Thinking about the derby tomorrow my mind went back to 1973 when I was just finishing up high school (Reynoldsburg) and I was hearing a lot of rumbling about a horse with the strange name of Secretariat. I was raised around sulky horses so I paid a bit more about the triple crown than most. It had been 25 years since a horse named Citation last won all three and this horse nicknamed 'Big Red" who was the only 2 year old to ever be named horse of the year, was a real threat to end the drought. I watched Secretariat win all three races but it was years later after seeing his records still standing that it finally hit me how great he really was. There have been 150 attempts over 50 years that have all fallen short. In all three races he did something that defied logic. In the Derby he broke last and spent the trip 3-4 wide in becoming the first horse to break 2 minutes. The amazing part was he was faster in each 1/4th mile of the race which means he was picking up speed the whole trip. He went by the stands the first time at 36 MPH and 39 MPH the second time. In the Preakness he broke last again but put on a blistering rush in the first turn circling the field before settling into a pace the others couldn't  contend with. The Belmont was the most amazing in that he broke fast in an impossible pace and carried to a 31 length win and 2 whole seconds off the track record. He also broke all the 1/16 splits past the finish while he was slowing up until he stopped to turn around. The thing is if you take the best times at these three races through history until now and add them together against Secretariat's time, he finishes toughly 165 feet (based on 37 MPH) ahead. I suspect that horses with a perfect trip on the rail will break the Preakness and Derby records, but I feel we are still a long way off from seeing the Belmont broken since no horse has been within 2 seconds. I think if his Jockey (Turcotte) would have broken him out like the Belmont that he would have lowered those times.  50 years later, they are still chasing him.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p8krJwT6nA    His story.                                                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow2LcVdijt8 for his last race                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhfi6zOLdK4  Sports Century