Secretariat, "The Horse God Built"

Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who was the ninth winner of the American Triple Crown, setting and still holding the fastest time record in all three of its constituent races. He is widely considered to be the greatest racehorse of all time. 

Secretariat was officially bred by Christopher Chenery's Meadow Stud, but the breeding was actually arranged by Penny Chenery (then known as Penny Tweedy), who had taken over the running of the stable in 1968 when her father became ill. She got Secretariat after losing a coin toss with the Phipps family of Wheatley Stable as to who would have the first choice of the foals from two Meadow mares that had been bred to Wheatley’s renowned stallion Bold Ruler. Penny wanted the foal that ended up being Secretariat because of the foal’s pedigree. Even though she lost the initial toss she ended up winning it all in the end.  

He became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and his record-breaking victory in the Belmont Stakes, which he won by 31 lengths, is often considered the greatest race ever run by a thoroughbred racehorse. At age three, Secretariat not only won the Triple Crown, but he also set speed records in all three races. His time in the Kentucky Derby still stands as the Churchill Downs track record for 11⁄4 miles, and his time in the Belmont Stakes stands as the American record for 11⁄2 miles on the dirt. In 2012, his actual time of 1:53 in the Preakness Stakes was recognized as a stakes record after an official review. 

Although he sired several successful racehorses, he ultimately was most influential through his daughters' offspring, becoming the leading broodmare sire in North America in 1992. Secretariat died in 1989 as a result of laminitis at age 19. Laminitis is the weakening of the tissue that connects the pedal bone to the hoof wall and that can cause the bone to rotate in the foot.