Last year marked 50 years since Secretariat powered through the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, in performances reminiscent of another Big Red, Man o’ War. His record performances in America’s most prestigious series of races pushed the Triple Crown to new heights, beyond even what it had been in the decades before 1973.

For those who bore witness to the chestnut colt’s races, whether on television or in person, his name recalls a time that left an indelible impression. For those who came after, their connection to this “tremendous machine” originates with the moving images of a horse almost unbelievable in his ability.

What both have in common is the joy that the memories of this wonder horse bring five decades after that magical season. His impact extends beyond his own time and resonates still in the sport that celebrates his storied career.

Forever in the Moment  

Penny Chenery and her most famous horse, Secretariat. (Paul Schafer/BloodHorse photo)

Fifty-one years ago, a 3-year-old Secretariat, fresh off his Horse of the Year campaign at 2, was a horse brimming with potential. It had been a quarter of a century since Citation had swept the Triple Crown and the conversations about changing the sequence became more frequent as the drought went on. Was Secretariat the one or was he another that would fall short at a pivotal moment? Additionally, the future of Meadow Stable depended on this big, red colt. Penny Chenery needed her colt to join his stablemate Riva Ridge as the heroes who could save what her father, Christopher, had built. Secretariat did them one better.

He became a hero to a whole generation.

For those who remember 1973, whether they watched the races in person or on television, Secretariat remains a bright spot in a dark and tense period in America. Internal conflicts over the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement left the country divided. Much like Seabiscuit’s day, when he became a source of joy for a country mired in the Great Depression, the big, red colt did the same for millions.

Today, fans will often talk about “the light that Secretariat shed on America in 1973,” Hall of Fame writer Steve Haskin shared. “All was right with the world. But then two days before the Preakness, the Watergate hearings began, and we had Secretariat to once again serve as a diversion.”

As current events prompted fans to look elsewhere for good news, the hero of Meadow Stable and the people who were a part of his tale became a ray of sunshine for people watching the story unfold. They rallied behind Penny Chenery as she led the charge to save her father’s farm and legacy.

Penny Chenery in 1998. (Anne Eberhardt/BloodHorse)

“People really kind of looked at her as just this real trailblazing individual in the sport, and have a lot of respect for her,” said Brien Bouyea of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. “She was [Secretariat’s] biggest fan going forward and always pushed that legacy.”

For daughter Kate Tweedy, her interactions with fans remind her of what her mother means to fans who remember those struggles and those who understand Chenery’s role from the Disney movie “Secretariat.”

“She was such a great role model, but a lot of fans talked to me about that, how much they were inspired by her, especially when things weren’t going well for them,” Tweedy remembered. “They thought, ‘well, she overcame, and I can do it, too.’ So, it’s been fascinating to hear fans talk about that.”

Now five decades after his Triple Crown season and more than three decades after his passing, Secretariat’s influence stretches beyond the records he set in the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. He inspires people all these years later through his legacy on film and in the breeding shed.

Always in Motion

For the generations who came after, the “Big Red” comes to them in other ways, whether through stories from those who were there or from other sources like YouTube and the 2012 Disney film.

“YouTube has made such a difference because people of all ages can see his races now at any moment,” Tweedy says. “So, they talk about how he’s just so thrilling in so many ways.

“He just was such an amazing horse. He just looked different and more regal perhaps than most than many, many other Thoroughbreds. And then he had this sort of presence that I think people sense, and they sense it from both [the movie and YouTube race replays].”

Secretariat's 1973 Belmont Stakes win. (Coglianese Photo/BloodHorse Library)

To these younger generations, he has become this sort of mythical figure whose legend has flourished because of the perspective that comes with distance. “Obviously during his career, Secretariat was very popular, and the things he was doing was captivating people,” Bouyea reflected. “But I think now that people have looked back, and they’ve had some perspective to it that, you know, his legacy almost continues to keep growing. All those records [he set] in the Triple Crown, they still stand. Anything that stands for such a long time, I think it just makes him more and more unbelievable in the eyes of some of these people.”

