A Tale of Two Hearts

What does it take to make a champion? Is it a superlative combination of speed and stamina? Or is it more than that? To be a champion, you undoubtedly need to possess such qualities, but there is one quality that prevails over all others. To be a true champion, you must have heart. After all, what good does blinding speed and stamina do if you don’t have the heart and the will to use it?

In 1973, there were two horses that perhaps defined what it means to have the heart of a champion. They just showed it in different ways. One was a big, hulking, chestnut with splashes of ivory, and the other was tall and dark like the night. Those horses were none other than Secretariat and Sham.

Secretariat and Sham both showed signs of greatness from the beginning, but it was what went down in the 1973 Triple Crown races that defines them for what they were. On the first Saturday in May the tenacious duo boldly marched to post to square off, with Secretariat as the favorite, and Sham as the second choice. In their only previous meeting, Sham had bested Secretariat, finishing ahead of him in the Wood Memorial. However, things were about to change. Secretariat was going to turn the tables on his dark rival.

The field was loaded into the gate, ready to compete for the roses. Right before the gates came open, drama started before the race could even unfold. Twice a Prince reared in his gate, disrupting Our Native, who was beside him. The chain reaction then made its way to Sham, who ended up banging his head into the gate, resulting in not one, but two of his teeth to falling out. By the time the starting gates opened, Sham was battered and bloody, but was still as willing as ever to run his race.

Shecky Greene led the fray around the legendary oval of Churchill Downs. Secretariat, who had avoided all of the early drama at the start of the race, trailed behind, without a care in the world. It was as if he knew he was the fastest horse in the race, and was confident that he would strike the lead the moment he decided it was time.

With the final bend looming ahead, Sham fired his rally. He determinedly stormed to the lead and took down Shecky Greene to declare himself as the new leader. But it wasn’t over yet. Secretariat was making his bid from behind, and he had his sights set on Sham.

One by one, Secretariat picked his rivals off, sweeping by one foe after the other. His massive stride and scorching speed had him closing up the gap at an alarming rate. Before Sham knew it, Secretariat was right beside him, ready to inhale him the same way he inhaled the rest of the field. Sham valiantly dug in and fought on, desperate to maintain the advantage. But Secretariat was just too much. With a breathtaking burst of speed, Secretariat launched forward to gain the lead.

Sham gave it his all but simply could not get to Secretariat. Fending off the rest of the field, he held on for a gallant second. With Sham put away, Secretariat hustled to the wire, ready to claim his roses. In brilliant fashion, the big, red horse soared to glory in a blistering final time of 1:59 2/5, breaking the Kentucky Derby record. To this day, Secretariat’s time in the Kentucky Derby has never been matched.

Secretariat with his cape of roses, photo from the Tony Leonard Collection

Two weeks later, Secretariat ventured to post in the Preakness to continue his bid for the Triple Crown. His dauntless rival, Sham was right there with him, once again. He was beaten but back for more, ready to fight again.

When the starting gates flew open in the Preakness Stakes, Secretariat broke last, in typical fashion. However, he did not stay there for long. A fire had been ignited inside of the crimson beast that could no longer be contained. Without warning to his rivals, Secretariat made an enormous move at the first turn. With breathtaking speed and an astonishing turn of foot, he blasted forward and charged after the leaders with no signs of relenting.

Roaring down the track like a madman, Secretariat struck the front with such overwhelming speed and might that the race might as well have been over from there. It was a thrilling and crushing move that has yet to be duplicated, forever placing it in its own category of racing lore. The feat was so impressive that after the race, George Cusimano, who was aboard the original pacesetter, Ecole Etage, remarked, “I was going along easily and I had plenty of horse. Then I heard what sounded like a freight train coming up behind me; those big nostrils going. When Secretariat went by me he blew the number right off my sleeve”.

