Many people recall where they were when they witnessed a historic moment. In June 1973, I was a young adult, wandering through the appliance department of Sears at the Viewmont Mall in Scranton, PA. I was waiting for my parents to meet me so we could leave. 

A group of people seemed fixated on a television screen. The live broadcast was for the Belmont Stakes, and one of the viewers was my former employer at my very first job. Paul Bakos, a kind man, was the owner of Steve’s Diner in Honesdale—now known as Scarfalloto’s. 

As the huddle grew, the crowd in the stands and around the track were on their feet and shouting louder than any I’d ever heard. Next to me, Paul was spewing epithets of amazement under his breath. With a 31-length lead, Secretariat had won the Triple Crown in record time. 

Though I was already a seasoned rider who lived and breathed horses, I wasn’t well informed about Secretariat at the time because we didn’t have a television. We couldn’t get reception. 

My only connection to racing came years later, when I bred a racing Thoroughbred mare to a top AAA Quarter Horse stallion, because my good friend and mentor thought getting involved was a good opportunity. New parimutuel tracks had opened in Yaphank and Tioga. And, at that time, the purse for the famous All American was $1 million, the richest purse in racing. (Now the purse is $3 million.) 

My friend was a dreamer. And I had caught the dream. Quarter Horses run faster than Thoroughbreds. But the 440 yard dash was way too short for audiences in the east, and Quarter Horse racing didn’t last long.  To be honest, I was never a true racing fan anyway. 

But how could anyone not be a fan of the stunningly beautiful and charismatic horse who ran all three legs of the Triple Crown in record time? If you look up Secretariat, you will see biographies, documentaries, commentaries, worldwide reports in newspapers and magazines. Endless interviews flood YouTube. 

The most striking thing to me is that Secretariat evoked such emotion from people who knew him, wrote about him, and those who felt somehow touched just watching him run his own race. People in every category openly wept when “Big Red” himself made the decision to run further and faster even though he had passed the 8th pole at 20 lengths ahead of the field. Announcers feared they were witnessing him self-destruct. His record at all three races has never been broken.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the magic that was powerful enough to distract America from the woes of Watergate and the Vietnam war. A traveling museum of Secretariat’s story will make the tour from Louisville to Saratoga this season. 

Happenstance played a role in this inspiring story. Penny Chenery Tweedy won Secretariat (an unnamed foal at the time) in a coin toss. It was part of a pre-arranged contract in order to breed outside mares to Claiborne Farms’ Bold Ruler. Penney owned the mare, Something Royal, who was a daughter of Princequillo. 

This was an important fact. Because Secretariat’s conformation appeared well muscled and his athleticism so powerful, many Quarter Horse owners speculated that his dam was “really” bred to a Quarter Horse stallion “out behind the woodshed.”

The fascinating truth was revealed by an autopsy performed after this great horse was euthanized due to laminitis, an extremely painful and most often deadly condition. His heart weighed 22 lbs., twice the size of a normal horse of his build. 

What I didn’t know was that the condition was genetic. Princequillo, whose own interesting story was fueled by events of World War II, and the sire of Secretariat’s dam, carried the gene and passed it on to a percentage of his progeny.  In Secretariat’s case though, the veterinarian concluded that, though it was large, Secretariat’s heart was healthy and uncompromised. 

Penny Chenery Tweedy believed in her horse. Her journey wasn’t an easy one. You can watch the story of how she persevered at bit.ly/3oZMNwn.  

With a horse as famous and admired as Secretariat, there will always be one more story. If you are a horse person who is involved in constant routine care for your horses, you might also appreciate this one about the vet who performed the autopsy: issuu.com/equestriandirectory.ensomedia/docs/ked-2020/s/10168613.

Another interesting fact: The movie “Secretariat” is well done and is a family-friendly Disney production. I am very pleased to say that one of our own is a member of the cast—Dylan Baker, renowned actor, portrays Hollis Chenery. He and his wife Becky are members of our local community.