Best Race Horse I Ever Saw

[Loyal]

I saw the 1973 Kentucky Derby. Live, and I’m pretty sure I saw the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, live as well. The greatest champion of a racing horse I ever saw was Secretariat. Below is a great color video of these three races and it gave me absolute chills. Do yourself a favor and watch what this horse did that year. Just amazing.


View: https://youtu.be/--FbQqU-vAc

 

[TK42-RAM]

I saw the 1973 Kentucky Derby. Live, and I’m pretty sure I saw the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, live as well. The greatest champion of a racing horse I ever saw was Secretariat. Below is a great color video of these three races and it gave me absolute chills. Do yourself a favor and watch what this horse did that year. Just amazing.


View: https://youtu.be/--FbQqU-vAc

Wow. What a horse.

…. Best I’ve seen down under are Makybe Diva (won the Melbourne Cup three years in a row) … and the undefeated Black Caviar

 

[Tano]

The Preakness was the one that blew me away.

Just blew out the competition.

I was 11 at the time and knew that winning the Triple Crown was a great achievement. I just didn't know how great.

 

[Loyal]

The Preakness was the one that blew me away.

Just blew out the competition.

I was 11 at the time and knew that winning the Triple Crown was a great achievement. I just didn't know how great.

Damn, you old…

 

[dieterbrock]

Love this. My folks are huge horse racing fans, they celebrate their anniversary every year by going to Saratoga for a week for the opening of the season. And the triple crown races were like the Superbowl, was a rotation of who's hosting which race and each an event.
So..... back in 1978..... Kentucky Derby, everyone talking about Affirmed. So naturally, I rooted for Alydar. What a rivalry. I imagine we'll never see another like it. So 3 up, and 3 down, Alydar comes in second each time, and each time I felt more and more bummed out as if my team lost the Superbowl.
So back to the origin of my post, my folks... Well, one time, JUST ONE TIME they thought it would be fun to bring the kids to Saratoga. The highlight of the trip? Yep, the 1978 Travers Stakes, matching Affirmed and Alydar for the very last time. We got to watch the race from the turf, pressed up against a rail so you'd get hit with the dirt kicking off the horses heels.
And here I am now a fully invested horse racing fan. Check that a fully invested, "die hard" Alydar fan, and this was going to be my moment!!!
So the race is on, and just like the other 3 classics, neck and neck they go. They come to the finish and....
Affirmed wins again
Dejected, and crushed....
But wait! The objection warning lights up, the finish is not official.
Waiting....
Waiting...
And then the numbers blink,
And then Switch!
Alydar is named the winner as Affirmed fouled him in the last turn
Great memories, one of those amazing I was there kinda things. At least I thought so.....

 

[Loyal]

Love this. My folks are huge horse racing fans, they celebrate their anniversary every year by going to Saratoga for a week for the opening of the season. And the triple crown races were like the Superbowl, was a rotation of who's hosting which race and each an event.
So..... back in 1978..... Kentucky Derby, everyone talking about Affirmed. So naturally, I rooted for Alydar. What a rivalry. I imagine we'll never see another like it. So 3 up, and 3 down, Alydar comes in second each time, and each time I felt more and more bummed out as if my team lost the Superbowl.
So back to the origin of my post, my folks... Well, one time, JUST ONE TIME they thought it would be fun to bring the kids to Saratoga. The highlight of the trip? Yep, the 1978 Travers Stakes, matching Affirmed and Alydar for the very last time. We got to watch the race from the turf, pressed up against a rail so you'd get hit with the dirt kicking off the horses heels.
And here I am now a fully invested horse racing fan. Check that a fully invested, "die hard" Alydar fan, and this was going to be my moment!!!
So the race is on, and just like the other 3 classics, neck and neck they go. They come to the finish and....
Affirmed wins again
Dejected, and crushed....
But wait! The objection warning lights up, the finish is not official.
Waiting....
Waiting...
And then the numbers blink,
And then Switch!
Alydar is named the winner as Affirmed fouled him in the last turn
Great memories, one of those amazing I was there kinda things. At least I thought so.....

I remember Affirmed and Allydar. It's funny, there have been so many great horses who have won two of three of the races, just missing out on the triple crown. Seattle Slew was another of the triple crown winners in the amazing 70's. After Affirmed in 1978, there was no triple crown winner until American Pharoah in 2015. Think how amazing it is that it took that long? Justify won it in 2018. It seems that triple crown winners come in bunches, and then none for years...

 

[Tano]

Damn, you old…

Yeah but you're older than 84

 

[rdlkgliders]

Affirmed was a beast, I too was an Alydar fan and always thought Alydar was better and going to win. I had a chance to see Alysheba the great offspring from the Alydar line race at Santa Anita . I have only seen a handful of graded races in my time. I had a friend teach me to read the form and went quite a bit over a couple years, what great fun.
Secretariat was one of a kind what a story

 

[Memento]

While I was around horses in my very young years (used to ride when I was younger and healthier), I never quite got into horse racing because of the fatalities to the horses. The only one I really paid attention to was Seabiscuit - and that's only because of the movie.

 

[Loyal]

While I was around horses in my very young years (used to ride when I was younger and healthier), I never quite got into horse racing because of the fatalities to the horses. The only one I really paid attention to was Seabiscuit - and that's only because of the movie.

