39 years after the fact, the greatest horse that ever raced has his time changed in Leg 2 of his . .

[Jack Sprat]

5. Feel among the fortunate

to have seen those Triple Crown performances in your lifetime. It had been 25 years since the previous Triple Crown winner, Citation, and I was in my mid-20s never having seen one. I knew it was a special horse and made certain I watched all 3 races in 1973. The Belmont was the startling climax that made every onlooker frozen in awe of what they were witnessing. After 2 more Triple Crown winners in the following 5 years, there hasn't been one since. It has been said that Big Red was a freak of nature. His heart was nearly twice the size of the average thoroughbred revealed in the autopsy after his death. I think maybe I saw the greatest thoroughbred racehorse in the history of the sport. The name of Secretariat will always be remembered for that spectacular summer of 73.

I mean no slight to Seattle Slew or Affirmed. They were great horses too. But there was only one Big Red.