Secretariat thrilled Arlington crowd

When Ron Turcotte was in the midst of making headlines in 1973 as the regular rider aboard Secretariat, legendary jockey Eddie Arcaro pulled him aside one day.

"He told me, ‘You can talk about that big son of a gun for a year straight and you'll never get tired of it,' Turcotte said “You know what? He was right."

Here it is nearly 40 years later and Turcotte is still talking about Big Red.

This time it's to reminisce about the time Secretariat and Co. visited Arlington Park to compete in the Arlington Invitational.

And truth be told, Turcotte, who a year earlier rode Riva Ridge to victories in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, wasn't enamored with the idea from the get-go. Not about racing at Arlington per se, but running Secretariat so soon after his grueling Triple Crown campaign and with little or no training beforehand.

“It was a last-minute deal," Turcotte said. “I wasn't crazy about going there. He was coming off three tremendous races."

“We had calls from all over America and Europe. Heck, I could've rode him on a stage in Las Vegas and he would've won. There was only so much we could do with him, though. We would've loved to show him to the world."

The world's loss was Arlington's gain.

A massive crowd of more than 40,000 showed up that June day and simply went ga-ga over Secretariat.

“It was a big deal," Turcotte said. “It didn't surprise me. People loved him. He was a pretty horse, had a pretty red coat and he was friendly. He was a ham that way."

But on track he was a demon, and he proved it again at Arlington by overcoming an awkward start to cruise to a 9-length victory over three competitors. Secretariat's dominant performance was just a tick off the track record.

“I was going to let him go (to the lead) but he came out sideways," Turcotte said. “It didn't matter."

“I could've broken the track record and some people were mad I didn't but I couldn't see asking him to run after those three big races."

It sure didn't matter to the throng at Arlington, who roared their approval track record or not as the big chestnut crossed the wire the easiest of winners.

“The whole world loved him," Turcotte said with a laugh. “Except maybe the opposition."