The betting public was 100% on the money: Secretariat won the Triple Crown Showdown with style. No real surprise, as Secretariat still holds the track record for the Derby at 1:59 2/5. The 1973 Triple Crown champion ran down 1977 champ and early leader Seattle Slew in the stretch. Citation, the 1948 Triple Crown winner, moved up in the stretch to take second and Seattle Slew held on for third.
The order of finish:
- 1- Secretariat
- 2 – Citation
- 3 – Seattle Slew
- 4 – Affirmed
- 5 – American Pharoah
- 6 – Whirlaway
- 7 – Count Fleet
- 8 – Justify
- 9 – Assault
- 10 – War Admiral
- 11 – Omaha
- 12 – Gallant Fox
- 13 – Sir Barton
I was so glad to see Citation come in second. He was a do it all horse…any distance, any weight, any condition, he took it all and won just about everything they aimed him at. He also was said to have a ‘kind disposition and was willing to work with anyone’. He didn’t turn out to be the sire Calumet wished of him…but then, neither did Secretariat. When he died in 1970 it felt like a king had died.