OT: American Pharoah vs Secretariat, side-by-side

Submitted by gwrock on

Thought some of you might find this side-by-side comparison interesting ... or not, but either way here it is:

https://youtu.be/eT50hQINVrI

(Edit:  Experiencing an embed fail here.)

Gameboy

June 9th, 2015 at 4:13 PM ^

Your strange comment would make somewhat sense if either horse was a late stretcher who hangs back early in the race, but both horses were frontrunners who set the pace from the get go.

This just goes to show how great Secretariat was. He eased up in the end and still bested American Pharaoh and all other horses by nearly three seconds.

wlubd

June 9th, 2015 at 4:32 PM ^

This seems to be about right. OP's comment wasn't as strange as some people seem to think. Competed in dragonboat for years and more factors in play from year-to-year/race-to-race than just strictly time. Just not really applicable in this case.

mb121wl

June 9th, 2015 at 11:03 PM ^

When the vets conducted the autopsy after he was euthanized at the age of 19, they were astounded by his heart.  It was in perfect condition.  They estimated it weighed 22 pounds, almost 3 times the size of the average horse's heart.  As the commentator said at the time, he was a "tremendous machine."  He was built to run, and he loved it.  That's the only way to explain why he kept lengthening his lead from the third turn to the post.  Anybody who saw the race live that day will never forget how he seemed almost ready to leave the track, and fly.

Don

June 9th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^

After he was put down, and the vets discovered that his heart was 2 1/2 times the size of his competitors. That's a big engine stoking those muscles.

Roanman

June 9th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^

An average heart on a horse is around 9 lbs. Racehorse hearts tend to go larger in general. 

Dr. Thomas Swerczek, head pathologist at the University of Kentucky, estimated Secretariat's heart upon his autopsy at 22 lbs.  The largest heart that Dr. Swerczek had seen prior to Secretariat's was that of Sham, Secretariat's Triple Crown rival and one of the greatest racehorses of all time.  A fact that almost nobody is aware of because Sham unfortunately, came the same year as Secretariat.

Here's a link to a conversation about the genetics.

http://horsesonly.com/crossroads/xfactor/heart-1.htm

M-Dog

June 9th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^

Sham is the saddest figure in history.  He is arguably the second greatest horse of all time, but nobody knows his name.

He ran the second fastest Derby of all time, but nobody knows it because they only kept the winner's time officially.  But his second place time to Secretariat is better than any other winner's time.

He would have been a historically dominant horse in any other year.  Instead he's a footnote because of who he had to face.

Billy Ray Valentine

June 9th, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^

History unequivocally notes that Secretariat was a "tremendous machine."

 

http://www.realclearsports.com/lists/sports_broadcasting_calls/secretariat_belmont.html

 

“Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine! Secretariat by 12! Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn!”

For the true horse racing junkies, here's a longer version of the famous Chic Anderson call:

They're on the turn, and Secretariat is blazing along! The first three-quarters of a mile in 1:09 and four fifths. Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine! Secretariat by twelve, Secretariat by fourteen lengths on the turn! Sham is dropping back. It looks like they'll catch him today, as My Gallant and Twice a Prince are both coming up to him now. But Secretariat is all alone! He's out there almost a sixteenth of a mile away from the rest of the horses! Secretariat is in a position that seems impossible to catch. He's into the stretch. Secretariat leads this field by 18 lengths, and now Twice a Prince has taken second and My Gallant has moved back to third. They're in the stretch. Secretariat has opened a 22 length lead! He is going to be the Triple Crown winner! Here comes Secretariat to the wire. An unbelievable, an amazing performance! He hits the finish 25 lengths in front! It's going to be Twice a Prince second, My Gallant third, Private Smiles fourth, and Sham, who had it today, dropped back to fifth.

Blue Durham

June 9th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^

What is little appreciated is that Sham was a great horse and would have set track records if not for Secretariat. Its just that Secretariat was an unbelievable horse. The lead up to the Belmont in 1973 was really intense, it seemed everyone watched the race, and nobody could believe how Secretariat just killed it.

My eyes still water when I see that 1973 Belmont race. It was one of those sporting events that you never forget (Franz Klammer's downhill in the 1976 winter Olympics is another for me).

American Pharoah isn't quite Secretariat, but is closer than just about any other horse ever.

BornSinner

June 9th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^

American Pharoah posted the 2nd fastest time at Belmont ever and was still 2 seconds(!!!!) slower than Secretariat... 

 

Blue Durham

June 9th, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^

According to the sporting news, American Pharoah posted the the 6th best time of a winning horse (http://www.sportingnews.com/sport/story/2015-06-06/american-pharoah-tri…), but the 2nd fastest of a horse to win the Bellmont to win the triple crown.

Easy Goer has the 2nd best time at the 1989 Bellmont at 2:26.00 (Secretariat's time was 2:24.00).

Roanman

June 9th, 2015 at 6:36 PM ^

The level of conditioning between race, show and timed event horses as compared with back yard/couch potato horses is profound.

Trainers, depending on the event have added strength building excercises and suppling excercises that have dramatically improved conditioning and athletic performance over what any backyard horse is capable of.

The thoroughbred by virtue of selective breeding at the top may have topped out in terms of speed over a given distance, but horses competing at the professional level are world's removed from your generic bred by accident or four generations from one shot of greatness backyard horse.

Here's an example of a real good, maybe borderline great one. I turn down the sound on this vid, you don't need it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYvq4-XNEh8

Your garden variety backyard horse would blow out multiple joints attempting this.

Muttley

June 9th, 2015 at 6:57 PM ^

not breeding.

I should have been more specific, but I meant to hold the horse's breeding constant.  Same horse, but having lived two hypothetical lifestyles: one under training, one as a "couch potato".

I'm fairly sure it would be hard to find the horse equivalent of:

 

Roanman

June 9th, 2015 at 7:24 PM ^

I tell people all the time, horses are just like everybody else. They get fat and soft just like we do.

To the extent that you have two horses of equal ability and training, the one working out 5/6 days a week is gonna kick ass on the one that has been standing around in the pasture or worse yet a stall everyday. You see it sometimes in the pasture where a new horse comes in from a real program somewhere and this creates a need within the herd to reestablish the pecking order. The new horse by virtue of being maybe fitter and thus quicker, slides into a higher slot for a while.

The other thing you'll see is some doormat of a horse, usually a colt, that gets put into a training program, starts getting fitter, stronger and feeling like he might be somebody as a result and he starts giving it back to some of the others that have been dominant in that particular pasture.

Fitness counts, regardless of you genus and species.

Space Coyote

June 9th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^

Though it is difficult to compare only by times (difference in weather conditions, other horses in the race, starting position, etc. would all have impacts).

I also wondered about the other parts of the triple crown.

Secretariat:

Kentucky Derby: 1:59.4 (track record) - 2.5 lengths

Preakness Stakes: 1:54.4 (.4 sec off track record) - 2.5 lengths

Belmont Stakes: 2:24 (track record; world record for 1.5 mile track on dirt) - 31 lengths (record)

 

American Pharoah:

Kentucky: 2:03.02 - 1 length

Preakness: 1:58.46 - 7 lengths

Belmont: 2.26.65 - 5.5 lengths

 

Conclusion:

Secretariat was a really fast horse.