The 1970s represents one of the last decades in which high-stakes thoroughbred racing dominated the public mind as they had during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, when great horses like Man O’War, Seabiscuit and Citation went from being sporty. from celebrities to genuine cultural heroes. The 1970s represents one of the last decades when high-stakes thoroughbred racing dominated the public mind as they had during the 1920s, ’30s and’ 40s, when great horses like Man O’War, Seabiscuit, and Citation went from being celebrities of the sports pages to authentic cultural heroes. Take a look at two great horse racing stories of the ’70s: the rivalry between Affirmed and Alydar, and the life of a horse that was unrivaled: Secretariat.
The Rivals: Affirmed Against Alydar
Although there is a natural link between aristocratic lifestyles and equestrian pursuits, the most famous horse racing stories (in the United States at least) tend, ironically, to be stories of poverty to wealth. Affirmed (1975-2001) is as good an example of this trend as anyone. The colt of Exclusive Native and Won’t Tell You, this Florida-born racehorse seemed to be in the middle of the pack in his early races – a horse with some potential, but not a world conqueror.
Even after his emergence as a serious competitor, many track and field fans placed their highest hopes on Alydar, Calumet’s tough and impressive colt with whom Affirmed developed a fruitful Rogers and Shorter relationship in the late ’70s, beating him at the Youthful. Stakes. but losing to him in the Great American Stakes (one of their first encounters).
What Affirmed lacked was muscle (giving up five pounds to his rival) and advantages he often made up for in heart, with victories late in the 1977 season in the Hopeful and Futurity classics. Although the rainy winter of 1978 hampered his training, Affirmed gained pounds of muscle and emerged in early March as a mature and impressive racehorse.
All eyes were on Alydar and Affirmed when the 1978 Kentucky Derby appeared before their eyes. The larger of the two horses was the 6-5 favorite, but Affirmed got off to a good start propelling him to victory. Although he continued to be perceived as a bit of a loser even in light of this success, with sports journalists from the East calling his impressive performances a fluke, or perhaps the luck of a good start, he achieved another victory, albeit much closer, in which Affirmed was placed within the firing range of Alydar’s famous (but fortunately absent) final kick, at Preakness.
But there are three races in the Triple Crown, the last being the 12 furlongs Belmont Stakes. Alydar, a horse that looked stronger over long distances, posed a greater threat here, and the race went just as Alydar’s trainers expected: a fiery hand-to-hand duel in the sun. But Affirmed responded to this unprecedented pressure with a grace under fire that could make Hemingway blush: locked in the railing on the final stretch, he swept around his rival in one last blast of power and, by a nose, Belmont won – and the Triple Crown.
Years later, the two horses were reunited at Calumet Farms, where they were both bred as stallions.
Secretary
Thoroughbred racing doesn’t always get all the headlines. Basketball players, quarterbacks, even soccer players and Olympians get most of the glory, TV bios, Sports Illustrated covers. But twice during the 20th century, a horse became not just a media star, but a universal symbol: a galvanizing, galvanizing metaphor on legs.
The first time, it was Seabiscuit. And in the early 1970s, when the country seemed on the verge of a second depression, when civil rights were in the dust and Watergate was slowly beginning to crumble, there was Secretariat (1970-89).
From his earliest days, when he refused to cling to his mother like most grazing newborns do, he was recognized as a special horse. The names submitted by its owner Penny Tweedy to the Jockey Club reflect this early sense of its uniqueness: “Something Special”, “Deo Volente”, “Scepter”. All of these names were in use, and it was a secretary from Meadow Stables who finally suggested “Secretariat.”
In his two-year season, he took eight first places in a row, after an embarrassing debut in which he suffered jostling at the starting gate with the hands (hooves) of the other horses. This mostly brilliant start marked him in the eyes of fans and speculators.
Secretariat’s owners syndicated him to a record $ 6,080,000 settlement, one of the conditions of which was that the colt’s racing career would end and his breeding career would begin after the following season. So Secretariat started his three-year season on special bets, having a year to make his mark.
The circumstances were special and required special actions. He conquered the races leading up to the Triple Stakes, with one rare exception, at Wood Memorial, which only served (according to his owner) to infuriate him and increase his determination. At the Kentucky Derby he earned a win from behind, while at Preakness, the rising horse scored a two-and-a-half length win over his closest rival. Now the anticipation increased. Would Secretariat give the United States the first Triple Crown victory of the television generation? Or was he the victim of injury, illness, or the kind of inexplicable weakness that had hurt him in Wood, but this time with much more at stake?
At the event, the Secretariat met the expectations of the spectators. But what no one could have predicted was an almost embarrassing margin of victory that established him not only as a great horse, but arguably the best ever. At the Belmont Stakes he entered the home stretch with 20 lengths of light between him and his closest competitor. Then, in the complete absence of competition, he raced solo himself, expanding that margin to 31 lengths and setting a world record of 2:24.
Perhaps celebrated writer George Plimpton put it best, in an interview with ESPN’s Classic SportsCentury series: “He was the only honest thing in this country at the time. This huge, magnificent animal who” just ran because he loved to run. “