Secretariat: The Life of the Most Famous Triple Crown Winner in American History

by Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of Secretariat's life and races *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “All long lazy mornings in pastures of green The sun on your withers the wind in your mane Could never prepare you for what lied ahead The run for the roses so red From sire to sire it's born in the blood The fire of a mare and the strength of a stud It's breeding and it's training and it's something unknown That drives you and carries you home. And it's run for the roses as fast as you can Your fate is delivered your moment's at hand It's the chance of a lifetime in a lifetime of chance And it's high time you joined in the dance.” – Dan Fogelberg, “Run for the Roses” It is not difficult to drive through Laurel, Maryland and never know that it was once the site of races where thundering thoroughbreds ran at top speeds in search of victory. In fact, thousands of people do each day, on their way from Baltimore to Washington D.C. or vice versa. But there was a time, not that long ago, when champions ran at the now largely disused Laurel Race Course, when four-footed athletes raced for a prize that would go not to themselves but to their two-footed owners. They ran for the shear love of running and, hopefully, with a certain internal satisfaction at winning. One of the horses that once ran in Laurel, and other similar tracks across the country, was the legendary Secretariat. Unlike other previous heroes like Seabiscuit, Secretariat’s fame is based not on the way in which he overcame long odds against him but in the way that he and his trainers made the very most of the advantages he had from birth. Won by his owner in a lucky draw, he was cherished even before he was born and spent the first year of his life happily trotting around the green fields of a Virginia farm. As he grew up, he enjoyed the best food, care and training money could buy, and in return he learned to run, first fast and then faster, as it slowly dawned on his growing audience that they were in the presence of greatness. His career was short lived but full of glory, as he won nearly every race he ever ran. Of course, the peak of his career came in 1973, when he capped off a Triple Crown by shattering the track record at the Belmont Stakes on the way to winning by 31 lengths, a margin of victory that was never replicated. As he marveled at the performance, CBS announcer Chic Anderson couldn’t help but gush, "Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine!" Everyone the least bit familiar with horseracing has seen clips of Secretariat, and by the time Secretariat retired, he had won 16 of the 21 races he ran and only placed outside of the Top 3 once. Along the way, he ran at many race courses like Laurel, courses that most people don’t remember, places where once full parking lots are now overgrown with weeds and where once glorious tracks are now being covered over with new construction. But while these courses may be nearly forgotten, Secretariat never will be. The Life of the Most Famous Triple Crown Winner in American History looks at the life and career of one of the world’s fastest horses. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Secretariat like never before, in no time at all.

Genres: Nonfiction

38 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2016

About the author

Charles River Editors is an independent publisher of thousands of ebooks on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore & provider of original content for third parties.

Reviews

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secretariat is perhaps one of the most famous horses to ever race & the biography of this horse is an interesting one as well. This book in this edition honestly suffers horrifically from a type size which is so small that it will require some readers to get a magnifying glass. The story though is on the interesting side from how the owner of the horse got chosen (via a coin flip) as well as through the challenges Secretariat had early on racing as well as the eventual successes which would propel the horse into immortality. It also helps that we as a reader do in fact get to see what life was like for the horse in stud years all the way through his tragically early death at age 19.

[Holly Canfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a brief overview of the life of one of the greatest racehorses of all time. This biography relied heavily, perhaps too heavily, on DRF race charts and newspaper articles on Secretariat’s races. If the author had added more meat to the story than just what seems to have been gleaned from historical charts, the story could have been riveting. In fact, it seems as though the writer hasn’t even watched even a handful Secretariat’s magnificent races which would have been possible to view when the book was published in 2016. It comes across as a high school student’s paper for school.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the greatest horse!

This was a great book on the greatest thoroughbred to ever live. Full of info on him and his "people" and his amazing races. I wish it had covered the emotion of his last days more fully, but all in all, it is a great book that I highly recommend.

[Christa Saccullo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Broad View if Secretariat

This book is very brief, only six chapters, and only gives a very broad view of the life of Secretariat. Before reading it, one should have a little understanding of racing terms because this book is packed with them and otherwise it's harder to appreciate.

Christa

[David Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What A Horse That God Built!

Big Red was an Anomaly! He Loved to run and he was the fastest Ever. Won the Belmont by 31 lengths to capture the first Triple Crown since Citation, 25 years ago! What a Great read about a Great Horse!

[Cheryl A. Breidigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

OzGood read.

Was very well written but could have. been little longer and a little more detailed. Did enjoy reading it though .

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secretariat

A little disappointed, it read more like a newspaper article than a story about Secretariat a little slow too cut and dry

[D Slabaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, well written...

Short, well written. Has all pertinent facts. what was need as a reminder for those who watched all events on TV or elsewhere.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book about Secretariat is a 5 star book. :)

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was one of those moments of history one tends to remember......where you were when JFK was shot, where you were when Secretariat won the Triple Crown. Although not an avid horse person, I was a strong admirer of athletic prowess and was definitely tracking Secretariat in 1973 when I was excited by his Kentucky Derby win and blown away by the Belmont win.

So when this book popped up on Kindle Unlimited, I "bought" it. What a disappointment! It was primarily a series of news clippings, betting odds, etc. with little narrative in between. This was put together by a group of editors? You have got to be kidding - there were so many omissions, poorly constructed sentences, typos and bad grammar that a high school English teacher would have drained a red ink pen dry.

This should have been an inspiring story of a truly incomparable horse as well as the family that owned him, the trainer, and jockey and probably many more that I am ignorant of. True, Secretariat did not have the dramatic story that Seabiscuit did but there was far more story here than was developed. There are many books out there that apparently tell the story far better than this one did, and I will seek out one of those to get the taste of this one out of my mouth.

[Carmel Ann Sperti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everyone Wants to Write a Book About Secretariat

This book will be most notable for its errors, omissions and typos. While the reading level is suitable for older children, it is not of sufficient quality for me to recommend it. The Charles River Editors need an editor. Rather disappointing.