Ruffian, owned and bred by Stuart and Barbara Janney, was foaled on April 17, 1972, at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. The Janney’s were truly horsepeople. An amateur steeplechase rider, Stuart Janney had won the famed Maryland Hunt Cup four times, and Mrs. Janney was a daughter of Gladys Phipps, one of the top thoroughbred breeders in America until her death in October of 1970, at the age of 87.

In 1971 the Janney’s elected to breed their stakes placed Native Dancer mare Shenanigans to Ogden Phipps’ stallion Reviewer, a son of Bold Ruler who had won nine of his thirteen starts, including the Sapling Stakes, the Saratoga Special, the Swift Stakes, the Bay Shore Stakes, the Roseben Handicap, and the Nassau County Stakes. Reviewer had also run second in the Hopeful Stakes, earning a total of $247,223 in a career interrupted twice by injury. In 1971 he was standing his first season at stud, while Bold Ruler was standing his last.

In the fall of her yearling year, the dark bay Shenanigans filly was introduced to a saddle and bridle by Nick Lotz, assisted by groom Donnie Bussell, in her stall at Raceland, Claiborne’s weanling facility, before being sent to Xalapa Farms, which Claiborne had leased as a training facility. Here Nick Lotz, who had also broke her half-brother Icecapade, taught her the basics of living life as a racehorse. On November 16, 1973, Ruffian left Claiborne to begin her racing career. Only three days before, Secretariat had arrived on the farm, amidst much fanfare, to begin his stud career.

When Ruffian arrived at the Marion duPont Scott Training Center in Camden, South Carolina, where trainer Frank Whiteley wintered his horses each year, she instantly stood out among the other yearlings arriving from Claiborne, being exceptionally big for her age. The filly was put under the care of groom Minnor Massey, and her exercise riders included Squeaky Truesdale, Jackie Peacock, and Ric Martin. No one at the training facility knew the filly’s name, for it was policy in Frank Whiteley’s barn to not reveal the names of two-year-olds until they had made their first start, and she was nicknamed Sofie by her riders, who found the big filly as comfortable to sit on as a sofa.

That April, Whiteley’s stable arrived at Belmont Park to begin the 1974 racing season. For her first work at Belmont Park, Ruffian was ridden by Yates Kennedy, who doubted Whiteley when the trainer offered to put him on “the fastest horse you’ve ever been on.” Told to breeze three furlongs in :38, Yates went :35 4/5, fooled by his mount’s smooth stride and lack of effort. When jockey Jacinto Vasquez rode the filly for the first time, breaking her from the gate and going a half in :47, he was also surprised by the fast time.

Ruffian made her first start on May 22, 1974, in a five and a half furlong Maiden Special at Belmont Park. Thanks to the efforts of Frank Whiteley, her talent had been successfully kept a secret, and Ruffian went off at odds of 9 to 2, allowing Whiteley’s stable hands to make a profit on the race. Under the guidance of Jacinto Vasquez, she quickly went to the front, easily extended her lead to fifteen lengths, and tied the track record of 1:03. Ruffian’s impressive debut was later called the “greatest race ever run by a first-time starter” (Claflin 51).

Copernica, a bay daughter of Nijinsky II trained by Mack Miller, had wired a field of maidens on May 15, and had then proved her ability to win from off the lead, despite being blind in the left eye, in a five length victory on June 3. Her pedigree and past performances should have combined to make Copernica the favorite for the Fashion Stakes on June 12, but the crowd sent Ruffian off as first choice. Also in the field was the unbeaten Jan Verzal, who unlike Ruffian and Copernica was already a stakes winner, and three other fillies. As in her maiden race, Ruffian gained the lead in the first few strides, and easily held off Copernica’s game challenge. Winning by six and three quarter lengths, Ruffian once again tied the track record. Copernica, finishing second, was thirteen lengths ahead of the rest of the field, and gave everything she had to the race. Sadly, the brave little filly wasn’t the same horse after the Fashion Stakes. Ruffian had broken her heart.

Laughing Bridge was the next filly to challenge Ruffian, in the Astoria Stakes at Aqueduct. Jacinto Vasquez was serving a suspension for reckless riding, and Vince Bracciale had the mount on Ruffian. For the first time, Ruffian was accompanied to post by Sled Dog, the pony horse, and to the amazement of Bracciale it was Vasquez who led him to the post. Trainer Frank Whiteley had told Jacinto that he would lose the mount on Ruffian if he didn’t ride the stable pony, and the crowd enjoyed the novelty of seeing one of the country’s leading riders playing the role of pony boy. The race itself held fewer surprises. Ruffian easily won by nine lengths, under wraps, in 1:02 4/5. Braulio Baeza later commented “I could have cut through the center field, and she still would have beaten me.” His mount, Laughing Bridge, beat the rest of the field by twelve lengths, but could not hold a candle to Ruffian.

