How many times was Secretariat beaten?

Of course, Secretariat was arguably the greatest racehorse of the second half of the twentieth century and will always be remembered as the ninth winner of the American Triple Crown – that is, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes – in 1973. All told, the son of 1957 Horse of the Year Bold Ruler won 16 times and amassed a total of $1.32 million in prize money, or $9.1 million in modern terms, based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Secretariat was, himself, named Horse of the Year in both 1972 and 1973.

However, to borrow an idiom from the Swabian dialect of southwestern Germany, ‘Even the best cat can’t catch every mouse’; even ‘Big Red’, as Secretariat was popularly known, was beaten on five different occasions during his brief, 16-month career.

Secretariat made his racecourse debut, as a two-year-old, in a maiden stakes race, over 5½ furlongs, at Aqueduct Racetrack, New York in July, 1972, for which he was sent off favourite. He was impeded at the start and, despite making up ground hand over first in the final two furlongs, could only finish fourth.Later in his two-year-old campaign, in October, 1972, Secretariat was first past the post in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park, New York, but was subsequently demoted to second place, having been deemed to have caused interference to the original runner-up, Stop The Music.

A further shock defeat followed in the Wood Memorial Stakes, his preparatory race for the Kentucky Derby, back at Aqueduct Racetrack in April, 1973. Secretariat had worked without his usual zest beforehand and was subsequently found to be suffering from a large, but hitherto undiagnosed, mouth abscess, but could only finish third, beaten 4 lengths, behind stable companion Angle Light. He was subsequently beaten into second place in both the Whitney Handicap and the Woodward Stakes, both in New York, but finished his three-year-old campaign with a 9-12 record, including the coveted Triple Crown, and a record seasonal prize money of $860, 404.

How Champions Shape Betting Habits

Every now and then, a horse comes along that changes the entire atmosphere of a race day. Not just for the crowd or the camera crews, but for the bookmakers and the bettors. Frankel did it. So did Flightline. They don’t just win. They pull the entire sport into their orbit. And when horses like that line up at the start, betting habits shift in ways that go far beyond the odds.

Frankel wasn’t just unbeaten. He was untouchable. Every time he ran, the money poured in before the paddock had even cleared. Not because people thought he might win, but because they knew he would. The question wasn’t who to back. It was how to back him in a way that made sense. Straight win bets felt pointless. The return was barely worth the slip. So punters turned to forecasts, place markets, or multis just to give their money room to breathe.

This is what a dominant horse does. It compresses the betting market. It forces creativity. The bookies tighten the price. The casuals still chase it. The regulars look for value in the shadows. Suddenly the second favorite gets more attention. Tricast combos show up with strange optimism. And the real action moves away from backing the winner to predicting how the race will unfold behind them.

Flightline had a similar effect in the States. With every race, his reputation built quicker than his stride. By the time he exploded at the Breeders’ Cup, punters weren’t betting against him. They were betting around him. Winning margins. Sectional times. Would he make it look easy, or would he coast late? The horse became a measuring stick, and bettors on Betway adjusted their approach to match.

Champions like these make some people shy away. There’s not much fun in betting a one-to-five favorite. But others see it differently. A dominant horse brings structure. It narrows the variables. You know where the top spot is going. Your job becomes finding what happens below it. That clarity sharpens the field. It changes the way bettors think.

There’s also the emotional pull. Punters love to say they’re chasing value, but most still want to be part of the moment. Backing a legend, even at odds that barely return, becomes a way to connect. It’s a ticket stub you can remember. A small share in something bigger than the payout.

Of course, not every star lives up to the price. That’s part of the game. But when one does, and keeps doing it, they start to control not just the betting, but the atmosphere around it. Races feel different. The stands buzz earlier. The commentary leans in. And the betting slips start to reflect that sense of inevitability.

Trainers and owners feel it too. A champion shortens the market before they’ve even declared. It affects how rivals place their entries. It impacts how jockeys ride. The ripple effect spreads out, and the punters adapt with it.

Frankel made people dream of perfection. Flightline made it look routine. They didn’t just win races. They shaped the psychology of the bet. When they ran, people didn’t ask if they would win. They asked how to make that knowledge useful. That question changed the way money moved. It still does.

So the next time a new name starts dominating headlines, pay attention. Not just to the horse, but to the way punters shift. Because great horses don’t just run differently. They make everyone else think differently, too.

What are some noteworthy facts about Horse Trainer Sir Michael Stoute?

Sir Michael Stoute is a British Thoroughbred horse trainer who has excelled in the Sport of Kings. In fact, he has been training for over five decades making him one of the longest serving handlers in the country. He has excelled at training and 10-times Champion Trainer most often associated with Epsom Derby winner Shergar.

Here are 11 facts you may not know about Sir Michael Stoute.