Loved the story of the Biscuit. He actually beat a rare horse called War Admiral, also a triple crown winner. It seems that Seabiscuit and Secretariat both had heart. Two of the three triple crown races, Secretariat came from last place or near the rear of the pack to win the race. The horses he beat, were winners of many races just to qualify for the Derby, Belmont and Preakness. I guess I'm saying he came back against the best in the world to win.

 

[Ramhusker]

It’s not even close.

 

[HX76]

No mention of Red Rum?

 

[Merlin]

I spent a lot of time at the track when I was a kid as my mother fancied herself as quite the gambler. Always enjoyed it too, the atmosphere and all and being able to pick some horses and keep the money in the rare moments they won.

We were at Hollywood Park the most, but my favorite track was Santa Anita. Grandfather took me there quite a bit and we'd always have the roast beef sandwiches that were amazing there and sit in club. Made for a great way to enjoy a beautiful SoCal day with gorgeous views of those hills.

Del Mar was great too, I would spend a ton of time checking out the horses in their ring out there before the race and making my pick. But it did kind of suck driving down to San Diego so typically we'd only go down there to place bets. Think it was Del Mar where I had my best day as a kid, where I hit a couple exactas in the first few races and one of them had a longshot that payed out real well I left with quite the cash roll in my pocket.

Oh and the biggest race I saw live was when Seattle Slew ran at Hollywood Park. This was after the Triple Crown races. I bet on him of course and watched JR Tobin beat him which was such a disappointment. Weird that I can remember that horse's name when I can't tell you what I had for breakfast this morning.

 

[Loyal]

I spent a lot of time at the track when I was a kid as my mother fancied herself as quite the gambler. Always enjoyed it too, the atmosphere and all and being able to pick some horses and keep the money in the rare moments they won.

We were at Hollywood Park the most, but my favorite track was Santa Anita. Grandfather took me there quite a bit and we'd always have the roast beef sandwiches that were amazing there and sit in club. Made for a great way to enjoy a beautiful SoCal day with gorgeous views of those hills.

Del Mar was great too, I would spend a ton of time checking out the horses in their ring out there before the race and making my pick. But it did kind of suck driving down to San Diego so typically we'd only go down there to place bets. Think it was Del Mar where I had my best day as a kid, where I hit a couple exactas in the first few races and one of them had a longshot that payed out real well I left with quite the cash roll in my pocket.

Oh and the biggest race I saw live was when Seattle Slew ran at Hollywood Park. This was after the Triple Crown races. I bet on him of course and watched JR Tobin beat him which was such a disappointment. Weird that I can remember that horse's name when I can't tell you what I had for breakfast this morning.

It's funny, but I only ever went to the track as a kid with my Mom and Dad, and they were not big betters. I never could make heads or tails from betting odds and the bets themselves. but I loved watching televised races because I could actually see what was happening!

One thing I remember was meeting a family friend that our whole family loved. Dude was a big time joker. I have a memory of meeting him at the race track while he took drinks from his brown paper wrapped, Boones Farm Apple wine. He had classy tastes in other ways, but it's funny that I remember that so clearly.

 

[Loyal]

No mention of Red Rum?

I've heard of the name from the Stephen King book, "The Shining," but where did this horse race?

 

[HX76]

Red Rum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He won the grand national, the most famous handicap and hardest steeplechase in Horse Racing, three times in the 70’s. The race takes place at Aintree (Liverpool).

 

[SWAdude]

Arguably Secretariat was the best athlete that has ever lived.

Even ESPN put him at like 33 of the 50 best athletes of the last century.

Watched all three races live on TV. Secretariat won the Belmont on my birthday.

Simply amazing accomplishment.

 

[nighttrain]

y'all ever hear of "Silky Sullivan"?

not a great, but a real honest horse...
train

 

[Loyal]

Red Rum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He won the grand national, the most famous handicap and hardest steeplechase in Horse Racing, three times in the 70’s. The race takes place at Aintree (Liverpool).

He sounds like a great horse.

Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot about steeplechase racing, although I've seen it done a few times. It's hard to compare what Red Rum did with Secretariat, because the horses did different styles of racing.

I read some excerpts from a a book that grades the 100 best racing horses of the 20th century, with Man of War being listed as the best and Secretariat as number two. Even the contributors of the book admit that the seven people being asked to grade the horses, could skew any ranking because of the small number of votes. Secretariat tied Man of War for 1st place votes and was only different by one vote for a top ten ranking because he lost a race or two....(One of which he won, but was relegated to second place for interference).. The job was hard because those grading the horses had to grade the early horses who were hand timed, vs those in the modern age with electric timers. Some ran in uneven field settings, gravel, dirt....vs todays manicured park tracks or perfectly level dirt tracks. All of the judges had never seen Man of War race, but placed him in front of Secretariat, Citation and Seattle Slew? They say he gets the ranking because he was the standard of early racing for so long and that earned him the top billing.

Secretariat set three records for the triple crown races when he ran them. One of the three records stands today.

 

[RAMSinLA]

As a kid my granddad's office had racing forms everywhere. He loved horse racing and went to the track whenever he could. I still can hear the races playing in my head because he always had a race on the car radio. I asked him one day at work...who was the best horse ever. He said Secretariat because most race horses love to run, Secretariat loved to race.