Salute to Secretariat: Jockey Ron Turcotte looks back on historic 1973 campaign

In 1973, Ron Turcotte accomplished what only seven riders in horse racing had done before him. On the back of the famed horse Secretariat, the New Brunswick-born jockey raced his way to the 1973 American Triple Crown.

At the time, the feat was the first Triple Crown in 25 years and is one racing fans still fondly recall.

Turcotte’s victories at the ’73 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes broke records, all of which still stand 50 years later.

As Turcotte headed into the final leg of the Triple Crown races that season, his mentality was win or go home.

“I said if we get beat in this race I’m going to hang up my tag, I’m going to quit riding,” Turcotte recalls saying ahead of the 1973 Belmont Stakes. “I really had confidence there was no way I could get beat on him.”

Born in Drummond, N.B., in 1941, Turcotte began life as a lumberjack before unemployment took him to Ontario in 1960. Two years later, he won his first race.

“It was bad luck turned into good luck,” says Turcotte. “I loved horses since the time I was a kid, a baby really. My dad sat me on a horse, and I always felt so good. I always loved horses.”

Jockey Ron Turcotte sits on Secretariat, 1973. Others are unidentified. (Source:AP Photo)

Turcotte would go on to win more than 3,000 races, capturing each leg of the Triple Crown twice.

However, he will always be remembered for 1973 and his connection to the greatest thoroughbred ever.

“It was love at first site and love at first ride,” Turcotte says about his first meeting with Secretariat. “He was a beautiful horse to work with. He was like an older horse that had done it all his life. He galloped beautifully, right close to the other horses. Nothing bothered him. I really loved him,” says Turcotte.

“He was one of a kind and I don’t think we will see another one like him.”

Secretariat on the rail, with Ron Turcotte up, wins the 98th running of the Preakness Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over Sham, left, May 21, 1973, in Baltimore. (Source: AP Photo)

The pairs reign would come to an end after 1973. Turcotte would continue jockeying until 1978, when he became paralyzed from the waist down in a racing accident.

“That’s the thing I missed the most, sitting on a horse,” says Turcotte.

“I just loved race riding and love horses as a whole.”

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, passes the twin spires of Churchill Downs during the running of the 99th Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky. on May 5, 1973. Secretariat won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in record times that still stand. (Source: AP Photo)

Upon retirement, Turcotte would continue to stay involved in the racing circuit. He went on to help create the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund for those who suffered serious injuries while on the track.

The 81-year-old last attended a race in person in 2018, before health complications made it difficult to travel. To this day, he continues watching races from his home in Grand Falls, N.B., with his family.

“I always lived my life one day at a time and I never think myself better than the other guy,” he says.

“I just feel lucky I was in a position to do what I did. I got on a lot of good horse. Got on Northern Dancer, Canada’s greatest horse, and I got on the greatest horse of all time, Secretariat.”

The Grand Falls Museum will honour Turcotte’s infamous 1973 campaign on May 15. Sculptor Jocelyn Russel will be on hand with a scale model bronze statue of the famous duo.