The Sorority Stakes at Monmouth held Ruffian’s toughest challenge yet. Hot n Nasty was a bay filly by Reflected Glory who had a record as impressive as Ruffian’s. Racing on the west coast, she had broken her maiden by 13 lengths and scored two stakes wins, in the Schuylkill and the Hollywood Lassie, with good times. Owner Dan Lasater, founder of the Ponderosa franchise, believed the fillies were equal on paper, and expected his entry to come out of the Sorority Stakes as she went into it; undefeated. Jacinto Vasquez rode Ruffian in the Sorority in spite of a broken nose and slightlyblurred vision. Fearing he would lose the mount on the young star, he had kept his optical difficulties to himself, vowing to see a doctor if his sight was not clear after the big race.

Hot n Nasty proved her talent, making her move after the first quarter and becoming the first horse to head Ruffian, even sticking with her for a furlong before Ruffian dug in and pulled away. Vasquez felt something not quite right with his mount, even as she pulled away from Hot n Nasty to set a new stakes record of 1:09. Back at the barn, he discovered his filly had won the race on a freshly popped splint, which, although not a serious injury, was enough to take the edge off a horse. Ruffian had proved she had heart.

After a month of rest, Ruffian was shipped to Saratoga for the Spinaway Stakes. As she was being unloaded, a reporter asked groom Minnor Massey by how much his filly would win the Spinaway. Without thinking, Massey gave an answer of thirteen lengths, then worried that his rash statement would make him appear foolish. By recording a bullet work (best work of the day as reported by the Daily Racing Form) of five furlongs in :59 1/5, the filly prompted rumors that she was sore. Had any other horse turned in a time of :59 1/5, the clockers would have been impressed. But for Ruffian, the work was not spectacular enough. Suspended again, Jacinto Vazquez missed both the mount on Foolish Pleasure in the Hopeful Stakes and the ride on Ruffian in the Spinaway. Vince Bracciale was once again up on the Superfilly, as fans had taken to calling her, and fighting for her head, Ruffian lead wire to wire to set a new stakes record of 1:08 3/5. It was the second fastest six furlongs of the entire Saratoga meet, with the fastest being La Prevoyante’s 1:08 2/5, and the margin of victory was exactly thirteen lengths.

The next two races planned for Ruffian were the Frizette Stakes, worth $100,000, and the Champagne Stakes, in which she would face the colts, including the unbeaten Foolish Pleasure. But on the morning of the Frizette, the filly left grain in her tub. Frank Whiteley immediately took her temperature, and scratched the filly with a fever of 101.6, 1.1 degrees above the average equine temperature. Shortly thereafter, a hairline fracture was discovered in her right hind pastern, ending the season. Eight weeks of stall rest were ordered, and after the filly rejected a hard cast, she wore a soft pillow cast to prevent further injury.

Ruffian, along with the rest of Whiteley’s barn, returned to South Carolina for the winter. Dan Williams became her new groom when Minnor quit to spend more time with his family, and once she had served out her eight weeks, Ruffian was hand walked for exercise. In November, the editor of The Blood-Horse, not believing that Frank Whiteley had been quoted accurately when it was written that Ruffian was “the best horse he had ever trained,” traveled to South Carolina to look into the validity of the statements himself. Whiteley, usually very guarded when evaluating his horses, not only verified the quotes, but added one more. The two-year-old filly, who had only started five times in her career, was the best horse he had ever seen.

At the end of January, Frank Whiteley flew to San Francisco to collect Ruffian’s Eclipse Award for Best Two Year Old Filly. Each time Ruffian had ran, she not only won, but led from wire to wire, setting a new stakes record each time and always running well within herself. Had she been able to complete the season, many believed the filly may have beaten out Forego for Horse of the Year honors.

Ruffian returned to Belmont Park in April. Frank Whiteley made Squeaky Truesdale her regular rider in routine gallops, while the lighter Yates Kennedy was responsible for breezing the filly. Ruffian was more aggressive in her morning gallops than she had been at two, and only Squeaky could keep the filly relaxed at an easy gallop. He allowed her to drop her head, challenging him to take the bit away from her, until her head was almost between her knees. Squeaky was teased for putting his mount to sleep on the track, but had he picked up her head, she would have taken the bit in her teeth and bolted, chancing an injury.

On Sunday, April 13, Yates Kennedy breezed the filly for the first time that spring, working three furlongs in :33 4/5. The sharp move convinced Whiteley that his charge was prepared to make her season debut, and knowing that the work would not make the Daily Racing Form in time for the next edition, he called the Racing Secretary and casually entered Ruffian in the following day’s eighth race.

