1973 Kentucky Derby starting gate. This forced Brumfield to dismount and adjust the saddle, delaying the Derby's start. Despite this, Brumfield stated he did not "want to make excuses, everything considered, my horse did fine." Betting on the ten races held that day at Churchill Downs totaled to $7,627,965, breaking the previous single-day record for American horse racing events of $7,164,717. Off-track betting on the Kentucky Derby reached $3,050,194, which was included in the previous record total. Secretariat went on to participate in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later, where he finished in first. Sham was second, again, by a margin of lengths.
Belmont Stakes tradition is similar to the singing of the state song at the post parades of the first two Triple Crown races: "My Old Kentucky Home" at the Kentucky Derby and "Maryland, My Maryland" at the Preakness Stakes. The change of song gave rise to "the myth of Mamie O'Rourke," a reference to a character in the lyrics of "The Sidewalks of New York." Before American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015, some claimed that changing the official Belmont song "cursed" the Triple Crown and was why no horse had won since Affirmed in 1978. Others note that there was