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1973 Kentucky Derby
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1973 Kentucky Derby
The 1973 Kentucky Derby was the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Secretariat won the Derby in a record time of 1:59+2⁄5, 2+1⁄2 lengths ahead of Sham, while Our Native finished in third position. Of the thirteen horses that entered and started the race, all horses completed the event. The event was viewed in person by a then-record crowd of 134,476, while also being broadcast both on television and over the radio.
In the days leading up to the race, Secretariat was seen as the favorite to win by many; however there were doubts about him following a third-place finish at the Wood Memorial Stakes two weeks prior to the Derby. In the wake of Secretariat's loss, Angle Light and, in particular, Sham were the horses that were seen as the most likely to win the Derby, aside from Secretariat. Many sportswriters believed that the horses in the field possessed great speed and thought the course record would be broken.
Shecky Greene took the lead first and led for the majority of the first seven furlongs. Sham took the lead from Shecky Greene near the three quarter mile mark. As the horses entered the homestretch, Secretariat passed Sham in the final furlong and distanced himself to consolidate his lead. Secretariat would go on to win the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in the succeeding weeks, thus becoming the ninth horse to complete the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
Thirteen horses entered the Derby, which could have at most twenty participants. Horse owners had to pay a final entry fee of $2,500 to have their horses officially entered. The field was larger than anticipated because of new entries following Secretariat's loss at the Wood Memorial Stakes in New York.
The Wood Memorial had been the last prep race for three year-olds before the Kentucky Derby. It was a 1+1⁄8 mile contest held two weeks prior at Aqueduct Racetrack. Angle Light, whom groom Edward Sweat called a "very quiet horse," won the race by a length ahead of Sham, while Secretariat finished in third, four lengths behind. Secretariat's third-place finish led spectators and sportswriters to question his ability and health; but it was later thought that his performance in the Wood had been affected by a mouth abscess discovered prior to the race. It was his first defeat since he had finished fourth in his first race and had been relegated from first to second place because of an infraction during the Champagne Stakes, both of which occurred during his two-year-old campaign.
Secretariat was nonetheless the morning line favorite of the Derby entrants, despite losing the Wood. This was because he had been 1972 American Horse of the Year for a two-year-old campaign that featured seven victories in nine starts. Secretariat also won the two races he had entered prior to the Wood Memorial, the Gotham and Bay Shore Stakes. Sham's trainer, Frank "Pancho" Martin, stated that Secretariat was the horse to beat and the only way to "knock" the horse was to beat him.
Sham, who had won the Santa Anita Derby, was seen as the most formidable challenger to Secretariat in the Derby because of his finish ahead of Secretariat in the Wood and his Santa Anita victory. Coming off the heels of his victory at the Wood, Angle Light was seen as a threat to win. Angle Light was also trained by Lucien Laurin along with Secretariat, and thus Secretariat and Angle Light were coupled for betting purposes. Flamingo Stakes winner Our Native finished first or second in seven of his nine starts during the 1973 season, causing him to be named as a contender. Blue Grass Stakes winner My Gallant and Shecky Greene, who won the Fountain of Youth Stakes, were both trained in Chicago by Lou Goldline, which also resulted in their odds being coupled. Goldline said the two horses were similar and would do well at Churchill Downs because they both liked fast tracks. Impecunious, who was victorious in the Arkansas Derby, was initially entered in the race, but withdrew two days before because of a bruised heel. None of the competing horses had been sired by a previous Derby winner.
Florida Derby winner Royal and Regal had been suffering some problems with his feet going into the race and was seen as a horse that could potentially be scratched before the race began. Shecky Greene, Angle Light, and Royal and Regal were thought to be the only horses in the field that had "appreciable early speed" and would challenge to be the leader out of the gates. My Gallant was to be ridden by Angel Cordero, but Cordero was suspended for ten days starting the day of the Derby for a rules infraction on a race on May 2. Braulio Baeza was chosen to jockey My Gallant, after being dropped by the owners of Shecky Greene in advance of the race because they were unsure whether that horse would be entered into the Derby. Larry Adams was ultimately selected as the jockey for Shecky Greene. With the speed of the horses entered, many thought that the course record of 2:00 would be broken.