Nobody could stop the transcendental acceleration of Secretariat as he thundered to victory in the Preakness Stakes. He stopped the clock in 1:53, taking down yet another record as his own. The Triple Crown was now on the line, and while the mighty colt appeared unbeatable at this point, his main rival was more than willing to take one more crack at him. Running second to Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness wasn’t enough to deter Sham. He would be right there in the fray, once again. However, as Sham would learn, any and all efforts brought to the Belmont Stakes would prove futile. What Secretariat was about to do in the final leg of the Triple Crown would defy logic.

Static and anticipation was thick in the air when the horses took their place in the starting gate for the Belmont Stakes. The elusive Triple Crown had not been touched in twenty-five years. It was up to Secretariat to prove that it was not an impossible feat. It was up to Secretariat to prove that it could still be done. The brazen colt was more than up for the challenge, and he loaded into the starting gate with gusto and authority. Secretariat was going to prove that the Triple Crown was still possible. However, he was going to prove it in an impossible way.

The starting gates erupted open and in the blink of an eye, Secretariat was out of the gate. It was an almost alarming sight to see a horse that typically trails the field head right for the front. But Secretariat knew what he was doing. He was in the zone, and he could not be stopped. This was his grand finale for the Triple Crown, and he was going to put on a stunning exhibition that would rival history.

As resolute as ever, Sham daringly accepted the challenge of Secretariat and bolted for the front. The pair stubbornly matched strides as they dashed around the first turn, but as they straightened out, Sham struck the lead by a head. Secretariat confidently raced beside him, hounding his rival for every step. The audacious duo ruthlessly opened up on the rest of the field, turning the Belmont Stakes into a match race.

Secretariat and Sham only focused on each other, tumultuously pushing each other faster and faster in a raging game of chicken. Every time one of them would speed things up, the other would match it. They were locking in an intense duel with no signs of stopping, setting a blazing pace that would be the undoing of your average thoroughbred. However, as he would prove, Secretariat was not your average thoroughbred.

Secretariat could no longer be contained as he and Sham scorched down the backstretch. This race was his, and he was ready to finish Sham off. Secretariat unleashed a sublime force that could not be stopped, and rose forward to take the lead. Uncoiling his enormous stride, Secretariat began going faster and faster. With seemingly supernatural speed, Secretariat began disappearing from his only rival that was still in contention. Sham fought as hard as he could, desperately pouring his heart and soul on the track, but it wasn’t enough. Despite his valorous efforts, Sham could not contend with the startling speed that Secretariat had discovered.

Stride by stride, Secretariat pulled away with unyielding speed and unwavering stamina. His unnatural acceleration made it look as if he were in a whirlwind. It didn’t seem possible for a horse to sprint his heart out in the longest race of the Triple Crown and still have the power to keep going. But that is exactly what Secretariat was doing. Instead of giving in to exhaustion and defeat, he grew stronger and went faster. As each furlong passed, Secretariat’s lead increased dramatically. It didn’t take long before Secretariat found himself completely alone as he thundered toward the final bend. With no one left to challenge, the only foe left to defeat was history.

It was a surreal and chilling sight when Secretariat turned for home in the Belmont Stakes, all alone. He looked like the only horse on the track as he bounded down the stretch in his sublime march to victory. The rest of the field was left far behind, staggering into the stretch with absolutely no hope of getting close to Secretariat.

In an awe-inspiring act that will forever be unparalleled by any other performance, Secretariat romped over the wire by an astonishing 31 lengths. Secretariat won with an uncanny style that track announcer, Chic Anderson, could only describe as a “tremendous machine”. It was a striking and mind-boggling feat that was almost too much to believe. Secretariat didn’t just defeat his foes in the Belmont Stakes and he didn’t just win the Triple Crown. Such simple statements wouldn’t give justice to the stunning achievement reached by what can only be described as a super horse. Secretariat did so much more than just win that day. He completely destroyed his foes and rewrote history, forever making his name synonymous with not only the Belmont Stakes, but the entire Triple Crown.

