years without a Triple Crown winner. That said, and I am bracketing my age here, Secretariat fever ruled the airwaves in 1973 and the horse himself still holds the record times in all three races; records set 42 years ago. I am not stealing that from the movie. I remember it vividly, most especially the Belmont. I know about the issue surrounding his Preakness time, but I believe there was a frame to frame comparison done and he beat every horse in what had to be a spectacular thing (the frame comparison) to watch.
How many records stand 42 years? Babe Ruth's didn't. Bob Beamon's didn't. The only records of note that leaps to mind is Ty Cobb's base hit record which took 57 years to break. Is there a record that will never be broken? I once thought there were three: Lou Gehrig's Iron Man streak, Don Drysdale's scoreless inning streak, and Joe DiMaggio's Consecutive Game Hitting streak. Only DiMaggio still stands.
It is not inconceivable that in the next 15 years, at least 1 and perhaps all 3 of Secretariat's times may be beaten. Until then, and with all due respect to American Pharoah and Joe DiMaggio, Secretariat still stands as the Greatest Thoroughbred of all time.
How many records stand 42 years? Babe Ruth's didn't. Bob Beamon's didn't. The only records of note that leaps to mind is Ty Cobb's base hit record which took 57 years to break. Is there a record that will never be broken? I once thought there were three: Lou Gehrig's Iron Man streak, Don Drysdale's scoreless inning streak, and Joe DiMaggio's Consecutive Game Hitting streak. Only DiMaggio still stands.
It is not inconceivable that in the next 15 years, at least 1 and perhaps all 3 of Secretariat's times may be beaten. Until then, and with all due respect to American Pharoah and Joe DiMaggio, Secretariat still stands as the Greatest Thoroughbred of all time.