The other trainers with entries in the eighth race at Belmont probably would not have sent them to post, had they been given time to scratch, but Whiteley had done a masterful job of concealing his plans. Jacinto Vasquez was up on the filly for the first time since the Sorority Stakes, and her increased power impressed the jockey. Also impressive was the fact that even under wraps, she cantered effortlessly to an almost five length win in 1:09 2/5, a fast time for any other horse, although it was Ruffian’s only race without setting or equaling a record.

Leaving the Kentucky Derby to Foolish Pleasure, Ruffian made her next start in the Comely Stakes on April 30. Running true to form, Ruffian was on top almost immediately, after a slow break. In the backstretch, Angel Cordero, Jr. took his best shot at beating the star, despite his inferior mount. Riding up behind Ruffian, he let out a shriek, hoping the filly would bolt and run out of steam before the wire. Cordero was successful in startling the filly, and Jacinto had to fight to hold her speed down, but Angel’s filly, Aunt Jin, was through by the top of the stretch, and Ruffian not only set a stakes record of 1:21 1/5 for the seven furlongs, but galloped out a mile in 1:35 2/5. In the Comely, Ruffian had also achieved something that not even Secretariat, Kelso, or Citation had accomplished. The filly had created a minus win pool, both at the track and at Off Track Betting. Such universal confidence in a favorite was almost unheard of; occasionally, a top horse would create a minus pool to show, but Ruffian’s fans had bet enough money on the filly to win that a minus pool resulted. The track was forced to pay out more money than it had received.

After riding Ruffian in the Comely, Jacinto Vasquez headed for Churchill Downs to make his bid for the roses aboard Foolish Pleasure. Even after winning his first Kentucky Derby, Jacinto was thinking about the filly. A reporter questioned how soon Vasquez would be back to New York, he replied he’d be at the barn early on Monday morning. Confused, the reporter asked which barn he meant. “What barn? Mr. Whiteley’s barn! I don’t never like to stay too far away from Ruffian.!”

The next goal set for Ruffian was the NYRA Filly Triple Crown, which consisted of the Acorn Stakes, the Mother Goose Stakes, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. Chris Evert had taken the series the previous season, as had Dark Mirage in 1968. For the Acorn, Ruffian was more cooperative about being rated in the early stages than she ever had before, even allowing Ron Turcotte and Piece of Luck to stay within a length of her during the first half. Finally, sensing the filly would not tolerate being held back much longer, Vasquez let his mount step up the pace. She bounded away from Turcotte’s mount as if the other filly had stopped running and opening up a seven length lead before her rider asked her to ease up again. At the end, she won by eight and a quarter lengths in stakes record time of 1:34 2/5. The real contest in the race had been for second, with the game filly Somethingregal nosing out Gallant Trial, then pulling up lame after the wire with a horseshoe nail in her frog.

The dark filly was a hard horse to rate, and when she ran the slowest early fractions of her life, going in :47 3/5 in the first half of the Mother Goose Stakes, Whiteley and Vasquez were pleased. If the filly learned to relax when on the lead, she would be able to save more speed for the finish. When she challenged colts, like Foolish Pleasure, and later, older horses like Forego, Ruffian would need a strong stretch drive. She set still another stakes record, with a final time of 1:47 4/5, and had she been allowed her head, Riva Ridge would have given up his track record of 1:47.

Frank Whiteley once again gave Jacinto Vasquez instructions to rate the big filly in the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the jockey did as he was told, holding the filly back until Equal Change came up to challenge. She could only get within a length and a half of Ruffian, but gamely gave all she had to her stretch drive, opening up the gap between herself and the rest of the field to nearly nine lengths. Ruffian’s margin of victory was three lengths, and her time of 2:27 4/5 tied the race record. Yet except for a final furlong in :11 3/5, Ruffian had not been allowed to run, and even in the last eighth had not run all out. Had she been pushed, many thought she could have broken Secretariat’s track record, and there was no doubt of her ability to break the stakes record. Yet record or no record, the Filly Triple Crown belonged to Ruffian, and she had yet to break a sweat. Even after running a mile and a half, the filly was inexhaustible, bucking as she was slowed down after the wire, and playing on the walk back to the barn.

In her ten career starts, Ruffian was not only undefeated, but had led the field at every point in every race. Her combined margins of victory totaled eighty-three lengths. She had also equaled two track records, was the owner of seven stakes records, and had tied an eighth stakes record. It was time to step out of her division and meet the colts.
The New York Racing Association had tentatively planned a “Race of Champions” at the end of June, bringing together the winners of each of the American classics. Yet bringing Foolish Pleasure, Master Derby, and Avatar together for a fourth time seemed pointless. Wrote The Blood-Horse:

“Until these colts are measured against Ruffian, none of them has much of a claim on the title of 3-year-old champion. Right now we do not believe that -even to escape a swarm of Brazil’s hybrid African honeybees- any of these could catch up with the Stuart Janneys’ big filly.”

