The Crazy Real-Life Story Of Secretariat

After his poor performance at the Wood Memorial, Secretariat had more than a few doubters. Going into the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat's odds were 3-2, the same as Angle Light, the horse that beat him in the Wood Memorial. So people still thought he might win, but they also thought Angle Light might win.

According to Secretariat.com, Secretariat left the gate near the back of the pack and cruised along in 11th place for a bit. Then he started passing horses. By the time he reached the far turn, he was in fifth place, and he gradually passed the next three horses, too, until he was head-to-head with the pack leader. The two shadowed each other for about 100 yards, and then Secretariat gradually pulled away, winning by two and a half lengths.

There were a few really remarkable things about that race. First, Secretariat set a track record that still stands today: 1 minute, 59.4 seconds. Second, Secretariat had accelerated through the entire race, which is the opposite of how most racehorses do things. Most racehorses start strong and slow gradually — even when they appear to be accelerating at the end of a race, they are really going slower than they did out of the gate because at that point, all the horses are tired. So Secretariat not only won the Kentucky Derby, but he did it totally backwards.

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