1) Stoute was born in the Barbados, 1945. His father was the chief of police who instilled his love of horse racing to his son.

2) He left Barbados in 1964 at the age of 19 to be assistant trainer to Pat Rohan.

3) He began training on his own in 1972. His first winner was a horse called Sandal won at Newmarket, owned by his father.

4) Stoute was knighted in 1998 Birthday Honours List for the promotion of sports tourism in Barbados.

5) The only trainer in the 20th century to win 5 consecutive Classic races.

6) In 2008 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for British Horse Trainers.

7) He has been a Champion Trainer 10 times (1981 – 2009).

8) In 1981 Derby winner Shergar was stolen and never found.

9) International victories include The Dubai World Cup, Breeders’ Cup, Japan Cup & Hong Kong Vase.

10) In 1990, he achieved the remarkable feat of training Kribensis to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. A notable victory on the National Hunt for a Flat horse trainer.

11) Sir Michael Stoute currently trains horses at Freemason Lodge Stables, Bury Road, Newmarket, England.

Sir Michael Stoute’s dedication, expertise and passion have made him one of the most respected horse trainers in the world. In fact, he has achieved a career of unparalleled success. Unlike many, he has adapted to change and been an innovator within his sport. His dominance at Royal Ascot and awards and honours is a testament to his enduring legacy.

What would be the value of the original prize money for the 2,000 Guineas in modern terms?

Run over the Rowley Mile at Newmarket in early May and open to three-year-colts and fillies, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes is, of course, the first of five British ‘Classic’ races. The race was inaugurated by the Jockey Club, under the stewardship of Sir Charles Bunbury, on April 18, 1809 and, notwithstanding sponsorship, the title still reflects the original prize money.

 

In the pre-decimal currency system, a.k.a. ‘£sd’ or ‘pounds, shillings and pence’, a pound consisted of 240 pence, or 20 shillings, with 12 pence to the shilling. In Britain, the term ‘guinea’ dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century, when it was used to describe a coin, worth 21 shillings, which was originally made from gold from the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. The coin was taken out of circulation in the late nineteenth century, but ‘guinea’ is still used in certain contexts, such as when quoting professional fees or prices, to describe the sum of 21 shillings, or £1.05 in modern terms. This is a very modest amount of course in terms of gambling nowadays, whether at the course or say on www.jokaroom.io .

 

According to the Bank of England inflation calculator – which, for the year 1809, relies on data collected from the Retail Price Index (RPI) – the original prize fund for the 2,000 Guineas, i.e. £2,100, would we worth nearly £140,000 in modern terms. For the record, the winner of the inaugural contest was Wizard, ridden by William ‘Bill’ Clift, who also rode the winner of the first 1,000 Guineas, Charlotte, for the same connections, five years later.

 

Fast forward the best part of two-and-a-bit centuries and the total prize fund for the 2023 renewal of the 2,000 Guineas was in the region of £500,000, of which the winner, Chaldean, carried off the lion’s share, of £283,550. Granted that that sum, alone, is more than double the modern equivalent of the original total prize money, it would be fair to say that, from connections’ point of view, the 2,000 Guineas has fared very well indeed, in terms of inflation.

 

 

Did Man o’War win the American Triple Crown?

Foaled on March 29, 1917, Man o’War was arguably the greatest American racehorse in history and set a standard by which future generations of thoroughbreds would be measured. ‘Big Red’, as he was known, suffered the one and only defeat in his otherwise indomitable 21-race career when beaten a neck by the aptly-named Upset in the Sandford Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Race Course on August 13, 1919.

Of course, the term ‘Triple Crown’ would not be coined, officially, for another decade, but its component races – namely the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes – had co-existed since 1875 and the first horse to win all three was Sir Barton in 1919. This was all long before our internet age, and ideas of online pokies real money or betting on races via the web. As a three-year-old, Man o’War won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course by 1½ lengths from the aforementioned Upset, who had finished second in the Kentucky Derby, and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park by 20 lengths from his sole rival, Donnacona.

The venue for the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, is officially in the

Southeastern United States, but was nonetheless considered part of the hated ‘West’ by the owner of Man o’War, Samuel Doyle Riddle, who avoided entering his horses in the ‘Run for the Roses’. Geographical bias aside, Riddle also considered the Kentucky Derby, run over a mile and a quarter on the first Saturday in May, too far, too soon for three-year-olds so early in the campaign. In any event, Man o’War was not even entered in the Kentucky Derby, so could not win the American Triple Crown.

In the final race of his career, Man o’War faced Sir Barton, by now a four-year-old, in a match race for the Kenilworth Park Gold Cup, over a mile and a quarter at Kenilworth Park in Windsor, Ontario on October 12, 1920. In receipt of 6lb, weight-for-age, Man o’War was sent off at 1/20 and justified such prohibitive odds, winning easily by 7 lengths.

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