Secretariat:
Network Does Justice To 'Big Red'
By Randy Williams
Before
viewing ESPN's SportsCentury special about Secretariat, I wasn't
sure the horse deserved the 35th position among the greatest North
American athletes of the 20th century. After watching the 30-minute
program, part of me thinks the horse could've been ranked much,
much higher.
ESPN
has received much praise for its SportsCentury series and rightfully
so, as the network expertly blends numerous interviews
in a limited amount of time. "Secretariat" is no different,
with more than 20 people interviewed for the special.
The profile of owner Penny Chenery was very good, telling a legion
of viewers about the woman behind the horse. Also, the network
showed a brief clip with Dr. Thomas Swerczek, who performed the
autopsy on Secretariat and called the galloping great "abnormally
perfect."
What really struck me about "Secretariat" was the
emotion and conviction certain of the interviewees expressed
about the 1973 Triple Crown winner.
William Nack, a Secretariat biographer who writes for Sports
Illustrated, talked of crying when he heard of the horse's
death. Jerry Izenberg, a columnist with The Star-Ledger,
loudly proclaimed "this horse was an athlete." Frank
Deford bragged about covering Secretariat's final race and
getting a piece of turf at the finish line of the Canadian International,
where "as best as I could tell, was the last step Secretariat
had taken on a track."
Perhaps the most interesting story was from NBC' s Dick Enberg,
speaking of a chat he had with Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm,
Secretariat's stable.
"I asked Seth Hancock, 'They all look so magnificent,
how could you tell Secretariat was any better than anyone else.'
He said, 'It's in their eyes, the great athletes, the great
thoroughbreds. It's their eyes.' And, as he said 'eyes,"
Secretariat snapped his head and stared at me as if to
say 'And you better believe it.' He just looked me right in the
eyes.
"They told me that even out in the field when they feed the
horses, they wait until Secretariat eats first," he concluded.
With quotes like these and ESPN's sterling effort, it's tough
to come away from the program without a greater respect for Secretariat.
A few more quotes from Friday evening's show:
"He was the only honest thing in the country at the time."
- George Plimpton, comparing Secretariat to the turbulent
days of 1973.
"Everytime he heard a camera, he turned. I saw
Secretariat once watch an airplane fly overhead. I'd never seen
that before." - William Nack, on the horse's love of
cameras.
"It was so devastating. It was like the 29-foot long jump.
It was like Tiger Woods at The Masters." - Dick Schaap,
who was then with Sport Magazine, on Secretariat's stunning
31-length victory at the Belmont Stakes in 1973.
"He
seemed to understand racing." - owner Penny Chenery on
Secretariat.
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