Secretariat

The move to reopen the investigation into Secretariat's 1973 Preakness time gathered some momentum yesterday at a routine meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission at Laurel Park.Marty Jacobs, executive general counsel of the Maryland Jockey Club, said the organization will "make a formal request" of the panel to look into the matter, which has been a subject of debate for a quarter-century."Computerized timing is available now, and we believe it will reveal the true time as opposed to the official time," said Jacobs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- For the first time in 25 years, the Horse of the Year will compete in the race of the year.Favorite Trick, the first 2-year-old Horse of the Year since Secretariat, will put his pedigree and reputation on the line at 5: 27 p.m. today when 15 3-year-olds burst from the starting gate in the Kentucky Derby.On May 5, 1973, Secretariat erased all doubt about his pedigree -- yes, even Secretariat had doubters -- and stormed to a 2 1/2 -length victory in the 99th Derby. His time of 1 minute, 59 2/5 seconds stands as the only Kentucky Derby ever run in less than two minutes.

D. Wayne Lukas rubbed his hands along the glistening neck of the chestnut colt Charismatic. Yesterday, the morning after Charismatic won the Preakness, Lukas was pointing out the colt's similarities to Secretariat.The revered Secretariat is Charismatic's great-grandsire on his male side. Charismatic also boasts strong Secretariat influences on his female side.Before Lukas could get too far into the comparison, he and his audience, a small group of reporters, enjoyed a good laugh. Here they were at the Pimlico stakes barn comparing Charismatic to Secretariat when three months ago Lukas couldn't even dump the horse in a claiming race (a race in which all entrants are for sale for a set price)

Secretariat's races are legend. Could one of them now become law?Citing evidence that Secretariat was robbed of a record in winning the 1973 Preakness, racing mogul Joe De Francis said yesterday that he may appeal to the Maryland General Assembly to give the horse his due.Secretariat won the Triple Crown, setting records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. However, because of a malfunctioning timer, the colt was not credited with what many horsemen agree was a record for the Preakness.

Grant Whitacre's acting career began with a scribbled phone number on the back of a racing program. It almost ended there, too. The 25-year-old jockey, who grew up in Howard County and graduated from Atholton, was getting dressed in the jockeys' room at Laurel Park in August. As he was putting his clothes on, he noticed a piece of paper stuck to the wall. It was a casting call for jockeys interested in auditioning for roles in a Disney movie about legendary Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

On Wednesday at Churchill Downs, a crowd clad mainly in Louisville basketball shirts gathered at Barn 45 to watch Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino as he visited a horse of which he owns five percent. Pitino, a month removed from becoming the first coach in NCAA history to win Division I basketball national championship tournaments with two different schools, appeared at trainer Doug O'Neill 's barn shortly after 8 a.m. and joined an entourage following Goldencents.

Almanac June 9--1973: Secretariat became horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning the Belmont Stakes.

Graham Peck, a 23-year-old from Baltimore, won the "Down the Stretch for SGK" Preakness 5K on Saturday morning at Pimlico Race Course , finishing in 17 minutes, 41 seconds. Jason Farber was second, 10 seconds back. Peck's father, Henry, finished 16th overall in 20:57 and his sister, Kaylyn, was the female runner-up. "It was a family affair. Running on the track was really fun, but it was wet, so it slowed us down," said Graham Peck, who ran track and cross country at Dulaney.

Mikhail S. Zimyanin, 80, a leading Communist Party official and editor in chief of Pravda during the era of Leonid Brezhnev, died Monday of heart and lung problems in Moscow. Mr. Zimyanin was one of the last Brezhnev stalwarts in a high Soviet government post, serving on the party secretariat until 1987, nearly two years into Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms.

RACE AT A GLANCE: Eight brown horses chase each other 1 3/16ths miles in frenzied effort to stave off inevitable employment in some seedy local circus.TODAY'S PROFILE: Corporate Report. Forlorn-looking horse trained by motor mouth Wayne Lukas, who denies his entry was seen last week pulling a plow on an Amish farm in Pennsylvania.FALSE ALARM: Authorities summoned to Old Hilltop to investigate remains of ex-Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa,supposedly found buried under Stall 26. Turned out to be an old harness.