text: 1973 kentucky derby the 1973 kentucky derby was the 99th running of the kentucky derby at churchill downs in louisville , kentucky . secretariat won the derby in a record time of 1 : 59 2 ⁄ 5 , 2 1 ⁄ 2 lengths ahead of sham , while our native finished in third position . of the thirteen horses that entered and started the race , all horses completed the event . the event was viewed in person by a then - record crowd of 134 , 476 , while also being broadcast both on television and over the radio . in the days leading up to the race , secretariat was seen as the favorite to win by many ; however there were doubts about him following a third - place finish at the wood memorial stakes two weeks prior to the derby . in the wake of secretariat 's loss , angle light and , in particular , sham were the horses that were seen as the most likely to win the derby , aside from secretariat . many sportswriters believed that the horses in the field possessed great speed and thought the course record would be broken . shecky greene took the lead first and led for the majority of the first seven furlongs . sham took the lead from shecky greene near the three quarter mile mark . as the horses entered the homestretch , secretariat passed sham in the final furlong and distanced himself to consolidate his lead . secretariat would go on to win the preakness stakes and belmont stakes in the succeeding weeks , thus becoming the ninth horse to complete the triple crown of thoroughbred racing . pre - race coverage thirteen horses entered the derby , which could have at most twenty participants . horse owners had to pay a final entry fee of $ 2 , 500 to have their horses officially entered . the field was larger than anticipated because of new entries following secretariat 's loss at the wood memorial stakes in new york . the wood memorial had been the last prep race for three year - olds before the kentucky derby . it was a 1 1 ⁄ 8 mile contest held two weeks prior at aqueduct racetrack . angle light , whom groom edward sweat called a " very quiet horse , " won the race by a length ahead of sham , while secretariat finished in third , four lengths behind . secretariat 's third - place finish led spectators and sportswriters to question his ability and health ; but it was later thought that his performance in the wood had been affected by a mouth abscess discovered prior to the race . it was his first defeat since he had finished fourth in his first race and had been relegated from first to second place because of an infraction during the champagne stakes , both of which occurred during his two - year old campaign . secretariat was nonetheless the morning line favorite of the derby entrants , despite losing the wood . this was because he had been 1972 american horse of the year for a two - year - old campaign that featured seven victories in nine starts . secretariat also won the two races he had entered prior to the wood memorial , the gotham and bay shore stakes . sham 's trainer , frank " pancho " martin , stated that secretariat was the horse to beat and the only way to " knock " the horse was to beat him . sham , who had won the santa anita derby , was seen as the most formidable challenger to secretariat in the derby because of his finish ahead of secretariat in the wood and his santa anita victory . coming off the heels of the his victory at the wood , angle light was seen as a threat to win . angle light was also trained by lucien laurin , along with as secretariat , and thus secretariat and angle light were coupled for betting purposes . flamingo stakes winner our native finished first or second in seven of his nine starts during the 1973 season , causing him to be named as a contender . blue grass stakes winner my gallant and shecky greene , who won the fountain of youth stakes , were both trained in chicago by lou goldline , which also resulted in their odds being coupled . goldline said the two horses were similar and would do well at churchill downs because they both liked fast tracks . , who was victorious in the arkansas derby , was initially entered in the race , but withdrew two days before because of a bruised heel . none of the competing horses had been sired by a previous derby winner . florida derby winner royal and regal had been suffering some problems with his feet going into the race and was seen as a horse that could potentially be scratched before the race began . shecky greene , angle light , and royal and regal were thought to be the only horses in the field that had " appreciable early speed " and would challenge to be the leader out of the gates . my gallant was to be ridden by angel cordero , but cordero was suspended for ten days starting the day of the derby for a rules infraction on a race on may 2 . braulio baeza was chosen to jockey my gallant , after being dropped by the owners of shecky greene in advance of the race because they were unsure whether that horse would be entered in to the derby . larry adams was ultimately selected as the jockey for shecky greene . with the speed of the horses entered , many thought that course record of 2 : 00 would be broken . chicago tribune writer david condon chose shecky greene to win the race because he felt the course was suited for him and because his great grandfather was bull lea , who sired three derby winners . condon picked warbucks as his second - place finisher because warbucks ' trainer , don combs , trained the 1970 kentucky derby winner dust commander and