In response to the pressure, the idea of adding Ruffian to the field was considered, but when Avatar returned to California, and therefore was lost from the field, the four-horse race lost its appeal. Monmouth Park offered a $400,000 purse for a Match Race between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure. The “Boy-Girl” angle was sure to create a stir. NYRA offered a three-horse race, but LeRoy Jolley objected. Master Derby would have had the definite advantage in such an event. Both Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure were front runners. If they got into a speed dual early, which was all but guaranteed, they would burn each other out, leaving the race to the Preakness winner. In the end, NYRA announced that a mile and a quarter long Match Race, worth $350,000, was to be held on July 6 at Belmont Park.

Jacinto Vasquez was now faced with a dilemma. He had to decide on his mount for the Match. Turning down either trainer would be difficult, and Foolish Pleasure had given him his Kentucky Derby victory. It was Ruffian, however, that Jacinto chose to ride.

Ruffian broke sharply to the left, knocking her shoulder hard against the gate, then leapt after the Derby winner. Within a few strides she was even with the colt, and they flew as a team down the backstretch. Ruffian pushed her nose ahead of the colt’s, claiming the time of :22 1/5 at the quarter. They thundered down the backstretch, Ruffian slowly opening her lead to a half length. It was then that the much promoted dream race became a national nightmare.

Jacinto Vasquez heard a pop, and Ruffian stumbled as the colt rushed past. The great filly has broken down. The jockey fought to stop his mount, knowing that if she kept running she would go down. It was a desperate battle to pull up the filly, as she ran on the exposed bone, ripping ligaments. By the time her rider was successful in stopping her, Ruffian’s right foot hung uselessly by a flap of skin.

People raced from all directions to offer what help they could. Ruffian was loaded into the horse ambulance and returned to her stall, where the fight for her life would begin, while Foolish Pleasure became the center of a hollow ceremony in the winner’s circle. A team of vets fought the effects of shock and hemorrhaging while decisions were made about the injury itself. Ruffian’s chance of survival was less than ten percent, but as long as there was a chance, the Janney’s felt it had to be tried.

Desperate efforts on the surgical table were ultimately a failure. Although the veterinarians were able to stabilize the filly and repair the leg, the post-operational shock caused her to wake up fighting. Ruffian’s struggling destroyed the heavy cast and added to her injuries. A second surgery was briefly considered, but it was doubtful that the brave filly could have survived. Even if she had, it was probable that she would not tolerate the cast a second time, either. Ruffian was put down. The entire nation mourned the death of perhaps the greatest distaffer in racing history. The game filly is now buried in the infield at Belmont Park, with her head pointed towards the finish line for all eternity.

Seattle Slew was foaled at Ben Castleman’s White Horse Acres on February 15 of 1974. The dark bay colt was by Bold Reasoning, a grandson of Bold Ruler, and out of the stakes winning mare My Charmer, a female line descendant of the great race mare Myrtlewood. At the time, his breeding seemed modest, but My Charmer has since produced Lomond, who won the 2000 Guineas in England, as well as the group I stakes winner Seattle Dancer.

Seattle Slew, not being a son of either Northern Dancer or then leading sire What a Pleasure, was purchased for the bargain price of $17,500 at the Keeneland Summer Yearling Sale by Mrs. Karen Taylor and her husband Mickey in partnership with Dr. and Mrs. Hill. At the same sale in 1985, Slew’s half-brother Seattle Dancer was sold for more than thirteen million dollars. The dark bay son of Bold Reasoning was named in honor of his new owners’ two home towns. The Taylors were from Seattle, and the Hills were from an especially soggy area in the damp state of Florida, where a swamp is often called a slew, hence the name Seattle Slew.

When Seattle Slew began training with Billy Turner and his wife Paula at their facility in Maryland, he was clumsy, and rarely got anything right. Since his right foreleg curved slightly outward, Slew always swayed to the outside when galloping. Paula Turner nicknamed him Baby Huey, after a particularly ungraceful cartoon character, but he grew out of the name when he began turning heads at Saratoga as a two-year-old. He turned in several fast works under exercise rider Mike Kennedy, and Red Smith wrote that he had “put every watch in upstate New York out of whack.”

A minor stable injury kept Seattle Slew from going to post at Saratoga, and another two-year-old, the appropriately named For the Moment, dominated the juvenile division, taking both the Futurity and Cowdin Stakes. Jean Cruguet, however, told fellow riders that he had seen a horse that was far superior to the young star.

