Secretariat’s Grave (2024)

FAQs

What did the vet find wrong with Secretariat? ›

He had developed laminitis, a painful and debilitating hoof condition, which was first diagnosed on Labor Day of 1989. By October 4th, he would be dead. “I had heard news that Secretariat had developed laminitis, but I did not realize how quickly it progressed, nor did I realize it was so critical,” Dr.

Secretariat was buried in a 6 by 6-foot oak casket lined with orange silk, the color used by Claiborne's racing stables. He was buried near his sire, Bold Ruler, in a small graveyard behind the office at the farm.

Turcotte didn't take a whip to Secretariat that day – and never did before or after. “He was a nice horse,” Turcotte says. Jim McCue, a track photographer at Pimlico, was among the 61,000 people on hand. Only a few years before he was a U.S. Army photographer in Vietnam.

Secretariat was put down on October 4, 1989 at Claiborne Farm, after suffering from the painful hoof condition laminitis. He was 19.

Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was one of the most prolific thoroughbred race horses of all time.

Secretariat had more than 650 registered foals when he died, the last group born in 1990. Today, there are two living Secretariat offspring: 34-year-old Border Run and 33-year-old Trusted Company, both of whom celebrated birthdays on Jan.

According to reports, Secretariat commanded a stud fee of $6 million in 1989, which was a record at the time for a thoroughbred stallion. He sired many successful racehorses during his career as a stallion, and his offspring continue to be in high demand for breeding purposes.

Secretariat's hindquarters were the main source of his power, with a sloped croup that extended the length of his femur. When in full stride, his hind legs were able to reach far under himself, increasing his drive. His ample girth, long back and well-made neck all contributed to his heart-lung efficiency.

Via the sprawling genetic tree bound to a 15-year stud career, Secretariat will always live on in some ways. He sired 663 named foals, those horses creating endless bloodlines that eventually wind their way back to Big Red.

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.

Why did they sell Secretariat? ›

With a record of 7-1-0 from nine starts and earnings of $456,404, Secretariat won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion 2-Year-Old Male. In January of 1973, Christopher Chenery, the founder of Meadow Stable, died and the taxes on his estate almost forced his daughter, Penny, to sell Secretariat.

In the fall of 1989, the 19-year-old champion developed laminitis, an incurable hoof condition; he was euthanized in October of that year.

Two weeks before the Kentucky Derby, Pincay had ridden Sham to a second-place finish in the Wood Memorial, finishing 4 lengths ahead of third-place Secretariat. Like the rest of the world, Pincay had no clue Secretariat had an abscess — an infection at the base of a tooth — that affected his performance in the Wood.

Onion knocked off Triple Crown winner Secretariat 50 years ago in the Whitney; he never won another stakes race in his career. And the aptly named Upset handed Man o' War the only loss of his career in the 1919 Sanford. These are the horses who've given Saratoga the moniker “Graveyard of Favorites.”

Secretariat's heart was estimated to be about 22 pounds and was not "pathologically enlarged," Swerczek said. The average horse's heart weighs about 8.5 pounds. “We were all shocked,” Swerczek told Sports Illustrated in a longform story following Secretariat's death.