Genetic progress

[Glenn]

I often wonder why Secretariat's record still stands almost 30 years later. More money has been spent (by an order of magnitude) has been spent on horse breeding than could ever be conceived of being spent on cattle breeding, yet the record STILL stands.

>>In the stretch, Secretariat opened a 1/16 mile lead on the rest of the field. At the finish, he won by 31 lengths (breaking the margin-of-victory record set by Triple Crown winner Count Fleet, who won by 25 lengths) and ran the fastest 1½ miles on dirt in history, 2:24 flat, which broke the stakes record by more than 2 seconds. This works out to a speed of 37.5 mph for his entire performance. Secretariat's world record still stands, and in fact, no other horse has ever broken 2:25 for 1½ miles on dirt. If the Beyer Speed Figure calculation had been developed during that time, Andrew Beyer calculated that Secretariat would have earned a figure of 139, the highest figure he has ever assigned<<



Truly amazing. And makes you think.

[George]

As I watched it alone on my parent's TV, I remember standing in my parent's dining room that day, cheering for Secretariat as he blew away the rest of the field. When it was over I laughed at getting so worked up over something - with no one else there to share it with. Of all the great sports moments I've been privileged to see "live" on TV, it ranks right up there with the 1980 Olympic Hockey team's achievement for me.

The perfect horse on the perfect day! Everything aligned in perfection.

George

[Glenn]

The roar of the crowd tells it all. They were witnessing history and seemed to know it.