1973 Preakness Stakes
| Preakness Stakes | |
| Location | Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Date | May 19, 1973 5:40 PM EDT |
| Winning horse | Secretariat |
| Jockey | Ron Turcotte |
| Trainer | Lucien Laurin |
| Owner | Penny Chenery |
| Conditions | Fast |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Attendance | 61,657 |
|
← 1972
1974 →
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The 1973 Preakness Stakes was the 98th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Of the six horses that entered and started the race, all horses completed the event. Secretariat won by 2 1⁄2 lengths ahead of Sham in front of a record crowd of 61,657 spectators. Our Native finished in third position. The race was able to be viewed on television and broadcast over the radio.[1]
In the Preakness, Secretariat broke last, but then made a huge, last-to-first move on the first turn. After reaching the lead with 5 ⁄1 furlongs to go, he was never challenged, and won by 2½ lengths, again with Sham finishing second and Our Native third.
Following his win, as Secretariat prepared for the Belmont Stakes, he appeared on the covers of three national magazines: Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated. He had become a national celebrity.
Contents
Pre-race coverage
Six horses entered the Preakness Stakes.[2][3] Following his record-breaking victory at the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat entered the race as the favorite.[4] Sham and Secretariat were jockeyed by the same jockeys as in the Derby, Laffit Pincay, Jr. and Ron Turcotte, respectively.[4] Aside from Sham and Secretariat, Our Native was selected by Joe Nichols, a writer for The New York Times, as an outside contender for victory.[4]
Event details
The race was set to begin at 5:40 PM EDT.[5] The horses entering the race weighed in at 126 pounds.[5] The total purse for the Preakness was $182,400, with the first through fourth place finishers to receive $129,900, $30,000, $15,000, and $7,500, respectively.[5][6][7] The weather during the race was clear and the course conditions were fast.[5][8]
Race officials expected a record turnout in the days leading up to the Preakness, estimating over 50,000 people.[4] The official attendance for the event was reported at 61,657,[8] which surpassed the previous record of 48,721 people set in 1972.[8] The new record lasted until 1975 when 75,216 spectators were present at Pimlico.[8]
Result
| Finish | Post Position | Horse | Jockey | Final Odds[N 1] | Stake[N 2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Secretariat | Ron Turcotte | $0.30 | $129,900 |
| 2 | 1 | Sham | Laffit Pincay, Jr. | $3.10 | $30,000 |
| 3 | 4 | Our Native | Donald Brumfield | $11.90 | $15,000 |
| 4 | 6 | Ecole Etage | George Cusimano | $11.30 | $7,500 |
| 5 | 2 | Deadly Dream | Anthony S. Black | $35.50 | – |
| 6 | 5 | Torsion | Ben M. Feliciano | $39.00 | – |
Payout schedule
| Post Position | Horse | Win | Place | Show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Secretariat | $2.60 | $2.20 | $2.20 |
| 1 | Sham | – | $2.20 | $2.20 |
| 4 | Our Native | – | – | $2.20 |
Timing controversy
The winning time of the race was controversial. When the race ended, the official time for Secretariat was listed on the infield teletimer as 1:55. However, multiple clockers disagreed. The track's electronic timer had malfunctioned because of damage caused by members of the crowd crossing the track to reach the infield. The Pimlico Race Course clocker, E.T. McLean Jr., announced a hand time of 1:54 2⁄5. However, two veteran Daily Racing Form clockers claimed the time was 1:53 2⁄5, which would have broken the track record of 1:54 set by Cañonero II in 1971. Tapes of Secretariat and Cañonero II were played side by side by CBS, and Secretariat got to the finish line first on tape, though this was not a reliable method of timing a horse race at the time. The Maryland Jockey Club, which managed the Pimlico racetrack and is responsible for maintaining Preakness records, reviewed the tapes of the 1973 race and the 1971 race, and found Secretariat had finished ahead of Cañonero II. However, the Jockey Club discarded both the electronic and Daily Racing Form times and recognized 1:54 2⁄5 as the official time, 2⁄5 of a second slower than Cañonero's. But the Daily Racing Form, for the first time in history, printed its own clocking of 1:532⁄5 next to the official time in the chart of the race.[10]
The issue was settled on June 19, 2012. A special meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission convened at Laurel Park at the request of Penny Chenery, Secretariat's owner, who hired companies to conduct a forensic review of the videotapes of the race, and Thomas Chuckas, the president of the Maryland Jockey Club. After over two hours of testimony, the commission unanimously voted to change the time of Secretariat's win from 1:542⁄5 to 1:53, establishing a new stakes record.[11] The Daily Racing Form then announced that it would honor the commission's ruling with regard to the running time.[12]
See also
References
- Footnotes
- Citations
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