the flat European-styled horseshoes. "Everything would be different for Secretariat. We'd be starting all over from the beginning". Tweedy had the rights to the horse until he retired, then the syndicate would own the horse. Obviously he didn't go. Anyway, that is only a fraction of the orginal articles I have on the BIG RED SUPERHORSE. Thanks for all who are interested. I know it sounds funny. I love Throughbred race horses, but on a very small scale I breed Quarter Horse's for fun. I have a 2 year old named Indy. Guess what, he is named after Secretariat's grandson, AP Indy. Sec. might not have been the best sire, but, as we all know, his daughters were exceptional in the breeding shed.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Dr Drunkinbum — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:41:57 GMT

Zookeeper

Thanks for the cuisine update. RFO sounds perfect-calm but assertive. He's a winner. I love french fries with mayonaise. How do you eat them?

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Zookeeper — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:41:06 GMT

Dr Drunkinbum,

The poutine I know has nothing to do with french fries, gravy and cheese. Yuck! It is a dumpling often filled with a spicy (not hot) meat dressing that is also used as a stuffing for turkey. The poutine is simmered over a stew-like dish comprised of fresh pork shanks and delicious winter veggies like carrots, onions, rutabaga and, of course, lots of potatoes. After a meal like that, we sure were equipped to face the cruel, bitter cold of our winters. I haven't had any since I left Quebec for a warmer climate. Ooof!

Thank YOU and also TXHORSEFAN for the caring words about RFO. It was very reassuring to see him trying to bully me for more carrots. This guy is NO pet but a fully equipped 2yr old colt who, although sweet, likes to assert himself... A good quality for a future racehorse. :)

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Dr Drunkinbum — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:30:41 GMT

Zookeeper

Thank you very much for the news. They are doing such a good job with him. It's so important that he strengthen his lungs and entire body after this ordeal before racing. Have a great time Saturday.

Aluminaut

Thanks for the greasy spoon update !! I'm proud of you for your choice of cuisine. I just headed that way myself. My Uncle owned a few thoroughbreds and quarter horses. I went with him once when he bet a few thousand across the board on his TB at the time. The trainer said he was ready to win. I had $100 to win as a gift from my Uncle. He came in dead last, seemingly a million miles behind the rest.

The Deacon

Man O War intrigues me. I'll have to learn more about him. Spectacular Bid's safety pin still sickens me. His time in the mile and a quarter is unbelievable. It's funny how as humans we are so fascinated with times and records and wins. I'm just like everyone else in that regard but I've never met or seen a horse I didn't like.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

txhorsefan — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:45:46 GMT

Zookeeper, thanks for the update on Runflatout. I'm so glad you've been able to see him for yourself and know that he is indeed doing better. Please know he is in my thoughts and I'm hoping he will completely recover and wow us all when he hits the track.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Aluminaut — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:15:04 GMT

Dr. D,

Poutine is a French Canadian "greasy spoon staple" of French Fries smothered in brown gravy and cheese curds. So says the current issue of Westways magazine.

A "Hot Brown" is another strange dish that I learned about when I went to visit John Henry at the KHP & attended the '06 Breeder's Cup (I still have my $2 win ticket for Invasor! but it's faded.)

I was raised a vegetarian and still can't eat stuff with a face, so I haven't tried either.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Aluminaut — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:00:26 GMT

The Deacon,

Great post. I agree that we should not belittle another person's beliefs about horse racing.

My Mom and Dad watched *Noor beat Citation. My Mom had $5 to win on Noor and my Dad had a couple grand across the board on Citation. What if that bet was reversed? Wow.

I was born a bit later, so I missed out on Citation.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

The Deacon — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 05:29:45 GMT

Mike Relva: Back at you, your posts are always interesting.

I have always had a good memory, spent a lot of early years around the west coast tracks with my dad and his best buddy. Got to know a few trainers, but my pop was the real horseman. He wanted to own a race horse in the worst way but never got the funds together to buy one. I grew up around horses, my uncle owned a ranch and raised horses, not thoroughbreds though. Got the riding bug at an early age. Long time ago though, in a galaxy far away..........

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

dogcathorse — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:29:22 GMT

Steve, I wanted to tell you just how right you are on Rachel Alexandra. Her connections show just how much Penny Chenery should be applauded at how special she is in how she managed the public with Secretariat. She made it look so easy. What a special lady. I just can't understand the secrecy on her being retired. No one would think less of her if she got hurt. Look at all that she has run against. They are almost all gone, many with serious leg injuries.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Mike Relva — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:37:24 GMT

THE DEACON

Want to say thanks for your interesting answer. You have knowledge regarding racing.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

Richard — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:08:33 GMT

Steve, finally someone has had the mind to say what I have often thought, it is ridiculous to say that one horse is better than all others. I love Secretariat, and I think he would have beaten any horse in history in the classic races but every great horse was great, they should be enjoyed on their own merits and not have their individual accomplishments diminished by being held up to those of another. Seattle Slew does not need to be diminished for me to love Secretariat.

re: Hangin' With Haskin: Secretariat 2010

sophiekea — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 23:59:01 GMT

I cant wait to see the film and dont mind that its not 100% accurate, Hollywood never is.

Its the best thing going for horse racing at the moment and I'm sure it will have people watching the Breeder's Cup this year and also bring some new fans to the sport.

I was only a little girl when Secretariat ran but I remember his name the most growing up. He has and always will be my favorite.

My preference for chestnut horses most likely has to do with this. I already get teary eyed when I watch the ads for the movie on tv. Im so happy to have met his exercise riders and jockey a few years ago as well. It was like meeting the Pope for me:) I felt like I was in the presence of great men that got to ride the greatest horse of my lifetime.