A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

cat lady — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:33:57 GMT

I have been a racing fan since the days of Kelso, and in May of "73 I was working at a riding stable in N.Y. After watching the great horse win the Derby, my friends and I got so excited that we ran to the barn, saddled our favorite horse and held a little race of our own! Nearby Belmont Park was where I was when Big Red won the Triple Crown and it still is the greatest race I've ever witnessed!

Took lots of pictures and after I had them developed I went back to Belmont and had a few signed by Ron Turcotte. My husband and I are going to the movie this weekend. I don't care if it isn't exactly the true story as long as it is successful and benefits our great sport!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Linda Parker-Fedak — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:47:25 GMT

I was graduating high school in Yuma, Az at the time. I had been a horse fanatic since the age of 4 or 5, and thoroughbreds were the first breed I followed. Big Red was awesome! I don't think that most of his races were on tv, but when the Triple Crown races were shown, I was planted in front of the tv. His races were breath taking! And when he won the Belmont by such a long margin, I was in shock! Then I was in tears of happiness! In 1989 I was in tears for days when he died. I loved him like he was my own and never felt like that again until Barbaro. I don't think I will see the movie as one of the people who write for your company did not rate it very well. Movie was "too Disney" and not true to alot of facts. I don't know why Disney would have to change things or ad things when this was an incredible story on it's own! I am glad we DO have a living legend today, Zenyatta! I think she is a reincarnation of Secretariat! And a mare to boot!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Fran Loszynski — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:29:37 GMT

In 1973 I was at work and as a horseracing fan I tried to find a TV. to watch the race, all I remember is hearing cheers from a T.V. in a lounge near my office and running in to see this racehorse 27 to 31 lengths ahead of the other horses! I ran in and saw Secretariat as he neared the finish line-will never forget that sight! But I don't intend to miss the movie- I'll be first in line.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

fsfarm — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:49:31 GMT

I will NEVER forget seeing Secretariat win the Belmont! Never mind it was the first Triple Crown in 25 years but to see how he did it was truly amazing! To this day I can not watch the end of that race without tears streaming down my face watching the pure joy that Big Red had in running. I plan to go see the film this weekend with plenty of tissues. I don't think we ever will see another horse like him. We may have come close and it's funny if your take a peek back in those pedigrees, there Big Red is, most likely on the Dam's side. Pretty cool, don't you think?

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Bellwether — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:17:36 GMT

FAN R NOE FAN..."THE HOR$E" LIT THE PLANET UP & IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN...LONG LIVE THE KING!!!...ty...ps MOVIE FRI...

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

needler in Virginia — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 03:42:19 GMT

Are you kidding, Alex? I held my breath for those five weeks in 1973! I had been married only three years, had a budding horse lover age one, and I could NOT leave the TV. That horse and his lovely owner were the whole package.....glorious, charming, majestic, imposing, beautiful, spectacular...I'm running out of easily retrieved superlatives, but I THINK you have the picture.

I had loved racing for years, but except for the Derby/Preakness/Belmont trio there just wasn't that much racing on TV....that we saw, at least. We lived in west Texas and had only two channels until the late 60's. All I knew was that my mom bet on all the grey horses (through a fella who ran a "betting operation"), and she had no clue as to who the horses were, never mind if they had a chance to win! She just liked the greys, AND she said she could always see HER horse in the field of bays and browns. It's as good a system as any, I suppose. Thank my lucky stars TV got better, color came along and then we got Secretariat! Seeing the Big Red One come roaring down the stretch, I was hopelessly lost. After that, each race, each appearance, each word written, each photo taken was carefully squirreled away in scrap books and memory banks for perusal later. I still have all of that, I still look at it, I STILL read Bill Nack's book about once a year, I STILL watch Red's races on dvd, and have the Breyer and the t-shirts. Sounds a bit obsessive, doesn't it? But the impact he had on a young mother in Texas was enormous, and I still feel the chills at his Belmont, his final race at Woodbine....coming around the final turn breathing fire ... and the tears at his retirement appearance. We just missed seeing him in 1989 when we called Claiborne for an appointment and were give an abrupt "no", followed by a hangup. I think he was probably sick already. I've met his son, Academy Award, at Old Friends, and will be meeting Tinner's Way there shortly.

