On the Kelce brothers' podcast, New Heights, newly retired Eagles center Jason Kelce made a comment that Secretariat, the famous Triple Crown winner from 1973, was in fact juicing, just like every other human athlete during that time.
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Kelce stated, "All the major speed records of the Triple Crown are still held by Secretariat, who set them in 1973."
Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end, responded, "That's wild."
"It's not that wild," Jason disagreed. "Because Secretariat was juiced to the gills...just so happens to be right in the heart of the steroid era."
Jason is very passionate about his take that Secretariat is a juicer 😂 https://t.co/7kSMXbkuqi pic.twitter.com/SL7ufjgATj
— New Heights (@newheightshow) May 9, 2024
"1973... every NFL player, every baseball player they were juiced up to the gills, you don't think Secretariat was juiced to the rafters? Of course, it's the fastest horse of all time!" Kelce continued.
"Nobody talks about it, but Secretariat was doping, there's no chance Secretariat wasn't doping."
After facing scrutiny for his steroid comment, as many did not like Kelce questioning the integrity of the horse racing records, he apologized tweeting out a statement regarding the matter.
I’m sorry everyone, wasn’t trying to get people riled up, I really thought it was just known that in the 70s steroid use was rampant. I’m not trying to take away from Secretariat’s, or anyone from that eras legacy. You’re right, without proof it is unfair to assume these things…
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) May 9, 2024
Notably, Secretariat, otherwise known as "Big Red," famously won the triple crown at the 1973 Belmont Stakes, in which the horse won by a record 31 lengths.
When you watch the '73 TV broadcast of the race, when "Big Red" crossed the finish line, you can't even see the second-place finisher, Twice a Prince, because the lead was so much.
The broadcast announcer stated, "Secretariat has accomplished the unbelievable task of breaking the mile and a half record... that is a record that may stand forever."
Chic Anderson, the one who called the race, was right, 50 years later, there has still not been a horse to beat Secretariat's record 1 ½ mile time of 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
Secretariat's record still stands today as the fastest track time ever, does that mean the fastest horse to ever grace the track took performance enhancing drugs? We may never know. But the fact that humans still care enough to get so mad at Jason Kelce for stating his opinion, so much so that he has to apologize, is interesting in and of itself.
Maybe that speaks to the legacy of the fastest horse ever. That is to say, when one thinks about the greatest horse of all time, Secretariat is always the first name to come to mind, and on this point everyone can agree.
Pat Lynch (NY Racing Association; 1957-1981), when describing Secretariat had said, "You could look at Secretariat, and you knew that he was something special... It was the way God intended to make a horse."
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