With the mention of horse racing, two names are automatically mentioned: Secretariat and Man o’War.

These horses seem to be very similar. When measured from the base of their front hoof to the highest point of their withers (shoulder blades), they both come in at 5’6″ (or 16.2 hands). Both have the nickname “Big Red”. But these horses couldn’t be more different.

Both had 21 starts in their career, but with vastly different records. Man o’War had a record of 21-20-1-0 record and Secretariat had a 21-16-3-1 record. The way the record works is Starts-Wins-Places-Shows. With places being 2nd and shows being 3rd.

Before you can truly look deeper, you must know about their lives individually.

Man o’War

Man o’War was born on March 29, 1917, at Kentucky Nursery Stud in Lexington, Kentucky. He was bought by a man named Sammuel Riddle for $5,000. Which was a steal in the end run, because he earned a total of $249,465 in purses in his lifetime, which is equivalent to $4,712,220 today. He was dominant all his career, his only loss coming from Saratoga. In the days before mechanical starting gates, horses started at a webbing tape gate. Man o’ War was circling and facing the wrong direction when the race started. He lost by a neck to a colt named Upset. The only loss of his career.

1920 was his year. He famously won the Belmont Stakes by 20 lengths and won the Preakness easily. He was not entered into the Kentucky Derby due to his owner believing he was too young for a 1.25-mile race. One of his most famous moments, which has gone down in history, is when he won the Lawrence Realization Stakes by an official of 100 lengths. He also beat the first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, by 7 lengths.

Man o’War’s dominance was so unmatched that they had to handicap him. He often carried 130 to 138 pounds, a staggering weight that would break any other horse. He retired after his 3-year-old season, Riddle fearing that the handicapping would reach even greater weights and cause injury.

As a stud, he was very successful. He sired the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, and grand-sired the legendary Seabiscuit.

When you look at these records at a glance, you may wonder why these two racers are even compared. Well, one thing Man o’ War never accomplished was the Triple Crown, which Secretariat secured in 1973, the first horse in 25 years to achieve it.

Secretariat

Secretariat was born May 30, 1970, at Meadow Stables in Virginia. His existence was actually the result of a coin toss between the owner of the stables, Christopher Chenery, and Ogden Phipps (owner of the sire Bold Ruler). They decided that the winner of a coin toss would get to choose one of the two foals bred by Bold Ruler. Phipps won and chose, The Bride, leaving Chenery’s daughter, Penny Chenery, with the would-be Secretariat.

Secretariat was a prodigy, taking the horse racing world by storm at the age of two. He won 7 out of his 9 starts in his two-year-old season. He also became the first two-year-old to win Horse of the Year.

Despite this amazing feat, 1973 is the year that would turn him into a champion. His Triple Crown run is the performance of legend. His journey to the crown started at the Kentucky Derby, where he became the first horse to run the course in under two minutes (1:59.4), a track record, and ran each quarter mile faster than the last. His next win was at the Preakness Stakes, where he set another track record of 1:53. In this race, he shot from last place to first all in the first turn, a head-turning feat.

Finally, the race that crowned him a Triple Crown winner and a legend. In the 1973 Belmont Stakes, often called the greatest race ever run, Secretariat put the field to shame when he won by 31 lengths and set a world record for a mile and a half on dirt of 2:24. All of these records still stand today, his name at the top of each track’s record book as well as the world’s.

He earned a lifetime purse totalling to $1,316,808, which is equal to $9,691,736 today. These earnings don’t even include stud fees and a syndication deal worth a then-record $6.08 million, where he lived the rest of his days as a stud.

After his death, an autopsy revealed Secretariat’s heart weighed 22 pounds, while the average Thoroughbred heart weighs about 8.5 pounds. This massive engine is what allowed him to achieve and sustain such thundering speeds that would exhaust any other horse.

Who is the true “Big Red”?

The question debated constantly. Which horse was more lendgendary? Man O’War’s near perfect win record, forced handicap, and impressive presence often causes some to point to him. On the other hand, Secretariat’s world record, Triple Crown win, and legacy lead others to fix onto him. In the end on thing is certain, without these two horses the industry would not be what it is today, and both deserve to be looked onto as legends.