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
The Sidewalks of New York was more popular. Until 1996, it also was used as the post parade song for the Belmont Stakes, the third race in of horse racing's Triple Crown. Then, the management of the Belmont, trying to appeal to a younger demographic, decided to alter tradition and changed the post parade song to "New York, New York". As a result, there was speculation that a jinx had fallen over any horse attempting to win the Triple Crown. Although four horses between 1979 and 1996 had already failed to win the Triple Crown after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, another