Secretariat Gets New Record - 39 Years After the Fact

Talk about delayed gratification!  The Maryland Racing Commission ruled recently that Secretariat actually ran the Preakness a lot faster than anyone thought.  A panel reviewed a videotape and decided that the great chestnut colt should own the record for the fastest Preakness.

Secretariat's original winning time was reported at 1 minute 55 seconds.  They adjusted the time (due to a clock malfunction) to 1:54 2/5.  Two clockers for the Daily Racing Form had him crossing the finish line in 1:53 2/5.  Using state-of-the-art timing mechanisms, the panel determined that he finished the race in 1:53, even faster than the old Preakness record of 1:53 1/5 shared by Tank's Prospect (1985), Louis Quatorze (1996), and Curlin (2007).  

Secretariat now officially owns the record time in all three Triple Crown races.  Way to go Big Red.  It just took 39 years to set the record straight.