Citation

Many casual sports fans know whom Secretariat is – the great horse that won the 1973 Triple Crown.

But before there was Secretariat, there was Citation.

Citation was horse racing’s first millionaire horse. He earned $1,085,760 in a 45-race career that span from 1947 to 1951. Citation was so good that of the 32 times he ran, he was in the money every time but once.

At one point during his illustrious career, Citation set a modern-day record by winning 28 out of 30 races, including 16 consecutive wins between 1948 and 1950. His final record was 32-10-2.

Citation won his first race in 1947 at the Futurity Stakes. That same year, he also won the Pimlico Futurity, but it wasn’t until 1948 when he became a horse racing legend.

In 1948, Citation won nine major races, including the Tanforan Handicap, the Flamingo Stakes, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Stars and Stripes Handicap, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the American Derby and the Pimlico Special. As you can read, the most significant events won by Citation in 1948 were none other than the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes – horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Ridden by jockey Arcaro, Citation won the Kentucky Derby by 3 ½ lengths over his stablemate, Coaltown, who eventually won the 1949 Horse of the Year. In the Preakness Stakes, Citation won by 5 ½ lengths and at the Belmont Stakes, he captured horse racing’s Triple Crown by tying the stakes record of 2:28 1/5 set by Count Fleet, the 6th Triple Crown winner.

Throughout his career, Citation won many racing awards. On top of being the 8th U.S. Triple Crown Champion in 1948, he also was the U.S. Champion 2-year-old Colt in 1947, as well as the U.S. Champion 3-year-old Colt in 1948. Citation went on to win U.S. Horse of the Year in 1948 and the U.S. Champion Older Horse in 1951.

In 1959, Citation was elected into the United States racing Hall of Fame and is regarded as the No. 3 racehorses of the 20th Century behind Secretariat and Man o’ War.

Secretariat

How can a horse be called a legend? When that horse is named Secretariat, that’s how. Secretariat is known as the greatest racehorse of all time and yes, a legend in thoroughbred racing. 

Before 1973, horse racing hadn’t seen a Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Enter Secretariat, who claimed horseracing’s most prestigious honor after winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Not only that, but he set still-standing track records in both the Kentucky Derby (1:59) and Belmont Stakes (2:24). 

What was rather impressive about Secretariat’s wins at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes is that he broke last out of the gates in both races. At the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat moved up on the field in the backstretch, and then overtook his rival Sham at the top of the stretch. Secretariat won the race by 2 ½ lengths. 

At the Preakness Stakes, Secretariat again broke last but made a massive last-to-first jump on the first turn. He eventually won the race by 2 ½ lengths, once again leaving his rival Sham in the dust. 

With the Triple Crown on the line at the Belmont Stakes, only four other horses joined Secretariat in the starting gates. Sham showed up, but this time didn’t prove to be a worthy adversary as Secretariat blew him away, setting a track record of 1:59 flat to win the Triple Crown. 

Along with being the 9th U.S. Triple Crown Champion in 1973, Secretariat also won U.S. Horse of the Year in 1972 and 1973. In 1974, he was named to the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame and in 1999 he was featured on a U.S. Postage Stamp. 

Secretariat was listed No. 2 in the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century and also has a statue at Belmont Park, Kentucky Horse Park and Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park. Secretariat even has a street named after him in Napa, California.