Every horse that ran the 151st Kentucky Derby on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky, is reportedly descended from one American champion.
Pedigrees apparently show those horses are descended from Secretariat, the horse that in 1973 ran the fastest mile-and-a-quarter in the derby’s history, the Louisville Courier Journal reported Saturday.
Looking back six generations of most horses will reportedly show they are descended from a champion such as Secretariat or Northern Dancer, the outlet said.
According to derby contending trainer Whit Beckman, “It’s one of those stats. It’s bound to happen at some point with how much he shows up in every single pedigree. It’s really cool. Very cool.”
Secretariat was a thoroughbred racehorse that became the first in 25 years to win the Triple Crown in 1973, per History.com. According to the site:
In 1974, Secretariat was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was the only non-human included among ESPN’s 50 greatest athletes of the century and he became the first thoroughbred to be honored with his own U.S. Postal stamp. Outside the paddock at Belmont Park now stands a statue of Secretariat with both his front feet in the air.
The History.com article said after his Triple Crown victory, Secretariat later sired nearly 600 horses that included more than 40 stakes winners. However, he was the only one of his kind.
Sovereignty won the derby on Saturday, and the crowd went wild watching the horses pound through the mud on the track.
UPI reported, “Sovereignty rallied by Journalism in deep stretch Saturday to win the 151st Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths, giving Dubai-based Godolphin its first victory in the Run for the Roses and a weekend international trifecta of top-level Classic victories.”
In a social media post Sunday, the derby shared an image of Sovereignty looking majestic after his win:
“He ran one hell of race. He deserves attention,” one social media user replied, while another person commented, “Great race and a beautiful horse.”
