Top 100 momentsNo. 63
Secretariat’s Belmont
Secretariat wins the Triple Crown by 31 lengths. The Belmont clock is a still a dare. Horse racing’s last undisputed superstar runs off the screen.
The Kentucky Derby record. The Preakness. Then Belmont, June 9, 1973. Secretariat opens a lead that looks like a filming error. 31 lengths. 2:24 for a mile and a half, a mark that still sits there like a wall.
CBS’s camera has to zoom out to keep the field in the shot. Chic Anderson says he is moving like a tremendous machine. People who do not follow racing remember the horse. People who do still argue whether anyone else was ever in his class.
The Triple Crown becomes rare again. Secretariat remains the clip you show someone who asks why a horse race can feel like a moonshot.