Secretariat (March 30, 1970 - October 4, 1989) was an American thoroughbred race horse (Sire: Bold Ruler; Dam: Somethingroyal), born at Meadow Farms Stables in Caroline County, Virginia.

Trained by Canadian Lucien Laurin and ridden by fellow Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte, he won the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes (June 9), making him the first Triple Crown winner in a quarter of a century, long enough that many racing fans had thought it would never happen again.

Secretariat's race records in the Derby and the Belmont stand to this day; his run in the Belmont is not only a race record, but the world record for a mile and a half on a dirt track. He set a new speed record in each of the Triple Crown races, the only horse in history to do so (although he was not officially recognized as the Preakness record holder because the official timer malfunctioned).

On the morning of the Belmont, America was primed to see Secretariat become the first Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years. It's no coincidence that Secretariat was featured on the covers of three prominent magazines the week prior: Time Magazine, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. But nobody expected the pure and absolute domination that Secretariat exhibited.

His winning margin of more than 31 lengths in the long and grueling Belmont Stakes is remembered as one of the most dramatic events in thoroughbred racing history and one of the most incredible individual athletic achievements ever, both human and non-human.

In one of the best known of American sports calls, CBS Television broadcaster Chic Anderson -- later Belmont Park's track announcer -- punctuated Secretariat's powerful move on the final turn of the Belmont this way:

...Secretariat is blazing along! The first three-quarters of a mile in 1:09 and four fifths. Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a TREMENDOUS machine!

A lesser-known but perhaps more awesome accomplishment of his took place in that year's Derby. On his way to a still-standing record time in that race (1:59 2/5), he achieved the unheard-of feat of running each quarter-mile segment fractionally faster than the one before it. The successive quarter-mile times were: 25 1/5, 24, 23 4/5, 23 2/5 and 23.

He was nicknamed "Big Red" by his legion of fans, and in a survey of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century by ESPN, he was listed 35th, one of two non-humans on the list.

Secretariat was voted Horse of the Year, the most prestigious honor in racing, both as a two-year-old and at age three. He was retired to stud at the end of that racing season, after four more victories and two second-place finishes. His last two races were on grass, and he won them both. In 1974, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Secretariat became a beloved figure with fans and non-fans of horse racing coming to see Big Red standing at stud. He was generally perceived as a disappointment at stud; however, this view of Secretariat as a stallion is not shared by most racing insiders. Secretariat sired a substantial number of major stakes winners, including 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret and 1988 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Risen Star. His "failure" as a stallion was mostly due to his inability to produce offspring as great as he was—an unrealistic expectation, even for a truly great horse. During his lifetime he sired as many as 600 foals.

In the fall of 1989, Secretariat was afflicted with laminitis, a painful and incurable hoof condition. His condition failed to improve, and he was euthanized on October 4. He is buried at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. In death, he received the ultimate honor for a horse—he was buried whole. By tradition, the only parts of a Thoroughbred buried are their head (to symbolize intelligence), heart (to symbolize strength), and legs (to symbolize power).

1999 stamp honoring Secretariat

Before his burial, he was autopsied at the University of Kentucky; the veterinarian who performed the autopsy found that Secretariat's heart was the largest he had ever seen in a horse—approximately twice the size of a normal horse's heart. Unlike most enlarged hearts, Secretariat's showed absolutely no signs of disease.

On October 16, 1999, in the winner's circle at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, the United States Postal Service honored the great horse, unveiling a 33 cent postage stamp with his image.

In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Secretariat was ranked #2.