FILE - Ron Turcotte hangs on as Secretariat romps along the final stretch just before the finish line and a victory in the 105th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., June 9, 1973. (AP Photo/File)
Even as an unnamed, unproven colt Secretariat was a sight to behold.
Long before jockey Ron Turcotte rode Secretariat to an emphatic 1973 American Triple Crown victory, the Drummond, N.B., native fondly remembers just how majestic and regal the horse was.
“I first saw him at the barn in Florida in January, 1972,” Turcotte told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview. “I was going to see Riva Ridge (a horse Turcotte would ride to victory in the ’72 Derby and Belmont) “¦ and when I went by his (Secretariat’s) stall, he just caught my eye.
“I snapped back and thought, ‘Wow. How pretty can you get?’ I just couldn’t get over it.”
Neither could late trainer Lucien Laurin, of Joliette, Que.
“When I met up with Lucien, I asked about Riva Ridge but then said, ‘Who’s that pretty boy you’ve got down there?'” Turcotte said. “He said, ‘That’s a horse that just came in “¦ he’s too pretty to be a runner.’
“Those were his words.”
Secretariat would prove Laurin wrong.
Friday marked the 50th anniversary to the day of Secretariat’s emphatic 31-length victory in the Belmont to become the first American Triple Crown winner in 25 years. It was a performance dubbed by many as the most dominant in sports history.
That race also produced the iconic photo of Turcotte, in deep stretch, looking behind to see the remainder of the field well back.
“I only looked back for the other horses at the quarter pole and I couldn’t see anything under my arm,” Turcotte said. “So that’s when I looked back.
“The picture you see of me looking in was when I was looking at the (infield teletimer) because we’d run the first mile and a quarter faster than we did when we won the Derby.”
Not that Turcotte, 81, was surprised.
“Lucien and I went for dinner the night after (Secretariat’s) last work,” Turcotte said. “I told him, ‘If I get beat in the Belmont, I’ll hang up my tack.’
“That’s how sure I was and how much confidence I had because of how he’d worked.”
The 2023 Belmont is slated for Saturday at Belmont Park.
Secretariat finished in the money in 20-of-21 career starts (16 wins, three seconds, once third). He still holds the record in all three of the ’73 Triple Crown races he won.
Secretariat was euthanized in 1989 after developing laminitis, a painful hoof disease.
“It was like losing a family member,” Turcotte said. “He was the kind of horse that made you want to get out of bed early, get to the barn and get your work done with him “¦ he kept you going.”
Turcotte rates Secretariat as the greatest horse he’s ever ridden but considers Northern Dancer, who in 1964 became the first Canadian-bred to win the Kentucky Derby, a close second. Turcotte rode Northern Dancer to his first victory as a two-year-old in 1963 at Fort Erie Racetrack.
“As much as I loved Riva Ridge, Northern Dancer is the second-best horse I rode,” Turcotte said. “He was a heck of a horse.
“I loved him from the first time I rode him.”
Turcotte’s career ended in 1978 when injuries suffered in a fall at Belmont Park left him a paraplegic. Since then, he’s been a tireless advocate for the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund, which assists injured riders.
In 1980, Turcotte was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. He’s also a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame and New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.
There’s also a statue of Turcotte riding Secretariat in Grand Falls, N.B.
The admiration Turcotte felt seeing Secretariat for the first time blossomed into unbridled love once he started riding the budding superstar. It was Turcotte who gave Secretariat his ‘Big Red’ moniker.
“He was such a lovable horse “¦ he was like a kitten,” Turcotte said. “A big, bold horse who was strong, the strongest racehorse I’ve been on, but he was also so very kind and gentle.
“He was also very intelligent and learned well. I remember teaching him something simply by moving my hand and whenever I did it, he always responded very well. He was such a nice horse to ride.”
Secretariat gave Turcotte many options in a race. He could come off the pace or storm out to an early lead and hold the field at bay.
Case and point was the 1973 Triple Crown.
Secretariat came from well back to win the Derby. Then in the Preakness, Turcotte took Secretariat from last to the lead after the first turn en route to another record-breaking victory.
The following month in the Belmont, Secretariat and Sham battled for the early lead before Secretariat began steadily pulling away for the commanding Crown-clinching win.
“I think the greatest race I rode on him was when I made that instant decision to wheel him out in the Preakness and go by everyone at the first turn,” Turcotte said. “That’s a no-no and had I lost that race, geez, I don’t think I would’ve been able to buy a mount.
“But I knew he could do it.”
Turcotte feels he had several advantages entering the ’73 season. First of all, he’d run in the 1972 Triple Crown with Riva Ridge (winning the Derby and Belmont, finishing fourth in the Preakness on a sloppy track) and remains convinced had Mother Nature co-operated he would’ve ended the Triple Crown drought that year.
“I felt sick when I saw all that rain because I knew he didn’t like mud,” Turcotte said. “He was definitely the best three-year-old in 1972.”
Turcotte not only raced Secretariat as a two-year-old but also did workouts with the horse. That allowed the two to form a bond and for Turcotte to understand what made Secretariat tick.
“I had an edge “¦ I knew exactly how fit he was and what I could do with him,” Turcotte said. “I knew he would run all day.
“I know some people didn’t think so at first until we proved it in the Belmont.”
Fate, however, prevented Turcotte from riding Secretariat in his final race, the ’73 Canadian International at Woodbine Racetrack. With Turcotte serving a suspension, Eddie Maple guided Secretariat to a six-and-a-half length win before 35,000 spectators on a wet, cold and windy October afternoon.
“That (missing International) was an awful blow to me,” Turcotte said. “I would’ve been coming home with a hero I’d ridden in the U.S. and kind of been able to show him to the people of Canada.
“But I was able to prepare him for the race. I gave him his last workout and knew he was ready to go.”
Sadly, Secretariat never raced following his three-year-old campaign due to a syndication deal. While he’d go on to sire numerous stakes winners, Turcotte said the racing public never saw Secretariat’s best on the track.
“Horses don’t mature until they’re five or six years old,” Turcotte said. “In his case, the last month he ran he was maturing and really carrying himself well and getting better all the time.
“Nobody saw the true Secretariat.”
Four horses have won the U.S. Triple Crown since 1973 but Turcotte doubts there’ll ever be another Secretariat. After dismounting Secretariat for the final time, Turcotte kissed the horse on his nose.
“That’s when he was leaving for the farm,” Turcotte said. “But I also gave him a kiss on the nose before the Preakness.
“So many memories, I’ll never forget him. Like I’ve said, he was such a lovable, kind horse. One of a kind.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
