The 1973 Kentucky Derby featured not only the most famous thoroughbred racing horse of all time in Secretariat, but a worthy field that featured the likes of Sham and Angle Light - both of whom beat the superhorse just two weeks before in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.
The horse racing world watched to see if Secretariat, the 1972 Horse of the Year, could live up to the lofty expectations bestowed upon him. Secretariat was ridden by jockey Ron Turcotte, trained by Lucien Lauren and owned by a syndicate headlined by Penny Chenery of Meadow Farm, this same trio also brought along Riva Ridge who had won the Derby and Belmont Stakes the year prior.
In this episode we went back and watched the original CBS broadcast and discussed:
- The lead up to the race for Secretariat
- Jack Whitaker being a bad ass
- The cast of characters that led the broadcast
- Mike's Laffit Pincay bobblehead
- The Sham/Secretariat rivalry
- The new Kentucky Derby record set by Secretariat
- Has the broadcast of the race changed much in 50 years?
- Sham losing two teeth
- much more...
If you want to watch the CBS broadcast as it aired in 1973, check out the videos on our website here: https://distantreplaypodcast.com/ep-74-the-1973-kentucky-derby/
