It’s that time of the year again. The chase for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve officially begins Saturday with the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, the first points race for the Triple Crown class of 2026.
Retired jockey Ron Turcotte, remembered for riding Secretariat to win the 1973 Triple Crown during a Hall of Fame career that ended prematurely in 1978 due to a tragic racing injury, died of natural causes Aug. 22 in his Drummond home outside Grand Falls, New Brunswick, in Canada. He was 84.
There should be no mention of the mighty Triple Crown champion Secretariat without pointing to jockey Ron Turcotte as an integral member of a dynamite team.
It might appear from watching replays of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 1973 as if Turcotte was merely a passenger taken for a wonderful ride by the gleaming colt they called “Big Red.” But Penny Chenery, Secretariat’s owner, knew better.
Of course, that partly depends upon your definition of best. In terms of sheer brilliance, it would be difficult for Sovereignty to surpass Arrogate. He’s not that type of racehorse, but his 3-year-old season has a very good chance to be better overall if he can defeat older males at least once. Some, myself included, might consider his season to be better right now.
