Now that the 149th Kentucky Derby (G1) has arrived, it is time to let loose the fireworks celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's spectacular triumph in the 1973 renewal of the race. His 2 1/2-length victory over Sham on that May 5 afternoon not only was accomplished in race and track record time that stands to this day, but also set the stage for the first successful Triple Crown campaign in a quarter of a century.
Humans are fascinated with milestone numbers, and anything that happened half a century ago is usually catnip for potential celebrants. Racing will spend the rest of the spring wallowing in Secretariat's glory, most particularly on June 10 at Belmont Park. That is where a blue and white-checked pole rises just inside the main track rail, marking the point at which Twice a Prince and My Gallant were engaged in a race of their own for second place in a Belmont Stakes that was already won by Secretariat, by then a tiny red dot on the horizon, 31 lengths to the east.
Then again, as far as milestones are concerned it is also important to recall that:
One hundred years ago, the redoubtable Zev won the 49th Kentucky Derby one week after a dreadful result in the Preakness Stakes (G1), when he was kicked by another horse during the walk-up start. Clearly smarting from the incident, Zev was carefully steered around the Pimlico course by Earl Sande at the back of the field. Three days later, Zev proved he was okay by beating older horses in the Rainbow Handicap at Jamaica. He shipped quickly to Churchill Downs, where the skeptical public watched him pay off at 19-1 in the Derby.
This is the 90th anniversary of the "Fighting Derby" of 1933, so dubbed by headline writers inspired by the wire photo of teenage Don Meade and Herbie "Bad Boy" Fisher yanking on each other at the finish line. The judges gave the race to Meade and Brokers Tip over Head Play by a nose, there was a predictable scuffle back in the room, and both jocks got a month on the ground to contemplate their sins.
Eighty years ago, presenting something so frivolous as a Kentucky Derby was touch and go. America was deep into wars in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. Heavy restrictions were placed on train travel and the domestic consumption of gasoline and rubber needed for armaments. Churchill Downs impresario Matt Winn promised to promote only a local crowd, thus branding the 69th running as the "Street-Car Derby." Count Fleet, making his 17th start, expended very little energy to win in a three-length waltz.
As Derby milestones go, the events of both 75 and 70 years ago were pretty big deals. Citation's 1948 Triple Crown commenced at Churchill Downs with a display of power over his stable pal Coaltown. The same kind of performance was expected of Native Dancer in the 1953 Derby, which was the first to be televised nationwide. The Gray Ghost played well on the old black and white Motorolas. Then Dark Star and Hank Moreno twisted the plot with the biggest Derby shocker since Donerail. Native Dancer never lost again, which was of little consolation to those who played him in the Derby at 70 cents on the dollar.
Okay, Sherman. Now set the not-so-Wayback Machine to 2003, and let's have a round of applause for the 20th anniversary of a truly unique winner of the Kentucky Derby.
Would you believe a gelding bred in the state of New York?
It happened. The victory of Funny Cide in the 129th Derby was rare from all angles. To that point, there had been more Derby winners bred in Montana or Kansas—one each—than the Empire State. A gelding had not won the race since 1929, when Clyde Van Dusen went wire-to-wire to win for his trainer, Clyde Van Dusen.
Funny Cide, on the other hand, was not named for his trainer, although "Barclay Tagg" would have been an interesting option. Tagg vividly recalls his first sighting of the young Thoroughbred.
"I saw him as an early 2-year-old breezing on a friend's farm," Tagg said this week while grazing a horse at his Belmont Park barn. "I was standing there talking to somebody about another horse when this thing went flying by. It was a four-legged machine running by me like I'd never seen before.
"Remember those classic black Schwinn bikes the kids used to have, real fast and efficient looking, the kind I wished I had?" Tagg said. "That's what he reminded me of. I'm usually a pretty conservative thinker about those things. I'd been in the horse business long enough not to take anything for granted. But he just transformed my brain. I said to myself, 'That's my Derby winner.'"
Later, Tagg said the same thing to his partner, Robin Smullen, who tucked it away for safekeeping. Once Tagg acquired the horse as a 2-year-old for the Sackatoga Stable partnership headed by Jack Knowlton, the trainer was never given a reason to change his mind.
"I had great confidence in him from day one," Tagg said. "It was an unbelievable feeling, very strange, like something you'd wake up with from a dream. But I stuck with it."
Through thick and thin, Tagg stuck with Funny Cide, including three losses in his first three starts of 2003. The one before the Derby, though, found him lapped on the widely-lauded Empire Maker at the end of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) in what was as good a second-place finish as Tagg had ever seen. When the same pair faced off three weeks later in the Derby, it was Funny Cide drawing off to win by 1 3/4 lengths at a fat 12-1.
During the post-race interviews that day, Tagg seemed rightfully elated, but not necessarily surprised. Is that how he remembers it?
"I guess," Tagg replied. "I don't know. I was a little numb. I just remember it was very nice. It's something you dream about when you're a little kid."
Tagg was in the Triple Crown mix as recently as the altered 2020 season when the Derby was run in September. Tagg finished second with Tiz the Law , who earlier had scored a grade 1 hat trick in the Travers Stakes (G1), the Florida Derby (G1), and a shortened version of the Belmont Stakes.
Funny Cide raced until the summer of his 7-year-old season. In addition to the Derby and a lopsided win in the Preakness, the son of Distorted Humor also won an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male, the 2004 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), and an assortment of lesser stakes for earnings of $3.5 million. He is still with us, enjoying life at the Kentucky Horse Park as the star of stars in residence at the Hall of Champions. Tagg visited him a few years ago and pronounced him fine in flesh and glowing in coat. Only Fusaichi Pegasus and Silver Charm are older among living Derby winners.
"It was great to see him look so well, and he was already 20 at the time," Tagg said.
So happy 20th Derby anniversary to both of them, and thanks for the memories.