As if winning the Triple Crown by 31 lengths wasn’t enough, Secretariat also shattered the stakes record in the Belmont Stakes with his incredible final time of 2:24 flat. It is a miraculous feat that has engraved Secretariat’s name into immortality. What went down in the Belmont Stakes in 1973 has not even come close to being matched. I can say with the upmost certainty that Secretariat’s performance in the Belmont Stakes in a feat that will never be rivaled.

When Secretariat soared over the finish line by a jaw dropping 31 lengths, Sham faded to last. After chasing Secretariat for most of the race, he simply could not hold on. His body physically could not keep going. Sham never raced again after his defeat in the Belmont Stakes. While an injury was to blame for his retirement, some say that he was never quite the same after the Belmont. Some say that Secretariat broke his heart on that fateful day. But despite the fact that Sham faded so poorly and never saw the winner’s circle again, there is one thing that he did in the Belmont Stakes that his rivals cannot claim. That is the fact that no matter how heated things got in the race, Sham tried. He was the only horse brave enough and determined enough to run with Secretariat. He was the only one who had the guts to try and keep up. It ended up costing him in the end, but it was a defeat that came with grace and dignity. Secretariat may have been unstoppable, but Sham was the one who was unafraid.

When Secretariat passed away in 1989, a necropsy was performed in order to see exactly what went on inside of this “tremendous machine”. When the veterinarians saw what was inside, they were left in total shock and amazement. It was discovered that Secretariat’s heart was more than twice the size of a normal thoroughbred’s heart. Dr. Thomas Swerczek stated that out of all the thousands of autopsies that he had performed, he had never seen anything like Secretariat’s heart. It was estimated that it weighed around twenty-two pounds, leading many to believe that his heart was the engine that led him to do what he did in the Belmont Stakes.

Or was it?

When Sham passed away in the spring of 1993, a necropsy was also performed on him. It was found that his heart was enlarged as well. Just like in their racing career, Sham came second to Secretariat once again, this time in terms of their heart. Sham’s heart was not quite as big as his rival’s, weighing in at only eighteen pounds, but was still twice the size of a normal thoroughbreds.

If Secretariat and Sham both had enlarged hearts, then how come only one of them could ace the testing mile and a half distance by 31 lengths, and in record time? Perhaps what Secretariat did really does go beyond explanation. Perhaps he possessed an extra quality, greater than heart that carried him to do what no one thought possible. Maybe Secretariat was simply born with a quality that has never been seen in any other horse, and maybe he just knew how to use it.

Secretariat and Sham were big in heart, both literally and metaphorically speaking. But Secretariat somehow had an extra quality that drove him to become greater than all of those around him. His reign on the track will never be matched, just as Sham’s unwavering courage and resolve remains one in a million. Both horses used their heart in different ways, but have both ended up immortalized in history by it. We may never know exactly why or how Secretariat was able to pull off what he did in his dominating sweep of the Triple Crown, but sometimes the most thrilling and glorious moments in life are better left as mysteries. Secretariat’s preeminence over the Triple Crown defied logic, and therefore, we don’t need logic to explain it.

Secretariat finishing the Belmont Stakes all alone, Coglianese Photo (NYRA)

“Secretariat is widening now. He is moving like a TREMENDOUS MACHINE! Secretariat by twelve, Secretariat by fourteen lengths on the turn! Sham is dropping back. It looks like they’ll catch him today, as My Gallant and Twice a Prince are both coming up to him now. But Secretariat’s all alone! He’s out there almost a sixteenth of a mile ahead of the rest of the horses! Secretariat is in a position that seems impossible to catch. He’s into the stretch! Secretariat leads this field by eighteen lengths, and now Twice a Prince has taken second, and My Gallant has moved back to third. They’re in the stretch. Secretariat has opened a twenty-two length lead! He is going to be the Triple Crown winner! Here comes Secretariat to the wire! An unbelievable, an amazing performance!”

-Chic Anderson's call of the Belmont Stakes

Statue of Secretariat at Belmont Park, photo from the Tony Leonard Collection

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