Triple Crown

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Ron Turcotte, Secretariat’s Hall of Fame Jockey, Dies at 84

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.

American Pharoah, Bob Baffert, Zayat, Triple Crown, Travers Stakes, Saratoga Race Course, America's Best Racing, horse racing, ABR

American Pharoah’s Saratoga Gallop That May Never Be Matched

Travers Stakes weekend 2015 was an experience that anyone fortunate enough to be at Saratoga Race Course will never forget.

Ron Turcotte: Secretariat’s Hall of Fame Rider

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.

Sovereignty, Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Saratoga Race Course, Triple Crown

Is Sovereignty the Best 3-Year-Old Male Since American Pharoah?

The short answer is no ... but he could be.

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.

Saratoga Stories: A Dinner Party to Remember

The story of the sport of horse racing lies in its places: sprawling expanses of bluegrass nourishing generations, stunning mountain vistas watching over their battles, and timeless towns centered around these equine athletes. Summer brings America to one of those timeless towns, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where the best that the sport has to offer congregate for new editions of long-running fixture races.

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