Secretariat has clearly been part of my life for a long time and I have no plans to move on. He'll always be first in my heart. I add only one caveat: we are in the midst of a miracle unfolding on the track, and should treasure each second we can see, enjoy, cheer and appreciate Zenyatta. Her unique presence will be the benchmark for a whole new generation of racing fans as Secretariat was for

mine. There are so few real miracles left, and they are viewed by most racing fans as flashes in the pan, but Zenyatta has proven herself to be the real deal, much as Big Red did for us during those two magical years he raced.

Thanks for the blog, the chance to comment and relive a memory or two, and cheers and safe trips to all.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Alfred H. Nuckols, Jr. — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:55:11 GMT

Secretariat's Derby in 1973 was my first Derby because I had been away at college until then. I had seen him in Saratoga while working the sales the previous year when he beat Linda's Chief in the Sanford and that was probably the last time you could get close to him in a saddling paddock. He was truly magnificant both on the track and at Claiborne where he stood his entire stud career.

Penny Chenery is one of the last great "dames de race". She knew my parents and I had the opportunity to get to know her in a social sense and she was always a wonderful supporter of our industry in every aspect from breeding to retirement.

Looking back over my career in the thoroughbred business, seeing Secretariat and getting to know Ms. Chenery are definitely two of my biggest highlights!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Debbie — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:27:45 GMT

I was a senior in High School when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. As a girl I always wanted a horse. 25 years later I was a thoroughbred race horse owner. I enjoyed many years of racing and I finally decided to breed my own horses. I had 5 horses that were granddaughters and grandsons of Secretariat and Mr. Prospector. God bless Mrs. Chenery. She is a wonderful ambassador for racing and a class act. I imagine she was thrilled to watch Zenyatta win her 19th race in person at Hollywood Park. Imagine what kind of baby Secretariat and Zenyatta would have had.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

wendyg — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:03:53 GMT

In 73 I was 9 years old. I loved race horses, but I did not experience the impact that Secretariat had on people everywhere. My first real awareness of thoroughbred greats was Genuine Risk, and Seattle slew. I was older, and really appreciated and loved them.

I have seen the movie at a special showing, and I thought it was amazing. I love every bit of it. I thought to myself that it is a people movie centered around a great horse. I loved all of the stories involved in the making of this wonderful movie.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Lauracrown — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:27:56 GMT

In 1973, I was home watching history being made on television as Secretariat won the Triple Crown. I had waited my whole life to see a Triple Crown winner come along in my lifetime. His Belmont Stakes was the most dramatic thing I have ever seen in sports. I had been a racing fan all of my life in a family of New York Yankee fanatics and football fans. My family actually got interested in horse racing enough to take me to Saratoga for The Whitney. It didn't even matter that much that he lost to Onion, because we had seen Secretariat in person, been a part of an electrifying experience, and fallen in love with Saratoga. Because of Secretariat, I learned all things are possible in good time. And, I got to return to Saratoga over the years for our vacation. Secretariat is the epitome of Greatness for me,as a racing fan. I will comment on the movie after I have seen it. The trailer looks good and the critics have mostly been positive. Therefore, I believe I shall like the film immensely despite its flaws.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Darla Burton — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:23:44 GMT

I wrote my senior english term paper on Secretariat and made an A!!! Haven't seen the movie yet,but I know it will be entertaining!!!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

arlingtonfan — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:29:19 GMT

Where was I in 1973? Standing by the rail at Arlington Park, watching Secretariat run on one of the most memorable days of my life. I was ten years old. Eleven years later, I got to meet him face to face at Claiborne. I feel blessed to have been alive at the same time he was.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Robin from Maryland — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:42:13 GMT

