At a glance
Identity snapshot
Verified biographical fields, separated from interpretation.
- Foaled
- March 30, 1970, Virginia, United States
- Life
- 1970-1989
- Sex / color
- Stallion / chestnut
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1974
Profile
The story
Secretariat was foaled at The Meadow in Virginia from one of American breeding's most consequential matings: Bold Ruler to Somethingroyal. Trained by Lucien Laurin for Meadow Stable, he broke his maiden in his second start and developed rapidly under Ron Turcotte. At two he won seven of nine races and became an unusually young Horse of the Year, entering his three-year-old season with immense public attention and a planned retirement at the end of the campaign.
After a third-place Wood Memorial, Secretariat delivered three defining classics. He accelerated through the Kentucky Derby, followed with the Preakness, and then turned the Belmont Stakes into a sustained display of speed and stamina, winning by 31 lengths to complete the Triple Crown. His later victories against older horses and on turf broadened the case for his versatility. He retired with 16 wins and three year-end championships from his final season. At Claiborne Farm, his long-term influence became especially important through his daughters and their descendants.
Editorial analysis
Why this horse matters
Secretariat sits at the intersection of measurable performance, visual spectacle, and breeding influence. His Triple Crown was more than a sweep: each race exposed a different strength, from acceleration and tactical response to the stamina of the Belmont. His later turf success also resists reducing him to a single campaign or surface. For careful researchers, the strongest evidence is the documented record, margins, opposition, and campaign context - not retrospective speed estimates presented as contemporary facts.
Selected record
Career highlights
A concise chronology of documented championship and major-event performances.
- 1972
Champion juvenile
Won seven of nine starts and was named Horse of the Year and Champion 2-Year-Old Male.
- 1973
Kentucky Derby
Won the first Triple Crown leg with a performance that remains central to Derby history.
- 1973
Preakness Stakes
Added the second classic after an early move from the back of the field.
- 1973
Belmont Stakes
Won by 31 lengths to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
- 1973
Older horses and turf
Won the Marlboro Cup, Man o' War Stakes, and Canadian International during his final campaign.
- 1973
Three championships
Named Horse of the Year, Champion 3-Year-Old Male, and Champion Turf Horse.
Live name watch
News mentioning Secretariat
Exact-name matches from this horse's discipline only. No fuzzy matches, recycled stories or unrelated fallback headlines.
No recent exact-name coverage for Secretariat appears in the monitored thoroughbred racing feeds right now.
Checked Aug 2, 2026, 10:26 PM EDT. No match means only that the current monitored feed window contains no exact reference; it is not a claim that no coverage exists elsewhere.
Open the full live news deskReference desk
Research record
Pedigree, people and career facts remain grouped by type for quick comparison.
Career record
- Career
- 1972-1973
- Starts
- 21
- Record
- 16 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third
- Earnings
- $1,316,808 (historical nominal dollars)
Pedigree
- Sire
- Bold Ruler
- Dam
- Somethingroyal
- Damsire
- Princequillo
Connections
- Breeder
- Meadow Stud, Inc.
- Owner
- Meadow Stable
- Trainer
- Lucien Laurin
- Principal rider
- Ron Turcotte
Reading the record
Research context
Technical and historical notes, presented as context rather than instruction.
Beyer Speed Figures did not exist during Secretariat's career. Retrospective estimates are not displayed as official figures.
The Preakness timing was reviewed long after the race; this profile avoids reproducing an official chart and directs readers to the institutional source.
Career earnings are historical nominal dollars and should not be compared directly with modern purses without adjustment.
Provenance
Detailed source trail
Open the institutional record behind the dossier and see exactly what each source supports.
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
Secretariat (VA) (opens in a new tab)
Identity, pedigree, connections, career totals, championships, campaign narrative, retirement, and death.
Accessed July 25, 2026
Claiborne Farm
Secretariat (opens in a new tab)
Color, retirement, and stallion-era context.
Accessed July 25, 2026
Continue researching
Build a reading path from the record
Every connection below is generated from fields already present in the source-linked archive. It is a research lead, not a claim that two horses had equivalent careers.
Follow the recorded lineage
These links come from an explicitly named sire, dam, damsire, or a parent shared by both source records.
Racing
Bold Ruler
American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse
- Recorded sire of Secretariat
- Bold Ruler
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Foaled within twenty-five years
- 1954
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Racing
Somethingroyal
American Thoroughbred horse
- Recorded dam of Secretariat
- Somethingroyal
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Foaled within twenty-five years
- 1952
Racing
Princequillo
Thoroughbred racehorse
- Recorded damsire of Secretariat
- Princequillo
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Trace shared connections
These records repeat the same named owner, breeder, trainer, rider, event, or honor in the supplied data.