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1973 Kentucky Derby
The 1973 Kentucky Derby was the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Secretariat won the Derby in a record time of 1:59+2⁄5, 2+1⁄2 lengths ahead of Sham, while Our Native finished in third position. Of the thirteen horses that entered and started the race, all horses completed the event. The event was viewed in person by a then-record crowd of 134,476, while also being broadcast both on television and over the radio.
In the days leading up to the race, Secretariat was seen as the favorite to win by many; however there were doubts about him following a third-place finish at the Wood Memorial Stakes two weeks prior to the Derby. In the wake of Secretariat's loss, Angle Light and, in particular, Sham were the horses that were seen as the most likely to win the Derby, aside from Secretariat. Many sportswriters believed that the horses in the field possessed great speed and thought the course record would be broken.
Shecky Greene took the lead first and led for the majority of the first seven furlongs. Sham took the lead from Shecky Greene near the three quarter mile mark. As the horses entered the homestretch, Secretariat passed Sham in the final furlong and distanced himself to consolidate his lead. Secretariat would go on to win the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in the succeeding weeks, thus becoming the ninth horse to complete the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
Thirteen horses entered the Derby, which could have at most twenty participants. Horse owners had to pay a final entry fee of $2,500 to have their horses officially entered. The field was larger than anticipated because of new entries following Secretariat's loss at the Wood Memorial Stakes in New York.
The Wood Memorial had been the last prep race for three year-olds before the Kentucky Derby. It was a 1+1⁄8 mile contest held two weeks prior at Aqueduct Racetrack. Angle Light, whom groom Edward Sweat called a "very quiet horse," won the race by a length ahead of Sham, while Secretariat finished in third, four lengths behind. Secretariat's third-place finish led spectators and sportswriters to question his ability and health; but it was later thought that his performance in the Wood had been affected by a mouth abscess discovered prior to the race. It was his first defeat since he had finished fourth in his first race and had been relegated from first to second place because of an infraction during the Champagne Stakes, both of which occurred during his two-year-old campaign.
Secretariat was nonetheless the morning line favorite of the Derby entrants, despite losing the Wood. This was because he had been 1972 American Horse of the Year for a two-year-old campaign that featured seven victories in nine starts. Secretariat also won the two races he had entered prior to the Wood Memorial, the Gotham and Bay Shore Stakes. Sham's trainer, Frank "Pancho" Martin, stated that Secretariat was the horse to beat and the only way to "knock" the horse was to beat him.
Sham, who had won the Santa Anita Derby, was seen as the most formidable challenger to Secretariat in the Derby because of his finish ahead of Secretariat in the Wood and his Santa Anita victory. Coming off the heels of his victory at the Wood, Angle Light was seen as a threat to win. Angle Light was also trained by Lucien Laurin along with Secretariat, and thus Secretariat and Angle Light were coupled for betting purposes. Flamingo Stakes winner Our Native finished first or second in seven of his nine starts during the 1973 season, causing him to be named as a contender. Blue Grass Stakes winner My Gallant and Shecky Greene, who won the Fountain of Youth Stakes, were both trained in Chicago by Lou Goldline, which also resulted in their odds being coupled. Goldline said the two horses were similar and would do well at Churchill Downs because they both liked fast tracks. Impecunious, who was victorious in the Arkansas Derby, was initially entered in the race, but withdrew two days before because of a bruised heel. None of the competing horses had been sired by a previous Derby winner.
Florida Derby winner Royal and Regal had been suffering some problems with his feet going into the race and was seen as a horse that could potentially be scratched before the race began. Shecky Greene, Angle Light, and Royal and Regal were thought to be the only horses in the field that had "appreciable early speed" and would challenge to be the leader out of the gates. My Gallant was to be ridden by Angel Cordero, but Cordero was suspended for ten days starting the day of the Derby for a rules infraction on a race on May 2. Braulio Baeza was chosen to jockey My Gallant, after being dropped by the owners of Shecky Greene in advance of the race because they were unsure whether that horse would be entered into the Derby. Larry Adams was ultimately selected as the jockey for Shecky Greene. With the speed of the horses entered, many thought that the course record of 2:00 would be broken.