More than 300 people get on waiting list to see Secretariat's gravesite on Oaks day (2024)

Claiborne Farm officials say they had a waiting list of more than 300 people to see Secretariat's gravesite.

It's impossible to believe, but 50 years after winning the Triple Crown, Secretariat still holds the time records, including for the Kentucky Derby.

CEO Walker Hanco*ck wasn't born yet when Secretariat had the family farm in headlines, but the 33-year-old knows his worth.

"I'm fifth generation horseman, fourth generation to run Claiborne; we've been here since 1910," he said.

The new leader loves how people react when they talk about "Big Red."

'[Secretariat's] the main draw for our farm, he's an, absolutely, an American sports icon," Hanco*ck said. "He was a people's horse, and I just hope people are reminded of him with this 50th anniversary."

Secretariat's racing history 'Tremendous machine'

Not only has it been 50 years since he won the Triple Crown, but it's been 50 years, and no other horse has beaten Secretariat's records at any of the tracks.

When famed CBS racing announcer Chic Anderson said the words "he is moving like a tremendous machine" at the Belmont Stakes, it was a moment that Tom Hammond would not forget.

"It was almost like poetry to see him run," Hammond said.

Hammond is a retired NBC sports anchor and horse racing expert. A Lexington-native, he started his career at WLEX-TV and covered Secretariat as a young sports broadcaster.

"Rarely do we get a chance to see a perfect athlete," he said. "Everything about him was just right. His size, his ability, his drive, his competitiveness. And he was beautiful to boot!"

Hammond called Secretariat's 22-length lead at the Belmont Stakes one of the greatest achievements in all of sports.

"He won the Triple Crown at a time when America was kind of down; the Vietnam War, and people did not have a good outlook on life and [he] sort of lifted everybody up," he said.

Secretariat's impact The 'people's horse'

There was a reason he was called the "people's horse."

Walker said a lot of the photos with Secretariat can be seen on the blacktop next to a gate on the property.

"It's amazing what he meant to so many people we'll have people who come to the farm here and they see his grave and they literally break down in tears," he said. "Or we'll have weird requests; people want to get married and have Secretariat's grave as the altar like standing over top of it, because that horse meant so much to them."

One request they always deny?

"People want to spread their ashes over top of his, we get that request about once a year. It can get quite bizarre," Walker said.

Around 12,000 people came to visit Secretariat's grave site last year alone according to Walker.

Secretariat died too young at age 19 from an incurable hoof infection.

Secretariat's death 'One of the biggest hearts'

Secretariat died in 1989.

The tour guide at Claiborne Farm said they found out Secretariat's heart was about 21 pounds, almost three times bigger than a normal thoroughbred's heart.

The x-ray's after the necropsy of his heart became a sensation.

Walker said "no one knew it while he was running."

"They discovered that he had one of the biggest hearts that they had ever seen on a horse, which is one of the reasons he was like just a big locomotive," Hammond said.

When comparing Secretariat to some of the other titans of horse racing, one man can answer all those questions.

Horse owner and 2020 Derby contender Greg Harbut.

His great-great-grandfather Will Harbut saddled and rode both Man O' War and War Admiral.

Harbut said not only were Secretariat and Man O' War referred to as Big Red, but "both were tremendous race horses and both had devoted grooms that really took care of the horse."

"It was more than a groom relationship, it was more of a special bond," he said.

Secretariat's famed checkerboard silks fill the sky in Paris, Kentucky. The town celebrated his 53rd birthday at the end of March and they are preparing for the big anniversary of his Triple Crown win.

Claiborne Farm is open to tours and is about an hour and a half from Louisville, Kentucky.

The farm is unchanged since Secretariat lived there. You can see his stall and grave site, and hear from those who were around when Big Red was still alive.

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