Racing
American Pharoah
The 2015 Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup Classic winner ended a 37-year drought and completed a uniquely comprehensive modern campaign.
- Shared event
- Kentucky Derby
- Shared event
- Preakness Stakes
- Shared event
- Belmont Stakes
- Shared discipline
- Racing
Racing
Justify
Justify compressed an undefeated Triple Crown campaign into six starts and 111 days, an exceptional case of accelerated development.
- Shared event
- Kentucky Derby
- Shared event
- Preakness Stakes
- Shared event
- Belmont Stakes
- Shared discipline
- Racing
Racing
War Admiral
Man o' War's most accomplished racing son swept the 1937 Triple Crown, won 21 of 26 starts, and later became a leading sire.
- Shared event
- Kentucky Derby
- Shared event
- Preakness Stakes
- Shared event
- Belmont Stakes
- Shared discipline
- Racing
Compare documented peers
These horses share multiple recorded identity fields, such as discipline, breed, country, sex, or foaling period.
Racing
Ruffian
A brilliant, undefeated winner through her first ten starts whose speed carried from sprint distances through the New York Filly Triple Crown.
- Foaled within five years
- 1972
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Shared recorded place
- United States
Racing
Seattle Slew
Thoroughbred race horse; winner of US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1977
- Foaled within five years
- 1974
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Racing
Majestic Prince
race horse
- Foaled within five years
- 1966
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Racing
Easy Jet
Quarter Horse racehorse and sire
- Foaled within five years
- 1967
- Shared discipline
- Racing
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Stay within the discipline
These source-linked records share the same discipline classification; open each profile to establish any closer comparison.
Harness racing
Speedy Crown
American Standardbred racehorse
- Foaled within five years
- 1968
- Shared recorded place
- United States
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Notable horses
Furioso II
Selle français stallion
- Foaled within five years
- 1965
- Shared recorded sex category
- Stallion / chestnut
Field notebook
Questions the available evidence can support
Pedigree ledger
List each sire, dam, and damsire recorded for Secretariat; open the linked source before carrying a relationship into another generation.
Based on: Recorded pedigree fieldsEra comparison
Start with Secretariat's recorded foaling year (1970). Date every comparison and keep later commentary separate from contemporaneous results.
Based on: Recorded foaling yearConnection map
Trace the recorded breeder, owner, trainer, rider entries one source at a time. Preserve the role and date attached to each source rather than assuming a permanent relationship.
Based on: Named connections, events, or honorsIdentity language
Copy breed, studbook, sex, and place terms exactly as the source presents them; note conflicts instead of silently standardizing them.
Based on: Recorded identity fieldsSource check
Open the 2 linked sources, record the publisher and retrieval or revision date, and mark which displayed fields each source actually supports.
Based on: Linked source trail
From profile to reading room
Continue from Secretariat's record
4 original briefs · 30 reading minutes · 19 direct references. These are research-method companions, not additional claims about the horse.
Profile-linked brief
Stud fee is a price tag, not a breeding verdict
The advertised fee opens a stallion dossier. Book size, opportunity, mare quality, crop age, contract terms, and the goals for the mating determine what the price can and cannot mean.
Why read this next: The editorial index explicitly connects this brief to Secretariat. Use its bloodstock research framework and 4 direct references as a method companion; the link does not add a new fact to the horse profile.
Read the original briefProfile-linked brief
The Derby leaderboard is an entry queue, not a power ranking
Points answer whether a horse can get into the gate. The performances beneath those points help answer what kind of contender may arrive there.
Why read this next: The editorial index explicitly connects this brief to Secretariat. Use its kentucky derby research framework and 5 direct references as a method companion; the link does not add a new fact to the horse profile.
Read the original briefProfile-linked brief
The number never ran the race
A speed figure makes performances comparable; it does not make their circumstances identical. Read the class, surface, pace, trip, and chart before deciding what the number means.
Why read this next: The editorial index explicitly connects this brief to Secretariat. Use its race-record literacy framework and 5 direct references as a method companion; the link does not add a new fact to the horse profile.
Read the original briefDiscipline research
A finish line is not an exit plan
Retirement can mean rehabilitation, retraining, adoption, sanctuary, or another carefully matched role. Good research follows the horse beyond the final chart.
Why read this next: This aftercare and welfare brief shares the profile's Thoroughbred racing classification. Its 5 direct references help test context and source boundaries; the brief is not evidence about this individual horse.
Read the original briefData boundary
Unknown is not a blank to fill
This dossier publishes reviewed fields and source-backed editorial analysis only. A field that is not shown remains not established in this source-checked dossier. EquinAtlas does not infer missing results, ownership, health, availability, or commercial terms.