The journey from the first Kentucky Derby to the 152nd edition in 2026 included its share of influential names, men and women who have left their mark on the country’s most famous race.
His career has been documented and discussed so voluminously that it rivals that of the other “Big Red,” Man o’ War. To tell the story of the immortal Secretariat is a challenge as his life on the track and off was punctuated by a plethora of fortuitous circumstances that gave us this tremendous machine.
Eddie Arcaro was known as “The Master,” high praise indeed for anyone attempting to persuade a half-ton Thoroughbred to do his bidding at an instant’s notice. But Arcaro deserved that accolade because it can be argued that he, perhaps more than any other jockey, came closest to mastering his perilous craft.
By 1943, the United States was more than a year into World War II, with Allied forces fighting in both Europe and the Pacific. For many, the racetrack served as a distraction, a place to get away from the heaviness of reality and find personalities to root for in challenging times.
Belair Stud had dominated the sport of horse racing in the 1930s, the distinctive white with red spots a fixture in the winner’s circles of the Triple Crown races in multiple years. By the 1940s, though, the tide was turning toward a different set of silks, the immortal Devil red and blue of Calumet Farm.
