Secretariat

For me personally, what a weird coincidence that earlier this week, TDN published a wonderful essay by its columnist Chris McGrath, who spent time with three of the industry's "elder statesman," among them Ercel Ellis. For it was Ellis who, 40 years ago this coming week, made a decision that altered the course of my life. McGrath obviously had a wonderful time at Lil's Coffee House in Paris, Ky., listening to the yarns spun by Ellis, now 92, renowned veterinarian Bob Copelan (97), and the youngster of the trio, Stone...

Secretariat's birthday will be celebrated Saturday, March 30 with a special children's event hosted by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, NY. The afternoon, which will run concurrently with the final day of the Museum's exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown, will feature a showing of the 2010 Disney film starring Diane Lane along with a variety of children's activities. Fans are welcome to an Easter egg hunt and will have the opportunity to color silks and design a birthday card....

When Perry Ouzts wired the field aboard an 8-1 maiden filly named Caberneigh (Munnings) at Turfway Park last Wednesday night, the 69-year-old jockey established a milestone that garnered little notice in the racing world. The victory extended Ouzts's remarkable streak of having ridden at least one winner in a calendar year to 52 consecutive seasons. Think about the scope of that accomplishment for a moment. On Apr. 2, 1973, Ouzts, then 18, rode his first lifetime winner on just his second day as a licensed apprentice, guiding home an Ohio-bred...

The Thoroughbred Daily News was among six 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners Friday when the awards were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. The 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners are as follows: Multimedia - TDN Writers' Room Podcast - "Wade and Carson Jost," Sept. 20, 2023; Thoroughbred Daily News Gulf War veteran Wade Jost and his son, Carson, joined TDN Writers' Room podcast hosts Bill Finley, Randy Moss, and Zoe Cadman on Sept. 23 for an in-depth and emotional...

The beloved equine friend of the late Cody Dorman, MGISW Cody's Wish (Curlin), was voted the first back-to-back winner of the Secretariat Vox Populi Award, the website Secretariat.com said in a release Saturday. Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery created the award in 2010 to annually recognize the racehorse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the public and gained recognition for the sport. Though he retired to stud duty with 11 wins and career earnings of $3,106,030, it was the Godolphin homebred's connection to Cody Dorman that elicited widespread admiration...

The Secretariat calendar series, now in its seventh year, will honor Secretariat's daughter Secrettame for the 2024 edition. The series started in 2018 with the Living Legends theme honoring the last living Secretariat sons and daughters, then transitioned to descendants of Secretariat's important broodmares in 2022. Proceeds from the 2024 calendar will benefit The Secretariat Center and Old Friends. The series has already raised more than $33,000 for equine charities through six editions. This will be the first one with The Secretariat Center as the primary beneficiary. "I've always wanted...

The Sporting Art Auction, a collaboration between Cross Gate Gallery of Lexington and Keeneland, celebrated its 11th edition with gross sales of $2,826,671, headlined by the sale of LeRoy Neiman's iconic Secretariat, a signed oil on board dated '73, for $146,875. Held last week in Keeneland's Sales Pavilion, the globally prominent auction attracted 112 buyers from four countries who participated in person and remotely. Eighty-eight percent of the 213 works representing fine Sporting Art, American paintings and sculpture by renowned artists were sold. "We were blown away by the interest...

The nominees for the 2023 Secretariat Vox Populi Award are: Arcangelo, winner of the GI Belmont and Travers S. and the first horse to win a Triple Crown race with a female trainer; Casa Creed, the seasoned 7-year-old turf veteran who has continued to thrill fans while demonstrating both heart and resilience in winning the GI Fourstardave H.; Cody's Wish, 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi recipient whose four wins in five starts this year as a 5-year-old included the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and who shared an endearing and enduring connection with his namesake, the late Cody Dorman; Echo...

It was 50 years ago, a Wednesday in late October and Eddie Maple was spending his day riding at Aqueduct. It was supposed to be just another routine day at the track. But then the seventh race happened. The stewards disqualified Ron Turcotte's mount and handed him a five-day suspension for careless riding. In those days, there were no appeals, no dragging things through court. The suspension started immediately, which meant that Secretariat would need a rider for what would be his final career race, the 1973 GII Canadian International...

In celebration of Secretariat's Triple Crown sweep a half century ago, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's traveling exhibition will visit Woodbine Racetrack and Keeneland Race Course in October, the museum said in a release Thursday afternoon. A Tremendous Machine: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Secretariat's Triple Crown will be at Woodbine in Toronto from Oct. 5-8 and at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, from Oct. 25-29.

The Virginia-bred Gigante (Not This Time) refused to let Nagirroc (Lea) by in the final yards as he gallantly defended his home turf in the GI Secretariat S. at Colonial Downs Saturday. The 22-1 longshot was shuffled back to last as Mo Stash (Mo Town) took the field through fractions of :23.67 and :48.03. The field bunched up around the far turf and Gigante was rolling up into contention four wide approaching the lane. He forged to the lead with a furlong to run and grittily held Nagirroc at bay...

The 50 years that have passed since Secretariat's Herculean victory in the Belmont Stakes have taken a toll on the number of the 67,605 souls who came to witness history and saw a day sanctified by the racing gods. But then, unlike Secretariat, we are mere mortals. I am one of the dwindling number of those who were present on that sweltering day in June 1973. The memory of that magnificent day remains, intensely vibrant and charged with emotion, but it is now more a mosaic than a painting, with...