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On this day in sports: Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby

The horse, owned by a Colorado woman, went on to win the 1973 Triple Crown.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Penny Chenery, better known as “Tweedy”, a Colorado woman and owner of the racehorse Secretariat, established her place in history on this day at Churchill Downs in 1973.

With jockey Ron Turcotte doing the honors, Secretariat started his march to immortality, running on May 5 in the 1973 Kentucky Derby. 

Always in the back of the pack at the start of a race, Secretariat would drive from behind to out-duel rival Sham and win in a record time of 1:59.4, a mark that still stands today. 

That was one leg of down of the Triple Crown down, which of course the horse would go on to win later in the year. 

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