1973 Kentucky Derby entered the homestretch, Secretariat passed Sham in the final furlong and distanced himself to consolidate his lead. Secretariat would go on to win the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in the succeeding weeks, thus becoming the ninth horse to complete the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. Thirteen horses entered the Derby, which could have at most twenty participants. Horse owners had to pay a final entry fee of $2,500 to have their horses officially entered. The field was larger than anticipated because of new entries following Secretariat's loss at the Wood Memorial Stakes in New York. The Wood Memorial had
Belmont Stakes year when the Triple Crown series was split three ways. The Belmont Stakes race was held at Aqueduct Racetrack from 1963 to 1967, while the track at Belmont was restored and renovated. The largest crowd of the 20th century was in 1971 with over 80,000 people, supplemented by the city's Latino community, there to cheer on their new hero, Cañonero II, the Venezuelan colt who had won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was poised to win the U.S. Triple Crown. However, due to a foot infection that had bothered the horse for several days, Cañonero II failed to