It can be argued that Turcotte did his best work with Riva Ridge in teaching that particularly high-strung colt to carry his crackling speed for a distance. The sight of Secretariat and Turcotte flashing across the Belmont finish line is one that fans will always treasure, but there was more to the rider’s career than that. The final margin of 31 lengths will forever cement the Belmont as one of the most dominant performances by any athlete - human or equine. The final time of 2:24 remains a record that cannot be touched. “You just try to sit still, as if he was running alone, you know, like he’s running in the field or running alone with nothing on him,” Turcotte said.
His only thought was to make sure he did not get in Secretariat’s way.
They were rapidly receding into the distance. With Secretariat “moving like a tremendous machine,” Turcotte peeked for challengers. “Ron and the horse seemed to say, ‘OK, now we’ll show you what we can do when we’re not under wraps,’ ” Chenery said. It was not long before Sham withered, leaving Secretariat and Turcotte to race only against the clock and into history. “I guess I was the coolest one of them all because I knew what I had under me,” he said. Could “Big Red” possibly withstand such a wicked pace for a mile and a half? He was flesh and blood, after all. “He did, and I just put my whip away and galloped to the wire,” he recalled.įans watched the Belmont with some anxiety as Secretariat’s early duel with Sham produced sizzling fractions. Turcotte said he briefly used his whip in the Derby only to prompt Secretariat to change leads for the stretch run. “Ron and Lucien had discussed the pace of the first two races and wanted him to win, but not too much, to save something,” Chenery said. They never took their eye off the grand prize of the Triple Crown, leading to measured victories in the Derby and Preakness. One of the great athletic performances in any sport – Secretariat’s breathtaking 31-length tour de force in the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes – was the product of careful planning by trainer Lucien Laurin and Turcotte. Turcotte, Penny Chenery, and Secretariat after winning the Marlboro Cup.