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
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