Running for the first time at Belmont Park, Seattle Slew broke his maiden at first asking, winning by five lengths. He repeated his performance the next time out. After the two easy wins, Seattle Slew met the highly regarded For the Moment in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont. Despite the doubt expressed by his trainer, who felt that Seattle Slew needed more experience before he was ready for a major stakes race, the lightly raced colt easily ended For the Moment’s fifteen minutes of fame, winning by nine lengths and lowering the stakes record to 1:34 2/5. His undefeated record of 1976, together with his impressive victory in the Champagne Stakes, allowed Seattle Slew to successfully claim the Two Year Old Championship.

The year 1977 found Seattle Slew, now called the “People’s Horse,” as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby. In a seven furlong debut, Slew set a new Hialeah track record of 1:20 3/5. He reinforced his dominance with effortless triumphs in both the Flamingo Stakes and Wood Memorial Invitational Stakes. Critics argued that the young star was a “short horse,” and he was too lightly raced to be ready for the Derby. The large crowd at Churchill Downs on race day, combined with Slew’s limited racing experience, contributed to his nervousness in the paddock. The favorite’s agitation and foamy sweat seemed to prove the doubters right in the post parade, and many expected Seattle Slew to tire early.
Jean Cruguet nearly lost his seat when Seattle Slew hit his face on the starting gate at the break, and For the Moment sprang to the early lead. Despite the incident, Slew recovered gained the lead within the first quarter, and won the Run for the Roses with impressive style while the early leader faded badly. Seattle Slew’s record remained unblemished. Asked about his colt’s performance, trainer Billy Turner responded:

“He broke slowly. He was shut off immediately. He had to overcome adversity. And then he went on to do what he was supposed to do. That’s the sign of a racehorse.”

Two weeks later Seattle Slew took the Preakness with the same impressive style, running the fastest opening mile in the race’s history and defeating Iron Constitution, Run Dusty Run, and J.O. Tobin. The mile and a half Belmont Stakes, his greatest challenge to date, proved to be no contest. By sweeping the 1977 Triple Crown Slew became the first Triple Crown winner to remain undefeated through the classics. Also, as a graduate of the Keeneland Summer Yearling Sale, he became the first Triple Crown winner to be purchased at an auction, eight of the other nine having been raced by their breeders, while Sir Barton was purchased privately as a two-year-old.

Offers began pouring in for the Triple Crown winner, with one Texas syndicate offering fourteen million dollars for the champion. His owners sold tee-shirts, cocktail glasses, and Slew Rings while their horse posed for many advertisements. When racetracks offered $100,000 purses, trainer Billy Turner said the horse deserved a break. But Mickey Taylor and the rest of the Slew Crew seemed to think that their undefeated horse was invincible. As a result, Seattle Slew wasn’t unbeaten for long. The European champion J.O. Tobin outran the tired horse when he was raced in the Swaps Stakes, against the advice of his trainer, only two short weeks after the Belmont.

The Taylors and Hills took more criticism for Slew’s unsuccessful entry in the Swaps Stakes than Rex Ellsworth took for Swaps’ entire career. When Mr. Turner told reporters that Seattle Slew should never have been entered in the race, Mickey Taylor fired him. Following his defeat, Seattle Slew suffered series of respiratory infections that threatened his career. Despite his absence from racing during the latter half of the season, Seattle Slew was named Horse of the Year.

Slew had still not returned to the races when he contracted a virus that nearly proved fatal. Fortunataely, the racing world was spared the tragedy, and Seattle Slew was back in 1978, with a new trainer. Doug Peterson conditioned him to win a pair of allowance races Saratoga and Aqueduct, but he was beaten by a neck in the Meadowlands’ Paterson Handicap when he gave away fourteen pounds to Dr. Patches, that season’s Champion Sprinter.

Then came the season’s highlight. Seattle Slew and Affirmed, the 1978 Triple Crown winner, became the first two Triple Crown winners to meet on the racetrack when Seattle Slew beat the younger champion by three lengths in the Marlboro Cup, despite a jockey change. Jean Cruguet had always ridden him before, but after he commented that he didn’t think Seattle Slew was ready for the Marlboro, the Taylors fired him and hired Angel Cordero, Jr.

After scoring in the Marlboro, Seattle Slew and Angel Cordero scored an easy victory over Exceller and It’s Freezing in the Woodward Stakes, leading from start to finish and finally winning by four lengths in the track record time of 2:00. Slew’s next start came in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup, and despite a narrow loss it was one of his finest performances. After battling with Affirmed through the early fractions, Seattle Slew gamely held on in the grueling stretch drive, but was nosed out by Exceller, while Affirmed, suffering tack problems, ran fourth. This race made Exceller the only horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners. An outstanding performer himself, Exceller is a member of the Hall of Fame.

