1973 Belmont Stakes meant he completed the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. This was significant as he was the ninth horse to complete the feat and broke a 25-year drought where a horse failed to complete the achievement. Secretariat, Sham, Pvt. Smiles, and My Gallant were the first four horses to be entered into the Belmont Stakes. Secretariat, winner of both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, was the odds on favorite to win the event. The added distance of the Belmont when compared to the Derby and Preakness was found to be one potential reason for Secretariat to lose the race.
Horse racing in the United States has its own Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Hall of Fame honors remarkable horses, jockeys, owners, and trainers. The traditional high point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the Derby; the Preakness Stakes, held two weeks later at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Belmont Stakes, held three weeks after the Preakness at Belmont Park on Long Island, form the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing for three-year-olds. They are all held early in the