greatest.athlete.ever Mystery Cache
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With all the improvements in training, fitness, and nutrition, it may come as a surprise that the fastest time in an annual race has not been topped in 50 years. Three annual races, actually. That's probably because the record setter was an amazing athlete. On May 5, 1973, Secretariat ran the fastest Kentucky Derby ever. Two weeks later at the Preakness, Big Red again shattered the stakes record. Then another three weeks later, Secretariat closed out the Triple Crown, 31 lengths ahead of the next-best thoroughbred. Think about that--31 lengths. It's a margin of victory that just doesn't happen. As stated above, Secretariat still holds the stakes record in all three races.
In researching this puzzle, I found an extraordinary article about the Belmont Stakes race call made by Chic Anderson. I hope you enjoy that article and the race call, as well as this puzzle, honoring the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's amazing Triple Crown.
On June 9, 1973, Charles (Chic) Anderson was poised for a moment when an individual stamps his mark on history, preparing to call the 105th Belmont Stakes. At the same time as human readies for his moment, horse declares that he will take his place among the immortals. The gifted announcer had been calling races since the late 1950s, and he now had the regular shift as the race caller for CBS's Triple Crown races. He couldn’t have known that he was about to witness--and call--something truly astounding, that he would translate into verbal poetry what the majestic thoroughbred would do on the track. In two-and-a-half minutes, he was in the flow of an amazing sporting event, a great moment when a four-legged member of the animal kingdom would leave humanity stunned and awed.
Secretariat won the Belmont—and racing’s first Triple Crown in 25 years—by a whopping 31 lengths; some say the Belmont ground still shakes from Big Red's raw power. It was a performance even beyond that of an ultra, the time two minutes and 24 seconds. No horse came close to pressuring the mighty Secretariat; if you were there that day, you could forgive yourself for thinking what you'd seen was a fiction. Indeed, movies have been made about the great horse, but June 9, 1973 was no fiction.
In the 50 years since, the legend has only grown. Though there would be two more Triple Crown winners in the next five years, a 37-year drought then ensued. It takes both sprint speed and distance speed to win the Triple Crown races, and one assumes that it's rare to find a horse that can succeed across the Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont. Short- and long-distance greatness converged in Secretariat, a horse that far exceeded the averages to produce "the most significant moment in modern racing history."
Just as Secretariat was outstanding that day, Anderson delivered the perfect call, describing the majestic run of jockey and animal. Anderson's call remains an inextricable part of the event, matching the events on the track with perfect rhythm. Future announcers might be left pining for such a fine match.
Notable among the many gems of Anderson's call was that of "Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine! Secretariat by twelve, Secretariat by fourteen lengths on the turn!" It's well worth giving the video another watch. As the earthworms in Belmont's track had the rude awakening of Big Red's record run, Anderson gave a call that awakened listeners' senses. Fans smiled, as the call exacted shivers and tingles from those who heard it. At the closing of the race, the destination attained, Anderson declared Secretariat the winner by 25 lengths; a little later, with his intent to be journalistically clear, he confessed, "I said twenty-five. It could conceivably have been more."
What Secretariat--and Anderson--did that day was breathtaking. There was no relief from excitement, as it became clear this was history. Early in the race, Sham made a strong showing; perhaps Frank Martin's dark bay would upset mighty Big Red, redeeming his place in history and improving--from the "place" position--to first. In fact, to this day, Sham owns the second-fastest Kentucky Derby time, EVER. But this was no Derby day; on this day, Secretariat would accelerate past Sham; in fact, Big Red famously pulled past Martin's horse, who ran out of gas and finished last anyway.
Anderson's call has been described as near-perfect, pulling poetry from the storm he was witnessing on the dirt below. He shifted from facts to near disbelief, as his instincts enabled him to find the cadence and tone to narrate the unbelievable. He did more than describe the horses making a circuit around the park; he took the moment and accosted it, expressing wonder at Secretariat's amazing performance, all while narrating it brilliantly.
To call horse races, one needs to quickly memorize names and colors in the minutes before post time. In addition, one can't be obstinate in the face of an error; mistakes need to be forgotten quickly. Anderson had made no mistakes as Secretariat had flown around the track, his familiarity with all things horse racing bearing full fruit that June day. His skill had grown from his time as a traveling race caller. Since the early 1960s, racetracks around the country would offer him work, as tracks operate for only part of the year. Working at a single racetrack would afford a caller too much spare time.
By the time of the 1973 Belmont, the pursuit of a Triple Crown had been pushing twenty-five years without fulfillment. There had been three Triple Crowns in the 30s and four more in the 1940s; it was a common occurrence, six times in 14 years from 1935-48. And then, those engines cooled. Nothing. Seven times in the 24 years from 1949-72, a horse had won the Kentucky and Preakness, yet failed to win the Belmont Stakes, the hope for a Triple Crown evaporating into the clouds. In fact, some experienced race-hands thought that a Triple Crown might never happen again. But just as Secretariat didn't crack, neither did Chic Anderson. "He is moving like a tremendous machine!"
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This cache was featured on teamajk's Geocaching Puzzle of the Day for August 17, 2023!
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