Secretariat

A half-century after his amazing Triple Crown sweep, Secretariat remains the burnished icon that captured the public's imagination like no other horse. His chestnut coat glistening and his powerful muscles rippling, he stormed home by an astounding thirty-one lengths to win the 1973 Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown as thousands of fans watched in awe. The most charismatic horse of the modern era, Secretariat graced the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated and galvanized a public weary of Watergate and the Vietnam War.

Timothy Capps tells the riveting story of Secretariat from the champion’s birth at Meadow Stable in Virginia and his tutelage under renowned trainer Lucien Laurin, to his great victories with jockey Ron Turcotte and his life after the racetrack.

Timothy T. Capps (1946–2017) was involved in nearly every aspect of the Thoroughbred industry. During the 1970s and mid-80s, Capps served as editor of The Thoroughbred Record, a leading industry monthly. In the mid-80s he ventured into the high-stakes stallion market as an executive with Matchmaker, a company that sold stallion seasons and shares.

From there he was lured to the racetrack and went to the Maryland Jockey Club, which oversees racing at Pimlico and Laurel Park. After serving as vice president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and editor and publisher of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, Capps returned to the Maryland Jockey Club as executive vice president.

Capps was the author of two other titles in the Thoroughbred Legends series, one on Spectacular Bid and one on Affirmed and Alydar.