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Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in 25 years. He set race records in all three events in the series – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes – records that still stand today. He is considered to be one of the greatest Thoroughbreds of all time. In 1999, ESPN ranked Secretariat the 35th best athlete of the 20th century, the highest ranking racehorse on the list. He ranked second behind Man o' War in The Blood-Horse's List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century.
Secretariat was sired by Bold Ruler out of Somethingroyal, by Princequillo. He was foaled at The Meadow in Caroline County, Virginia. Like his famous predecessor Man o' War, Secretariat was a large chestnut colt and was given the same nickname, "Big Red." Secretariat's grandsire, Nasrullah, is also the great-great-grandsire of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
Owned by Penny Chenery, also known as Penny Tweedy, he was trained by Lucien Laurin and mainly ridden by Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte, along with apprentice jockey Paul Feliciano and veteran Eddie Maple. He raced in Chenery's Meadow Stable's blue and white checkered colors. His groom was Eddie Sweat, and his exercise riders were Charlie Davis and Jim Gaffney, who died on June 3, 2010.
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