2 min read ·
Secretariat’s 1973 Triple Crown: Three Wins, Three Record Times
Secretariat won the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown. See the dates, distances, times and margins, plus why his official Preakness time changed in 2012.
Yes. Secretariat won the U.S. Triple Crown in 1973, winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. He became the ninth Triple Crown winner and the first since Citation in 1948, ending a 25-year gap. His three victories are recognised as record-time performances by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
He completed the sweep on June 9, 1973, winning the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths. Secretariat raced for Meadow Stable, was trained by Lucien Laurin and was ridden by Ron Turcotte in all three races. NYRA’s Secretariat profile records the connections and his decisive Belmont victory.
Secretariat’s three Triple Crown wins
The Triple Crown is a sweep of three separate races—not a single race or a points title. Secretariat’s results were:
| Race | Date in 1973 | Distance | Official winning time | Winning margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Derby | May 5 | 1¼ miles | 1:59.40 | 2½ lengths |
| Preakness Stakes | May 19 | 1 3/16 miles | 1:53.00* | 2½ lengths |
| Belmont Stakes | June 9 | 1½ miles | 2:24.00 | 31 lengths |
Preakness time corrected in 2012, as explained below.
Distances, times and margins are also documented in America’s Best Racing’s statistical profile. Times are shown as minutes:seconds, with decimal fractions of a second: the Derby’s historical 1:59 2/5 means 1 minute 59.40 seconds, not 1:59.20.
Sham finished second in both the Derby and Preakness. Twice a Prince was the Belmont runner-up, as NYRA’s account records. For the series’ wider context, see which races make up the Triple Crown.
Why older sources show a different Preakness time
Secretariat’s Preakness win was never in doubt; its timing was. The electronic timer initially recorded 1:55, and officials subsequently adopted a hand-timed 1:54 2/5.
In 2012, the Maryland Racing Commission reviewed evidence using modern technology and voted unanimously to change the official time to 1:53 flat, giving Secretariat the Preakness stakes record. CBC’s report of the ruling explains the sequence. That correction changed the recorded time—not his status as the 1973 Triple Crown winner.
Reading the result correctly
A winning time records how long the winner took over that race’s distance. A winning margin records the distance separating the winner from the runner-up at the finish. Neither is an official rating, and raw times over these three different distances are not directly comparable measures of ability.
Nor does a Triple Crown sweep mean an unbeaten career: Secretariat had finished third in the Wood Memorial before the Derby, as the Hall of Fame biography records. His achievement was winning all three required races in the same year. For a closer reading of the final leg, see Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont time, margin and splits.