Right here tonight, you know.
The celebrations of Secretariat
and his Triple Crown legacy
have been underway for weeks.
I talked to the folks at Claiborne Farm,
where he is buried,
and today on Oaks Day,
they had a waiting list of moren
300 people just to see his gravesite.
I went back to Paris,
KY with WHIS 11,
photojournalist and editor Ian
Hardwit to show you why his vicy
still holds such fascination.
The echoes of his greatness
are still heard
across the pastures of the famed
Claiborne Farm in central Kentu.
His beauty, his speed,
his shine, his personality.
Just one of the greatest horsesr
moving away, he has it by 2 1/2.
To me, this is the greatest racehorse
to ever run on the racetrack.
But here comes Secretariat. He's moving fast.
He was beautiful. He was athlet.
He had a personality.
He was kind. When we think of the Triple
Crown, I think he's a fine perfection.
This farm is still in the same family,
Correct. I'm fifth generation horsemen,
4th generation to run Claiborne.
We've been here since 1910.
Walker Hancock wasn't even
born yet when Secretariat had
the family farm in headlines.
But the 33 year old CEO of
Claiborne knows his worth.
He's a main draw for their farm.
He's an American sports icon.
Yeah, this is secretary.
It's all paddock right here. The
new young leader of Claiborne loves how
people react when they talk about Big Red.
He was a people source and I just hope.
People are reminded of him
with his 50th anniversary,
50 years since his 1973 Triple Crown victory.
He really lives on through
people's passion today,
not just 50 years, but setting
time records in all three races
that still haven't been beaten
the fastest 2 minutes in sports.
Well, Secretariat ran the
Kentucky Derby under 2 minutes,
one minute, 59 seconds and 2/5.
Here's the call from Kay Wood
Ledford live on WHAS 11.
Secretariat has the lead.
We've got less than 150 yards to come,
and Secretariat is on top,
and he's going to take it all.
And if we come to the line,
it's Secretariat growing up,
turn, cut, just sitting on
him and his Secretariat.
That wins it by 2 1/2 legs.
2 weeks later, here comes the
Preakness in Baltimore. He's
coming to the wires. He wins it.
But it would be one month later in New
York when the legend of Secretat
got cemented around the world.
And when someone would say,
oh, that was like Secretariat.
Whoa, whoa. Retired
NBC Sports anchor and horse racg
expert Tom Hammond, a Lexington native,
started his career at WLEXTV and covered
Secretariat as a young sports broadcaster.
Looking back on it, Doug,
it's it's interesting to think
that among the horsemen. Before he went to the Derby, there
was some doubt about him. But
on Saturday, June 9th,
1973, we're ready to go for
this tremendous Belmont.
No one saw what was coming
in the Belmont Stakes.
So it was. It was like,
almost like poetry to see him r.
Remember the past races
where he won by three links?
By 18 Light, and
it wasn't over yet. Famed CBS rg
announcer Chick Anderson said te
words Tom Hammond has never forgotten.
He is moving like a tremendous
machine. And then the finish.
Hammond calls that one of the greatest
achievements in all of sports,
and he won the Triple Crown at
the time that America was kind
of down in the Vietnam War.
And he sort of lifted everybody.
They said this is life-size.
You know, he looks a lot bigger than his
pictures and video that you see. Horse
owner in 2020 Derby contender Gg
Harbitt knows the proximity to greatness.
His great great grandfather Will saddled
and rode 2 of the great Titans of racing.
He wrote Not only man
of war, but war. Admiral
Harbit broke down the secrets of
man of war and Secretariat to m.
On a more personal level,
both of them were referred to as Big Red.
Both of them were tremendous race horses,
and both of them had devoted gr,
then took care of the horse.
But it was more than a groom relationship.
It was more of a special bond. Secretariat
and his famed blue and white
checkerboard silks fill the
sky here in little Paris,
KY, of Bourbon County,
his adopted hometown.
They're going all out celebratig
his 53rd birthday at the end
of March and of course,
getting ready to celebrate the
legendary Triple Crown win.
There's a reason Secretariat
was called the People's Horse.
So in the 70s and 80s, if you
wanted a picture with Secretari,
this is where you came
exactly. Yeah, a lot of picture.
You see. You're probably right
right over there, maybe on that
black top where the gate is. Whn
I turned to Facebook and asked folks if
they had any pictures of Secretariat,
here's what appeared, one after another.
Popping right in from birthdays celebrated
with the great horse to anniversaries,
plus an audience with
Queen Elizabeth in 1984,
not much has changed at Claiborne Farm,
where Secretariat is standing in this
1979 photo taken by my wife on her 16th
birthday to the view we saw tod,
and this one as he walks back to
his past year, it's almost if hs
still there in this very spot.
It's amazing what he meant to
so many people like we'll have
people that come to the farm he,
they see his grave and they
literally break down in tears
or we've had weird requests.
People want to get married and
have secretary as grave as the
altar like stand over top of it.
I mean because they they that
horse meant so much to them.
Oh people want to spread
their ashes over top of his.
We get that request about once a year.
Yeah, we. It's.
It can get quite bizarre,
by the way Claiborne denies those requests.
12,000 people last year alone
came to visit his gravesite,
where Secretariat, unlike most horses,
is buried full body and in a ca.
Secretariat died too young at the age of
19 from an incurable hoof infection. When
they've done autopsy on Secreta,
they estimated his
heart at 21 pounds.
Typical thoroughbred heart is at
7 or £8.00. So
he had a very big heart.
The Xrays, after the necropsy of
his heart, became a sensation.
Take a good look.
Secretariat's heart,
nearly three times bigger,
is on the left of your
screen compared to a normal
thoroughbred on the right one
mystery was finally revealed.
So he died in 89.
We didn't learn about that autoy
in that heart until really later
after his career. That's right.
Yeah, no one knew it as he was
running after the fact they die.
It kind of make sense why his performances.
Were so, so incredible.
The heart is the engine to the horse,
which was one of the reasons he
was just like a big locomotive.
And back in his pasture, it reay
is like he's still here.
Watch what happens when the
stallion Catholic boy sees us.
He runs right over.
Watch yourself here.
He's going to come over here.
Oh, look, he's he's going to.
Yeah. He's not that he's not ba,
but he's not the nicest either.
Then gives the camera some love.
A scene that played out exactly
the same way for WHIS 11 in 198,
one year before he died.
You have to wonder, did he know
really that 50 years later he wd
still be called the greatest? Ad
I think this is what keeps
the fans coming back.
They want to experience,
to see greatness.
And he just lived up to that star billing.
He just had this aura
of greatness about him.
The Clayburn Farm is open to tours is
about an hour and a half from Louisville.
The farm is unchanged since
Secretariat lived there.
You will see his stall, his gravesite,
and hear from those who were ard
when Big Red was still alive.
And best yet, you also get to vt
beautiful downtown Paris, KY.