1973 Belmont Stakes Steve Cady of the "New York Times" wrote that Secretariat could be defeated if the pace of the race went too fast or was too slow for too long, in both of which scenarios he felt Sham would win. Sham received significant attention as well and was thought to be the second best horse, along with having the potential of becoming the first horse to be runner-up in all the Triple Crown races. My Gallant was considered the best of the rest, especially as he was the progeny of Gallant Man, who set the Belmont Stakes course record of 2:
Citation (horse) a win in the Derby Trial Stakes. In the Kentucky Derby, ridden by Arcaro, Citation won by 3½ lengths over his stablemate, eventual 1949 Horse of the Year Coaltown, and Arcaro gave the widow of former jockey Al Snider a share of his Derby purse money. Citation was then sent to Baltimore where he won the Preakness Stakes by 5½ lengths. From there he won the Jersey Stakes before going to Belmont, New York, and becoming the 8th Triple Crown winner by capturing the Belmont Stakes, tying the stakes record of 2:28⅕ set by the 6th Triple Crown winner, Count