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.