Beyond those stakes records in the three classic races, another facet of his legend is also his reputation at stud. The expectations were high for a horse that talented to reproduce himself, and, like most winners of these three classic races, that did not quite happen in the way that people anticipated. For fans like Patricia McQueen, the ninth Triple Crown winner spurs them into action that preserves his impact on the sport beyond that storied season. A photographer and journalist, McQueen’s memories of those halcyon days kept the Triple Crown winner foremost in her mind, but it was his reputation at stud that inspired her book, “Secretariat’s Legacy: The Sons, Daughters and Descendants Who Keep His Legend Alive.”

McQueen’s book collects the stakes winners sired by this famed Thoroughbred, a work born out of her desire to prove the assumption that Secretariat was unsuccessful at stud.

“I think there is still a lot of people out there who don’t associate today’s horses with Secretariat as an ancestor,” McQueen says. “Secretariat’s Legacy,” which was released in 2023, adds a new perspective on this last phase of the big, red horse’s impact on the sport that he dominates even years after his passing. Through daughters like Weekend Surprise (dam of 1992 Horse of the Year leading sire A.P. Indy) and Terlingua (dam of top sire Storm Cat) and sons like Risen Star, Secretariat became a sire of champions on the racetrack and off.

A Legacy Built to Last

At the heart of all of this lies the example that Secretariat left behind, as Hall of Fame writer Steve Haskin observed: “After 50 years, the name Secretariat is still very much a part of our vernacular, and the standard by which all equine, and even human athletes are measured.

“He was the only horse who took your breath away on and off the racetrack; standing still or in action. His power and his stride were like no other and he had the personality to go with it.”

Secretariat and jockey Ron Turcotte after winning the 1973 Belmont Stakes. (BloodHorse Library)

To this day, his impact lives on in those who love the sport and those who have made it their calling. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse and photographer Barbara Livingston can be counted among those who sealed their passion for the sport thanks to Secretariat’s performances in 1973.

For those closest to the Triple Crown winner, he remains an essential part of their lives, more than 50 years on from that golden season.

“That was such a beautiful time for me. I was so lucky to be on him,” said jockey Ron Turcotte, the man aboard Secretariat for all of those record-breaking Triple Crown races. “I think about him a lot. He gave me a lot of courage after I got hurt.”

His love of life, the relish with which he ran and experienced the world, appeals to the deepest parts of our psyches, that undeniable desire to celebrate all things that move us. To see a horse, a creature without compunction or artifice, give his all every time he stepped out on the racetrack, to see what he gave the people who cared for him and loved him, reminds us of the very best that the world has to offer even in the face of darkness.

“Even after half a century, he still represents the epitome of magnificence in every sense of the word,” Haskin observed.

With records that still stand in all of the classics, Secretariat stands head and shoulders above even his fellow Triple Crown winners. His three classic victories, each run in different styles, are the standard for any horse that tries these iconic races.

Click image to purchase shirt.

“He could run in the mud, could run in the slop, could run on the grass, anywhere,” Turcotte remembered. “He was so versatile.”

Humans strive for inspiration to believe in each other and in the unlimited potential of the world around us. We seek chances to bond over common experiences, and, for a moment, the hardships and rancor fell away each time Secretariat walked out onto the racetrack. With each stride, he inspired the love of the men and women who cared for him, of the thousands who stood trackside in awe, and of the generations that have come since, those who know him only through grainy videos and a shiny movie. At the heart of it all was a horse, flesh and bone, born to race and destined to inspire.

“He was unalloyed excellence and joyous,” Tweedy said. “It was joyous to watch him run.”

So far removed from his moment, he has taken on a fairy-tale quality, but, because we have tangible evidence of Secretariat’s dominance, he has become what people hold up as the gold standard for any Thoroughbred racing today.