In Seattle Slew’s final start, he went from wire to wire, easily winning the Stuyvesent Handicap by three and a quarter lengths. When he was retired, Slew had won fourteen races, earning $1,208,726. A syndicate paid twelve million dollars for the great horse, and Seattle Slew spent most of his stud career at Three Chimney’s Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, his fee reaching $100,000.

To say that Seattle Slew is an extremely successful sire is somewhat of an understatement. He led the sire’s list in 1984, and has had many notable offspring.
One of his best sons was the 1984 Three Year Old Champion Swale, who carried the silks of the great Claiborne Farm into the winner’s circle of Churchill Downs to claim their first Kentucky Derby trophy.

As a two-year-old, Swale stood in the shadow of his stablemate, James P. Mills’ divisional champion Devil’s Bag. Both colts were trained by Woody Stephens, and Swale was repeatedly referred to by the press as “Stephen’s Other Horse,” while Devil’s Bag, undefeated as a juvenile and syndicated for a record 36.4 million dollars, was hailed as a wonder horse. When The Devil ran a stunning fourth behind Time for a Change in the Flamingo Stakes, with his archrival Dr. Carter finishing second, the Kentucky Derby picture was blurred. Swale then beat Dr. Carter in a hotly contested Florida Derby. After Devil’s Bag was retired with a hairline fracture, Swale inherited his position as a top Derby contender. A pair of D. Wayne Lukas trained fillies, Althea and Life’s Magic, received honors as the post time favorites at Churchill Downs, but Swale prevailed to take the roses by three and a quarter lengths.

After disappointing behind Gate Dancer in the Preakness Stakes, the Claiborne runner scored a four length triumph in the Belmont Stakes, the third of five straight wins in the classic race for trainer Woody Stephens. Swale had won nine of his fourteen starts, running out of the money only once and earning $1,583,661. Only a few days later, the racing world was shocked and saddened by the colt’s mysterious death at Belmont Park. Having returned from a morning work, the horse collapsed suddenly and died. After an inconclusive autopsy, the dual classic winner was brought home to Claiborne and buried.
Also among Seattle Slew’s champion sons and daughters are multimillionaire and Hall of Fame member Slew o’ Gold, the unbeaten filly Landaluce, who was on her way to stardom when she died of a viral infection late in her two-year-old year, and 1992 Belmont Stakes winner and Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, as well as the top horses Capote, Digression, Lakeway, Adored, Slewpy, Septieme Ciel, Slew City Slew, and Tsunami Slew. Seattle Slew’s daughters have produced top horses as well, most notably two time Horse of the Year Cigar.

Seattle Slew passed away in May of 2002, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory. Plagued with failing health during his final year, the champion had been recovering from surgery when he took a turn for the worse. Those who loved him were in attendance during his final hours.

 Secretariat was foaled ten minutes after midnight, on the morning of March 30, 1970, at Chris T. Chenery’s Meadow Farm in Doswell, Virginia. He was an impressively large and strikingly attractive chestnut colt, with three white stockings and a white star and stripe.His sire, Bold Ruler, was a champion on the racetrack and boasted an outstanding stud career, leading the American Sires List eight times. His dam, Somethingroyal, by *Princequillo, was also the dam of the stakes winner Sir Gaylord, who had been favored to win the 1962 Kentucky Derby before lameness forced him to remain in the barn.

Secretariat was bred by Chris T. Chenery, but it was Mrs. Helen Chenery Tweedy, usually called Penny, who became famous as the owner of the great colt when she took over her ailing father’s stable in the early 1970′s. Her charm, together with the deeds of Secretariat and his stablemate Riva Ridge, prompted the press to declare Penny Chenery the “First Lady of American Racing.”

Had it not been for the flip of a coin, Secretariat could have raced in the silks of the Phipps family. Chris Chenery had a foal sharing agreement with Gladys Phipps, and sent two broodmares to her stallion, Bold Ruler, each to be bred twice. If all went well, both mares would produce two foals in two consecutive years. After the first pair was born, a coin was flipped. The winner got the first choice of foals from the first pair, and the loser got the first choice of foals from the second pair. Somethingroyal was one of the mares involved in the 1969-1970 arrangement. The other mare, however, went barren in the second season. Therefore, when it came time for the coin flip, the winner would get only one foal, since it was the loser who chose first the second time. Ogden Phipps won the toss, choosing the Somethingroyal filly, named The Bride. The Meadow kept both Secretariat and the third foal.

Elizabeth Ham, Chris Chenery’s secretary, was instantly impressed by Secretariat’s good looks. She kept the farm journal, and the entries she made on July 28, 1970, included:
“Ch.C. Bold Ruler – Somethingroyal. Three white stockings – well made colt – might be a little light under the knees. Stands well on pasterns -Good straight hind leg-Good shoulders and hindquarters -You would have to like him.”

