These days, it's almost hard to imagine that any horse might be considered more deserving of accolades than Secretariat. He's possibly the most universally-known racehorse, and his record before and beyond the 1973 Triple Crown has more than stood the test of time.
But an article from the New York Times on this week in 1972 reminds us that at the conclusion of his 2-year-old season, his legacy had a serious rival.
Writer Steve Cady analyzed the results of voting for year-end divisional championships, which are now known as the Eclipse Awards, and apparently, Secretariat's Horse of the Year title was almost usurped by a filly named La Prevoyante.
1972 marked just the second year the season-ending honors were consolidated into one voting effort and one set of awards. From the 1930s until the 1970 title honors, the Daily Racing Form and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America each had their own separate divisional championship awards. Before that, a panel of experts at The Blood-Horse chose the year-end champions and printed their choices in the magazine.
Starting in 1971, there were three voting bodies who chose year-end champions together – the Daily Racing Form, National Turf Writers Association, and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations – similar to the structure today. Back then, however, the bodies voted as blocs, so the majority vote getter in a category among one organization received all of that organization's votes (much like the electoral college). This was later abandoned for the modern variation of a popular vote system which we detailed here.
Why does it matter? Because the turf writers actually voted La Prevoyante over Secretariat for Horse of the Year; Secretariat was ultimately victorious because the majority of Daily Racing Form writers and TRA voters chose him.
Secretariat had had an incredible start to his career, running nine times and crossing the finish line first in all but one start. (He had traffic trouble in his first start and was disqualified from a win in the Champagne for interference.) He won the Sanford, Hopeful, Futurity at Belmont, and Laurel Futurity.
La Prevoyante was undefeated in a campaign that included 12 races between July and November, with margins ranging from 1 ¼ lengths to 14 lengths, according to the Times. Her 2-year-old resume included the Schuylerville, Matron, Frizette, and Spinaway, as well as the My Dear and Princess Elizabeth in Canada (her country of origin). She also won the Colin that year, which was open to males.
Even though the Thoroughbred Racing Association's votes went to Secretariat, he wasn't a runaway choice for Horse of the Year; he got 77 votes in that organization versus 56 for La Prevoyante.
At the time, it was rare for any 2-year-old to be under serious consideration for Horse of the Year, let alone to have the choice come down between two of them. Cady noted that only two other 2-year-olds at that time had been selected as Horse of the Year in the old system – Native Dancer in 1952 and Moccasin in 1965.
Of course, we know how the story ended – Secretariat became, well, Secretariat. La Prevoyante had a solid year in her 3-year-old season but did not replicate her juvenile brilliance. She was second in the Kentucky Oaks and third in the Canadian Oaks, though she did win the La Troienne and the Quebec Derby.
La Prevoyante met with a sad and sudden end when she suffered a cardiac event and died following the Miss Florida Handicap at the end of her 4-year-old season.
She was part of the inaugural class of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and was later elected to its American counterpart. There is a stakes race named after her at both Woodbine and Gulfstream Park.
Perhaps equally surprising in a look-back to the 1972 Eclipses – Secretariat stablemate Riva Ridge was passed over for champion 3-year-old colt, despite a season that included wins in the Derby and the Belmont. Key to the Mint won that honor, having had a stronger summer/fall campaign than Riva Ridge with victories in the Whitney, Travers, and Woodward. Racing luck is sometimes as much about when a horse is born as the trip they take to the wire – a truism Riva Ridge certainly knew very well.
The post This Week In History: A Young Secretariat Edges La Prevoyante For Year-End Honors appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
