We recently spent some time in New York completing a mural of celebrated racehorse, Secretariat, for The New York Racing Association. Located at the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, New York.
“Aqueduct Racetrack opened on September 27, 1894, on property that belonged to the old Brooklyn Water Works, which was home to a conduit that brought water to New York City from the vast Hempstead Plain. Also known as the Big A,Aqueduct is the only racetrack in New York City, occupying 210 acres in South Ozone Park in the borough of Queens. Just eight miles from its sister track, Belmont Park, Aqueduct’s neighbor is John F. Kennedy International Airport, the top international passenger gateway in the United States.
Through the years, the Big A has been the scene of some of racing’s landmark events, including the only triple dead heat in stakes history when Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait a Bit hit the wire as one in the Carter Handicap on June 10, 1944. Man o’ War, Sword Dancer, Kelso, Buckpasser, Dr. Fager, Secretariat, Forego, Easy Goer and Smarty Jones built their legends at Aqueduct, and Cigar, for whom the Grade 1 Cigar Mile is named, won the first two races of his 16-race winning streak at the Big A.”
David Flores recognizes Secretariat by memorializing the horse at the same track the racing legend debuted on July 4, 1972 and retired, November 11, 1973.
“Seldom does performance match excessive expectation.
Super Bowls are rarely super. Pay-per-view fights are hyped without money-back guarantees. And there’s that old expression that applies so perfectly to horse racing: There’s no such thing as a sure thing.
Then there was Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont Stakes.
He carried a lot more than jockey Ron Turcotte when he went to the gate a 1-to-10 favorite. He had the weight of Secretariat Mania on his back. The international buzz surrounding him was deafening. He was being counted on to win the race and become the first Triple Crown champion in 25 years — the first of the television generation that had already put him on an unrealistic pedestal.
Secretariat’s response went beyond unreal. He won by a jaw-dropping 31 lengths. His time of 2:24 for 1 1/2 miles set a world record many argue may never be broken.
“This red horse with blue and white blinkers and silks seemed to epitomize an American hero,” said Penny Chenery, who owned the playful, barrel-chested colt during his racing days.
In a career that spanned only 16 months, Secretariat started 21 times, won 16 and finished in the money in all but his first race. He was an odds-on favorite 17 times, winning 13. By the time he went to stud, he had won back-to-back Horse of the Year awards.
In Secretariat’s debut on July 4, 1972 at Aqueduct, he went off as the favorite but was impeded at the start and finished fourth in the 5 1/2-furlong race. Eleven days later, he broke his maiden in a 6-furlong race at Aqueduct.
Secretariat’s only other defeat as a two-year-old would be on a disqualification, in which he was placed second for bumping Stop the Music in the Champagne at Belmont. His seven victories in nine races enabled him to become the first two-year-old to be voted Horse of the Year.”
Thank you to Montana Cans for providing the gold standard. Olivia Bevilacqua, Bryant Koger, Josh Garver for the assistance and Paul Kelleher for making this installation possible.
Read more:
Secretariat remains No. 1 name in racing
By Ron Flatter, Special to ESPN
The New York Racing Association
History of the Aqueduct
