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SARGA.CO — In the world of horse racing, one name stands apart, whispered with awe as if part of a myth: Secretariat. The chestnut stallion with a perfectly muscular build and eyes that seemed to know he was destined to make history.
Every time footage from the 1973 Belmont Stakes is replayed, even those who know the outcome still hold their breath.
“Secretariat is running like a tremendous machine!” shouted CBS commentator Chic Anderson as the horse surged far ahead of his rivals.
At the finish line, the gap between Secretariat and the runner-up was nothing short of staggering — 31 lengths, a record that still stands in awe.
Secretariat was born on March 30, 1970, at The Meadow Farm in Virginia. His owner, Penny Chenery, was simply trying to save her family’s struggling breeding farm. She received Secretariat through a coin toss.
Who could have imagined that a flip of a coin would change the course of racing history forever? Penny wrote only one word in the foal’s birth notes: “Wow.”
Even as a young colt, Secretariat radiated star quality — with his flawless proportions, regal posture, and an effortless stride that captivated all who watched him run.
Under trainer Lucien Laurin and jockey Ron Turcotte, Secretariat dominated the 1973 racing season. He broke the Kentucky Derby record with a time of 1:59.40, becoming the first horse ever to finish under two minutes.
Two weeks later, he won the Preakness Stakes with another stunning display of speed. Finally, at the Belmont Stakes, he completed the Triple Crown with the most spectacular victory in modern racing history.
But the most astonishing chapter came after his death. On October 4, 1989, Secretariat was euthanized due to laminitis, a severe hoof disease. The veterinarian who performed the autopsy, Dr. Thomas Swerczek of the University of Kentucky, only intended to confirm the cause of death. But when he opened Secretariat’s chest, he and his team fell silent.
“His heart wasn’t just big,” Dr. Swerczek said softly, as quoted by issuu.com. “It was the largest heart I’ve ever seen.”
Secretariat's heart weighed about 22 pounds, or 10 kilograms—almost two and a half times the size of a normal horse's heart. There were no abnormalities, no damage, just a perfect organ on a gigantic scale.
Dr. Swerczek, who has performed thousands of autopsies in his career, called Secretariat "the most perfect specimen I've ever seen."
That discovery finally answered the question that had long baffled the racing world: how could one horse run so fast, for so long, without tiring?
The answer lay in his heart.
With an extraordinary capacity for blood and oxygen circulation, Secretariat could sustain immense speed without exhaustion — a “biological machine” nearly impossible to replicate.
This led to the “X-Factor” theory, popularized by researcher Marianna Haun, who suggested that the large-heart gene was passed through the X chromosome from the maternal line. Indeed, many of Secretariat’s female descendants produced champion racehorses. Yet, as many experts say, “There will never be another like him.”
Interestingly, behind that moment of discovery, Dr. Swerczek was enduring a personal tragedy — his son had suffered a severe accident and was in a coma. He left the hospital to perform the autopsy on a horse he had long admired. There were no photos, no weight records — only profound respect.
“I didn’t want to ruin his beauty. I did it as if it were surgery, not an autopsy,” he told Equestrian Directory in 2020.
Afterward, Dr. Swerczek devoted his life to researching laminitis and reproductive disorders in horses. He found that extreme weather shifts and natural toxins in pastures could trigger diseases like the one that killed Secretariat. His work helped many Kentucky farms prevent future outbreaks.
Secretariat was not only a legend on the track, but also a scientific mystery that reshaped our understanding of equine performance.
He ran not only with power — but with something greater, both literally and emotionally — a heart twice the size of any other horse’s.
“He wasn’t a horse,” said New York racing official Bennett Liebman. “He was Secretariat.”
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