I'm nearing the end of the race now, to finish my book. I shouldn't take this much time to even post this.
But I have to.
The Kentucky Derby was this past Saturday. This year's winner was a horse named I'll Have Another. Every year, the winner of the Derby is the subject of immense speculation - will he or she win all three races (Derby, Preakness and Belmont) to win the Triple Crown? It hasn't been done since the 1970s.
There is one horse that stands above all others in Triple Crown lore. In 1973, Secretariat won the Triple Crown. The climax was the final race, the Belmont Stakes. His victory there was so staggering that many people think it will never happen again.
This clip is from a documentary about Secretariat in 1973, focusing on the Belmont. Mingled with original footage of the race are comments from journalists, horse experts, as well as Secretariat's owner, trainer and jockey. It's a long clip, over ten minutes. TOTALLY worth watching in its entirety. If you aren't moved, you don't have a sense of the divine.
Some of my favorite quotes:
"It was like the Lord was holding the reins. Secretariat was one of his creatures..."
"Lucien said, 'Oh my God, Ron, don't fall off, just don't fall off!'"
"They're treating him like just another horse."
"...'Jack, don't you understand? All of your life, in your game, you've been striving for perfection.' And he said, 'At the end of the Belmont, you saw it.'"
This post is included in Music Monday because of the clip's Best Use Ever of "Overture: Prisoner Of The Crusades" from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The music has been used for many sports clips, but not to this effect, in my opinion.
