Deseret News archives: Everyone loves a Triple Crown winner, and Secretariat was the greatest

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, passes the twin spires of Churchill Downs during the running of the 99th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky., on May 5, 1973. | Associated Press

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on May 5, 2024.

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

For hardcore horse racing fans, the first Saturday in May means Kentucky Derby week, but it’s technically the middle of the racing season.

For the rest of us, it might be the only time we think about thoroughbred racing. Unless one horse is able to win the Triple Crown.

On May 5, 1973, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories, in a time of 1:59.4, a record that still stands. He is still considered the greatest racehorse of all time.

A page from the Deseret News sports section on Monday, May 7, 1973, contains an article about Secretariat.

Once a 3-year-old wins the Derby at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, he has a chance to race in the Preakness Stakes at the end of the month at Pimlico in Maryland, and with a win there, at the Belmont Stakes at Elmont, New York, in June.

Only 14 horses have won the Triple Crown in history, and just four have accomplished the feat since Secretariat.

And once the Derby winner falters, interest in the other two races drops.

Secretariat has had the movie treatment and has received adoration from . Some will debate whether Secretariat is the but the numbers make a strong case.