Secretariat Won The Belmont Stakes By 31 Lengths 40 Years Ago Today

Today's the 40th anniversary of Secretariat's victory at the Belmont Stakes. The horse won by an unfathomable 31 lengths to clinch the 1973 Triple Crown. Secretariat was the first Triple Crown winner since 1948, and there have only been two since.

Secretariat averaged 37.5 miles an hour during the race and finished in 2:24, two seconds faster than the next best times at the Belmont Stakes. Easy Goer ran 2:26 in 1989, and A.P. Indy did the same three years later. They would've lost to Secretariat by about 10 lengths.

Many consider Secretariat one of the greatest racehorses ever. Sports Illustrated named him the second-best racehorse of the 20th century, and ESPN ranked the horse as the 35th-best athlete of the century. And while most racehorses have their heads, hooves and hearts buried after their death, Secretariat was buried whole, like a human, when he was euthanized in 1989. His heart weighed about 22 pounds—nearly thrice the size of a normal thoroughbred's. Secretariat was the shit.