Word: secretariats
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...race, however, is run at a marathon distance that most American horses, young or old, find impossible to travel at anywhere near their top speed without falling apart from fatigue. Can Secretariat go the distance? If he can, he may not only capture the Triple Crown but also break the record for the race-2:26%, which is also the track record at Belmont Park, set by Gallant Man in 1957. The Belmont track is extremely fast this year for some reason -possibly because of the unusually heavy spring rains that have packed the surface, possibly because of the particular...
Suspense may be building for fans, owners, trainers and jockeys, but the star remains supremely serene. Belmont is Secretariat's usual home between races elsewhere, and he is unconscionably comfortable there despite his celebrity status. The famous old track is a delightful place on a sunny morning in early June. The barns are set far apart; the buildings and roads are shaded by ancient trees. The slanting early sunlight casts shifting patterns on the grassy plots where horses graze...
...Secretariat's home-ordinarily-is especially serene. Trainer Laurin, who races one of the best strings of horses at Belmont even without Secretariat, has a cluster of buildings all to himself, surrounding an outdoor walking ring and a grazing plot. The area is its own little world, isolated from all outside influence, peopled only by the same familiar faces that work there every day, going about their business with quiet and calming assurance...
...calm has been disturbed, of course, by Secretariat's reputation. Reporters and photographers have shown up frequently and curious passers-by try for a glimpse of the horse or for a word with Laurin. That kind of turmoil, together with the pressure and travel of the Triple Crown competition, could give any thoroughbred fits. Secretariat seems immune to nerves...
...race horse knows a day he is to run because his usual ration of hay disappears. Many animals become edgy, difficult to handle. Secretariat is so calm that just before the Derby he lay down for a refreshing 90-minute snooze. He did the same thing just before the Preakness. A TV crew does not faze him. Recently, while a handler was being interviewed, Secretariat calmly began to nibble on the microphone on the off chance that it was edible. Once, while the horse was being led to stable by Groom Ed Sweat, the leather strap broke off in Sweat...