Shortly after he was weaned, she was again inspecting the horses on the farm, and in reference to the chestnut son of Bold Ruler, Mrs. Ham once again recorded a compliment, this time writing, “Three white feet – A lovely colt.” The word lovely was underlined twice. Elizabeth Ham was not alone in noticing Secretariat’s good looks. Penny Chenery liked Secretariat when she first saw him, and when he arrived at Hialeah at the age of two, all she could say was “Wow!” A year later she called him sexy. Even the Meadow’s trainer, Lucien Laurin, was impressed by the horse’s appearance when he looked at the yearlings in the fall of 1971, although he commented that Secretariat was probably too good looking to be a success on the racetrack.

The name “Secretariat” had actually been the sixth name choice submitted to the Jockey Club for the colt. Penny Tweedy’s first suggestion had been Scepter, and the other rejected names included Royal Line, SomethingSpecial, Games of Chance, and Deo Volente. In the end, it was Elizabeth Ham’s suggestion that was finally judged to be acceptable by the Jockey Club, and the chestnut son of Bold Ruler and Somethingroyal was christened Secretariat.

Secretariat’s formal training began when he was broken to saddle by Meredith Bales and Charlie Ross at the Meadow, and he then headed to Florida to begin his racing career. He was trained by Lucien Laurin, who had conditioned the 1966 Belmont Stakes winner Amberoid, as well as the champion filly Quill, and put under the care of Eddie Sweat, who groomed Riva Ridge. Exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney became Secretariat’s first fan. He nicknamed the tall chestnut “Big Red” and spoke excitedly about the horse to his wife, Mary, and his mother, who knitted a pommel pad for the colt. Gaffney even went so far as to buy a pair of blue saddlecloths, having the name Secretariat stitched on each.

On July 4, 1972, Secretariat made his first start in an $8000 maiden race, run over 5 1/2 furlongs at Aqueduct. The chestnut colt went off as the favorite, but was bumped badly at the start by a horse named Quebec and barely avoided going down. Penny Chenery later described the break as a “mugging.” Caught in traffic, Secretariat ran fourth behind Calumet Farm’s Herbull. Despite the loss, his performance had been admirable. He had made three separate runs for the lead, and each time was gaining impressively before being blocked again.

In his next start, Secretariat broke his maiden by six lengths, beginning his campaign for championship honors and earning the praise of Charles Hatton, who as a writer for the Daily Racing Form had seen numerous champions on the racetrack, including Bold Ruler, Miss Disco, and Imperatrice. Watching the promising colt who carried their blood, he wrote:

“The cognoscenti give Mrs. Helen Tweedy’s Secretariat a nod for potentiality. He has electrifying acceleration, duende, charisma, and starfire raised to the steenth power. He is also pretty good.”

On July 31 he won again, this time at Saratoga. Charles Hatton commented that Secretariat fulfilled his mental ideal as no horse ever had, and Taylor Hardin asked to apply for breeding rights, adding that he had been the first to ask for breeding rights to Native Dancer in 1952. Bull Hancock was also enthusiastic about Secretariat’s potential, although he didn’t live to see him race again.

Secretariat’s first stakes race came in his fourth start. He met the highly regarded and previously undefeated Linda’s Chief in the Sanford Memorial at Saratoga, winning in a sharp 1:10. On August 22, he took the Hopeful Stakes by five lengths. Next he won the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park by three quarters of a length over Stop the Music, and from there it was on to what seemed like a sure win in the Champagne Stakes.

In the Champagne, Secretariat was first under the wire, as expected, but was disqualified and placed second for bumping Stop the Music. The decision shocked the crowd, as well as Secretariat’s connections, who felt that he hadn’t bothered the other colt enough to warrant the ruling, especially since Secretariat had seemingly won with such authority. The red colt redeemed himself by winning the mile and one sixteenth Laurel Futurity in 1:42 4/5, despite a sloppy track. He then topped off the season with a win in New Jersey’s Garden State Stakes, easily beating his stablemate Angle Light. For his efforts, he was voted not only Champion Two Year Old Colt, but Horse of the Year as well.

As a three-year-old, Secretariat was asked to overcome the myth that Bold Ruler’s sons couldn’t run the Kentucky Derby distance of a mile and a quarter so early in their three-year-old campaigns. Secretariat began the road to the spring classics in New York, making his three-year-old debut in the Bay Shore Stakes and winning despite being bumped and suffering traffic problems. He then won the Gotham Stakes by three lengths from Champagne Charlie.

