1973 Preakness Stakes

98th Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
Location Pimlico Race Course,
Baltimore, Maryland,
United States
Date May 19, 1973
Winning horse Secretariat
Jockey Ron Turcotte
Conditions Fast
Surface Dirt
← 1972
1974 →

The 1973 Preakness Stakes was the 98th running of the $200,000 Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. A record crowd saw Secretariat win his second Triple Crown race in a row over rival Sham with an official time of 1:53.00.[1][2] Approximate post time was 5:40 p.m. Eastern Time. The race was run on a fast track.[3] The Maryland Jockey Club reported total attendance of 61,657, this is recorded as third highest on the list of American thoroughbred racing top attended events for North America in 1973.[4]

In the Preakness, Secretariat broke last, but then made a huge, last-to-first move on the first turn. After reaching the lead with 51⁄2 furlongs to go, he was never challenged, and won by 2½ lengths, again with Sham finishing second and Our Native third.

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.


Payout

The 97th Preakness Stakes Payout Schedule

Program
Number		 Horse Name
Win
Place
Show
3 Secretariat $2.60 $2.20 $2.10
1 Sham - $2.20 $2.20
4 Our Native - - $2.20

The full chart

Finish
Position		 Lengths
Behind		 Post
Position		 Horse name Trainer Jockey Owner Post Time
Odds		 Purse
Earnings
1st 0 3 Secretariat Lucien Laurin Ron Turcotte Meadow Stable 0.30-1
favorite		 $129,900
2nd 21/2 1 Sham Frank "Pancho" Martin Laffit Pincay, Jr. S. Sommer 3.10-1 $30,000
3rd 101/2 4 Our Native William J. Resseguet Donald Brumfield Mrs. M. J. Pritchard 11.90-1 $15,000
4th 111/2 6 Ecole Etage Grover Bud Delp George Cusimano Bon Etage Farm 11.30-1 $7,500
5th 211/2 2 Deadly Dream Anthony S. Black Wide Track Farms 35.50-1
6th 241/2 5 Torsion John P. Campo Ben M. Feliciano Buckland Farm 39.00-1

Timing controversy

The 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 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, which held the record at the time, 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 slower than Cañonero's. But 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.[5]

Then, on June 19, 2012, a special meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission was 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.[1] The Daily Racing Form then announced that it would honor the commission's ruling with regard to the running time.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Secretariat's '73 Preakness time is a record, racing commission rules". CNN. June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Secretariat makes it look easy with Preakness victory". Rome News-Tribune (Rome, Georgia). UPI. May 20, 1973. p. 1C.
  3. ↑ Daily Racing Form, May 20, 1973 Preakness Stakes Chart.
  4. 1 2 2010 Preakness Stakes Media Guide; page 95 (page P-7 of The Preakness section).
  5. ↑ "Preakness - Secretariat.com". Secretariat.com. 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
  6. ↑ Hegarty, Matt (June 19, 2012). "Secretariat awarded Preakness record at 1:53 after review". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved June 19, 2012.

External links


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