LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The county was abuzz.
The excitement of Derby Day 1973, the 99th Run for the Roses, seeping through the veins of every person in attendance.
And on the rooftop for WHAS11 News, the Derby station back then, was legendary sports director Cawood Ledford, reading the call of Secretariat's win.
"Secretariat has the lead. We've got less than 150 yards to go and Secretariat is on top and he's going to take it all. As we come to the line, it's Secretariat going up, [Ron] Turcotte sitting on him, and its Secretariat that wins it by two and a half lengths," Ledfood exclaimed.
Behind the great horse from the beginning was his owner, Penny Chenery.
"Secretariat's records - none of them have been broken," John Tweedy, Chenery's son, said. "My mother was the first modern celebrity thoroughbred owner because of Secretariat of course."
Tweedy is surrounded by big red trophies.
"So many people have personal connections with Secretariat," Tweedy said. "My mother was very committed to speaking to all kinds of people, from all walks of life, all races, all classes, and communicating her excitement about Secretariat."
Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, sweeping each single race blasting home in record time. The Belmont victory made him an international superstar.
WHAS11 News is honoring the 50th anniversary of his amazing victories and the biggest surprise of them all. It wasn't until after his death in 1989 that people learned the eye opening news about what was driving him.
His heart was nearly 22 pounds, almost three times bigger than a normal thoroughbred.
It explains a lot to his jockey, the now 81-year-old Ron Turcotte.
"He could keep that pace up and not tire under me at all. I pulled him up, he wasn't even tired. When I brought him back, he was even breathing hard. It's amazing, something people don't see," Turcotte said.
Secretariat was called the people's horse, and his heart was more than his engine — it was his personality.
"It explained all of it, it explained the degree to which he just had superior equipment. He could just simply outrun, outlast, outperform the very strong competitive field in the year that he raced," Turcotte said.
Secretariat is buried at his beloved Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky.
The farm is roughly an hour and a half from Louisville. Last year, they had 12,000 visitors to see Secretariat's gravesite.
The Kentucky Derby Museum is honoring Secretariat with a new permanent exhibit. The exhibit called "Secretariat: America's Horse" opens on Friday, April 21.
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