After the Gotham, Secretariat was the odds-on favorite to win the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown. Then the Super Horse ran a dull third behind Angle Light and Sham in the Wood Memorial, stunning everyone, including the owner of Angle Light. Secretariat’s loss was later blamed on an abscess under his lip, but no matter what the excuse, the Kentucky Derby picture was no longer clear.

Now, as the top three year olds in America gathered at Churchill Downs for the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Secretariat’s ability to run the Derby distance was once again questioned. Secretariat was no longer considered to be an unbeatable super horse, and rumors about his soundness spread rapidly. CBS Television’s Jimmy the Greek claimed “they” were “putting ice on his knees.”

Finally, the first Saturday in May came, and Secretariat proved all the rumors to be false, running the mile and a quarter in 1:59 2/5, breaking Northern Dancer’s previous Derby record, and beating Sham, who was also under the wire in less than two minutes, by 2 1/2 lengths.

Next, he won the Preakness, with Sham, who had been on bottled water since Churchill Downs, once again running second. Although the teletimer at Pimlico clocked Secretariat at 1:55, the Daily Racing Form disagreed. According to their watches, Secretariat had run the mile and three-sixteenths in 1:53 2/5. Therefore, according to the Form, Secretariat had broken the stakes record. CBS television agreed, and at a Maryland State Racing Commission hearing, CBS played the videotapes of Secretariat’s Preakness and Canonero II’s Preakness simultaneously, proving Secretariat’s was faster. Despite the evidence, the time recorded by Pimlico’s faulty teletimer was allowed to stand, but the Daily Racing Form boldly entered the time of 1:53 2/5 in their permanent records.

Having won two legs of the Triple Crown, Secretariat was declared a Super Horse, and his picture adorned the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated. In the 1973 Belmont Stakes Secretariat amazed the nation, winning by over 31 lengths in the new world record time of 2:24 for the mile and a half. With his Belmont win, Secretariat became the ninth winner of the American Triple Crown, the first since Citation in 1948.
After the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat raced six more times. Following a win at Arlington Park, he lost the Whitney Stakes to Onion, trained by the “Giant Killer” H. Allen Jerkens, and it was discovered that the Triple Crown winner was coming down with a virus. After a short break he won the first running of the Marlboro Cup from his stablemate, Riva Ridge, who had won the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Eclipse Award winning champion Cougar II, who later sired Gato Del Sol, ran third, with Key to the Mint, Kennedy Road, and Onion behind him.

Bad luck struck the red horse one more time. Entered in the Woodward Stakes to replace Riva Ridge, who would have disliked the sloppy track, a slightly out of condition Secretariat tired and finished second to another horse from the barn of Allen Jerkens. This time the victory went to Prove Out, a four year old by Graustark and out of Equal Venture, a full sister to 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault. Secretariat then went on to win the final two races of his career, the Man o’ War Stakes and the Canadian International, which were his only two races on the grass.

Secretariat had earned $1,316,808 in his twenty-one career starts, visiting the winner’s circle on sixteen occasions. He had won the Triple Crown, two consecutive Horse of the Year awards, and three additional Eclipse Awards. It is interesting to note that Secretariat’s three major losses, in the Wood Memorial, Whitney Stakes, and Woodward Stakes, all occurred in races with names beginning with the letter W. His other two losses came in the Champagne Stakes, by disqualification, and in the maiden race at Aqueduct, through no fault of his own and with no major consequence.

The American public adored Secretariat, affectionately calling him Big Red, and even Super Red. It was said that he could have run for President and won. He was certainly more popular than was Richard Nixon in the summer of 1973. Between the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal, Americans had lost confidence in their political leaders, but the mighty red Secretariat, in his blue and white silks, provided the world with a much needed true American Hero. Secretariat brought fame to all those associated with him. Even Billy Silver, the stable pony, became a household name. When he retired to

Claiborne Farm, where his sire and grandsire had spent their stud careers, thousands of visitors flocked to Paris, Kentucky, to see the hero. At first, Secretariat, as well as farm manager Seth Hancock, seemed to enjoy the admiring guests.
Then, when a demanding visitor scolded Seth for not setting up enough picnic tables, he decided to close the farm to tourists. The decision came none to soon, for Secretariat, like many human celebrities, had lost interest in his constantly present fans and now obviously preferred to be left alone.

As a sire, Secretariat was successful but not phenomenal, siring his best runners later in his stud career. The 1979 Travers Stakes winner and successful sire General Assembly; 1986 Horse of the Year Lady’s Secret; 1992 and the 1988 Belmont and Preakness Stakes winner Risen Star are among his best offspring. His daughters have produced the champion Chief’s Crown and the classic winning half brothers A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.

Secretariat died of the complications of laminitis in October of 1989, and is buried at Claiborne Farm, near the graves of his sire Bold Ruler, grandsire Nasrullah, and broodmare sire Princequillo.