his jockey , bill , was " long overdue " for a win and would have warbucks near the front . gerald of the washington post believed sham could win the race if he allowed shecky greene or royal and regal lead the majority of the race and made a move towards the end . picked sham to win and my gallant to finish second . event details derby officials set the official post - time at 5 : 40 pm edt . it was broadcast over television and radio through cbs and wcbs , respectively . win elliot served as the commentator for the pre - race coverage , while ray haight announced it for the third consecutive year . all horses competing weighed 126 pounds . the prize money for the race was set at $ 198 , 800 . the first through fourth placed horses received $ 155 , 050 , $ 25 , 000 , $ 12 , 500 , and $ 5 , 000 , respectively . the weather during the derby was clear and the course conditions were fast . the official attendance of the event was 134 , 476 , of which 70 , 000 were estimated to be in the infield of churchill downs . this surpassed the previous derby record of 130 , 564 ; however the record lasted only a year as the 1974 edition attracted 163 , 628 spectators . dwight chapin of los angeles times and author timothy capps credited the increased attendance due to secretariat 's loss at the wood . race summary twice a prince reared in the starting gate , which delayed the start . out of the starting gate , shecky greene set the pace for the field , while race favorite secretariat started in last place . exiting the gate , sham hit his mouth against the gate and subsequently bumped into navajo before gaining proper stride . sham briefly took the lead around the quarter - mile marker , but shecky greene quickly retook the lead . beginning the first turn , secretariat had moved ahead of only two horses ; however , in the next quarter - mile secretariat moved into sixth position . a half - mile in , shecky greene maintained a three length lead over gold bag , but his pace had slowed compared to the first quarter . sham remained close to the front of the field within the top four for the first half of the race ; he moved into second position as the field reached the half - mile post . at the three - quarters post , at the start of the homestretch , shecky greene began to fade and sham overtook him to move into first going into the final furlong . secretariat , who had passed his competitors on the outside throughout the race , overtook sham in the final furlong and pulled ahead , finishing 2 1 ⁄ 2 horse lengths in front of sham . our native took third and , who went on to win multiple eclipse awards as an older horse , was fourth . secretariat 's winning time of 1 : 59 2 ⁄ 5 and last quarter mile in 23 seconds were both records for the derby . in addition , he had run each quarter - mile faster than before , with times of 25 1 ⁄ 5 , 24 , 23 4 ⁄ 5 , 23 2 ⁄ 5 , and 23 seconds . sham maintained his stride and crossed the line in second place , eight lengths ahead of third - place finisher our native , who had lost ground on the final turn into the homestretch . sham also broke the previous course record with a time of 1 : 59 4 ⁄ 5 . shecky greene , who led for most of the race , finished in sixth position . result payout schedule $ 3 : ( 10 – 4 ) $ 21 . 60 $ 3 : ( 10 – 4 , 4 – 10 ) $ 17 . 70 analysis the win in the kentucky derby marked secretariat 's third win in the four races he had run as a three - year old . after the race , jockey ron turcotte stated , in response to secretariat 's last place start , he " just dropped my hand on him and let him run his own race . " with secretariat 's victory , trainer lucien laurin had his second consecutive win in the derby , as riva ridge won in 1972 . turcotte accomplished a similar feat as he had ridden riva ridge , marking the third time a jockey had won in the derby in consecutive years . when secretariat pulled alongside sham , sham 's jockey , jr . , felt sham had a lot left , " but that other horse was just too much . " stated that in future races , he planned to " wait a little longer before making my move . " donald brumfield , our native 's jockey said twice a prince kicked our native in the hoof and body while rearing in the starting gate . this forced brumfield to dismount and adjust the saddle , delaying the derby 's start . despite this , brumfield stated he did not " want to make excuses , everything considered , my horse did fine . " betting on the ten races held that day at churchill downs totaled to $ 7 , 627 , 965 , breaking the previous single - day record for american horse racing events of $ 7 , 164 , 717 . off - track betting on the kentucky derby reached $ 3 , 050 , 194 , which was included in the previous record total . secretariat went on to participate in the preakness stakes two weeks later , where he finished in first . sham was second , again , by a margin of 2 1 ⁄ 2 lengths . three weeks after the preakness , the belmont stakes featured a five - horse field . secretariat won by 31 lengths with a time of 2 : 24 for the mile and a half , both course records in their own right . through his combined victories at the belmont stakes , preakness stakes , and kentucky derby , secretariat became the ninth horse to complete the triple crown of thoroughbred racing , and the first horse since citation in 1948 , ending a 25 - year period without a triple crown winner . secretariat 's times in all three triple crown races were course records and still stand to this day . endnotes