In 1973 I was only beginning my travel into TB racing. Actually, in 1971 at the age of 11, I saw my first televised Derby. From that day forward I made it a point to be in front of the TV whenever Wide World of Sports came on - hoping to see a horse race. I remember watching Secretariats TC run and just being in awe of this horse when he galloped home 31 lengths ahead to win the TC. From that day on, I studdied the bloodlines of each champion, and memorized the winners of all the TC races. In 1975, my world was turned up-side down by the breakdown of Ruffian. I was numb for days. I listened dearly to my grandfather who had seen the original Big Red(Man O'War) race. In the preceding years, there have been many more happy times and tragedies. In fact too many tragedies: Go For Wand, Charismatic, Barbaro, and Pine Island - just to name a few. Now I cheer loudest of all for Queen Z. I wish her and the connections much more success. It has been said that Secretariat was the second coming of Man O'War and perhaps the Queen is the second coming of Secretariat; Who Knows! One thing that I do know is this: when I visited Claiborne in '07, I paid tribute to the Great One at his grave, and thanked him for all that he gave and all that he did for racing. For on that day in 1973, he changed the course of horse racing forever!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Don — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:31:50 GMT

In 1973 I decided to make a pilgimage from my home in Calgary, Alberta to Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and Saratoga. It was my first real summer holiday and at the age of 27 set out for a thirty-day road trip to visit places I had only read about ever since I'd fallen in love with horse-racing and names like Nashua and Summer Tan.

I arrived in Lexington in time for the Keeneland summer sales and witnessed the sale of the world-record $600,000. Bold Ruler yearling before visiting such storied farms as Darby Dan, Elmendorf and Spendthift. Claiborne was at the height of its glory and so I quietly joined a tour group and beheld such luminous stallions as Herbager, Le Fabuleux, Forli, Round Table, and the great Nijinsky II.

Then it was on to Virginia and The Meadow where I was greeted with remarkable hospitality and every mare and foal were led out for my somewhat embarrassed inspection before I was taken into the Chenery family home and saw the walls of gold and silver trophies which lined the trophy room. Never did I expect to be received so graciously; yet somehow I felt my reception simply mirrored the grace which surrounded Secretariat and Penny Chenery. Both were racing royalty, far removed from the ostentatious displays of wealth I'd observed each evening at the Keeneland sales as twenty-something showgirls and ageing multi-millionaires emerged from stretch limos.

No, The Meadow and its equine and human residents were the epitome of the intangibles of class, good breeding, and grace. Secretariat had not been plucked from a yearling sale for millions of dollars; he was simply the product of carefully-considered bloodlines which represented more than mere money. He epitomized the best of what has almost vanished from the face of American racing: a quality homebred with a flawless pedigree. In that respect, he was very much like his owner. As he graced the racetracks of North America, so did Penny Chenery grace American racing. She was and is a Thoroughbred in the very finest sense.

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Monty — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:31:09 GMT

I see another major motion picture coming out in a few years as well. Entitled, "Zenyatta", undefeated champion !

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Deby — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:28:09 GMT

I'm going to see the movie this weekend. Secretariat is my all time favorite. It was in 1973 that I started watching horseracing with my grandfather and his friends. We were packed into a family owned grocery store in Troy NY with a little TV in the back of the store. We all screamed like crazy when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. I will never forget that!

re: A Red Carpet Weekend For Secretariat

Somethingroyal — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:59:41 GMT

I had just moved to CA and my Uncle had introduced me to Sceretariat when he was racing as a two-year old. I was 14 at the time and I had just started my art career and Secretariat became an immediate subject for a young inspiring artist. After following his career. I was hooked with drawing Thoroughbred's throughout my career. His beauty and power added to his personna. But, it was his achievements on the track in my mind set the standards for how racehorses are judged today.