Today in History

Liam · 06-09-2010, 08:29 AM

Jun 9, 1973:
Secretariat wins Triple Crown

With a spectacular victory at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat becomes the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win America's coveted Triple Crown--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. In one of the finest performances in racing history, Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, completed the 1.5-mile race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, a dirt-track record for that distance.

Secretariat was born at Meadow Stables in Doswell, Virginia, on March 30, 1970. He was sired by Bold Ruler, the 1957 Preakness winner, and foaled by Somethingroyal, which came from a Thoroughbred line known for its stamina. An attractive chestnut colt, he grew to over 16 hands high and was at two years the size of a three-year-old. He ran his first race as a two-year-old on July 4, 1972, a 5 1/2-furlong race at Aqueduct in New York City. He came from behind to finish fourth; it was the only time in his career that he finished a race and did not place. Eleven days later, he won a six-furlong race at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York, and soon after, another race. His trainer, Lucien Laurin, moved him up to class in August, entering him in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, which he won by three lengths. By the end of 1972, he had won seven of nine races.

With easy victories in his first two starts of 1973, Secretariat seemed on his way to the Triple Crown. Just two weeks before the Kentucky Derby, however, he stumbled at the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, coming in third behind Angle Light and Sham. On May 5, he met Sham and Angle Light again at the Churchill Downs track in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. Secretariat, a 3-to-2 favorite, broke from near the back of the pack to win the 2 1/4-mile race in a record 1 minute and 59 seconds. He was the first to run the Derby in less than two minutes and his record still stands. Two weeks later, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Secretariat won the second event of the Triple Crown: the Preakness Stakes. The official clock malfunctioned, but hand-recorded timers had him running the 1 1/16-mile race in record time.

On June 9, 1973, almost 100,000 people came to Belmont Park near New York City to see if "Big Red" would become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown. Secretariat gave the finest performance of his career in the Belmont Stakes, completing the 1.5-mile race in a record 2 minutes and 24 seconds, knocking nearly three seconds off the track record set by Gallant Man in 1957. He also won by a record 31 lengths. Ron Turcotte, who jockeyed Secretariat in all but three of his races, claimed that at Belmont he lost control of Secretariat and that the horse sprinted into history on his own accord.

Secretariat would race six more times, winning four and finishing second twice. In November 1973, the "horse of the century" was retired and put to stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Among his notable offspring is the 1988 Preakness and Belmont winner, Risen Star. Secretariat was euthanized in 1989 after falling ill. An autopsy showed that his heart was two and a half times larger than that of the average horse, which may have contributed to his extraordinary racing abilities. In 1999, ESPN ranked Secretariat No. 35 in its list of the Top 50 North American athletes of the 20th century, the only non-human on the list.

From: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Hollylane · 09-03-2012, 11:56 PM

This day in 1666 was the most destructive day of the Great Fire of London, which began a few days before. People had spent the previous couple of days scurrying to get their prized possessions out of the path of the fire, and diarist Samuel Pepys wrote about how chaos and confusion filled the streets, with people running and riding around, pushing carts full of their belongings, and "the fire coming on in that narrow street, on both sides, with infinite fury."

He wrote: "Only now and then walking into the garden, and saw how horridly the sky looks, all on a fire in the night, was enough to put us out of our wits; and, indeed, it was extremely dreadful, for it looks just as if it was at us; and the whole heaven on fire. I after supper walked in the dark down to Tower-street, and there saw it all on fire, at the Trinity House on that side, and the Dolphin Tavern on this side, which was very near us; and the fire with extraordinary vehemence."

The system of firefighting basically involved demolishing houses in the path of the fire in the hopes of creating a firebreak. He said that "practice of blowing up of houses next to the Tower ... at first did frighten people more than anything, but it stopped the fire where it was done."

The following day, September 5, the Great Fire was officially over. It had all started on September 2, when the king's baker, located on Pudding Lane, had neglected to turn the ovens off all of the way. Historians estimate that the Great Fire destroyed the homes of 70,000 of London's 80,000 residents, as well as almost 90 churches, most of the city's official buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, and all of medieval London located within the old Roman city wall.

09-04-2012, 05:22 AM

Awww s'almost like being in the

where I was doing ...this day in history for quite a while there.

Hollylane · 09-04-2012, 07:00 AM

1888 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.

Hollylane · 09-05-2012, 02:34 AM

1957 "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, the defining novel of the Beat Generation, was published.

1958 "Doctor Zhivago" by Russian author Boris Pasternak was published in the United States.

1975 President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life in Sacramento, Calif., by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson.

1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87.

DanieClarke · 10-07-2012, 10:16 AM

two yrs ago i bought my farm ..

Hollylane · 10-07-2012, 12:04 PM

Today is the birthday of Nobel Prize-winning Danish physicist Niels Bohr, born in Copenhagen (1885). Bohr theorized that atoms were composed of a small, dense nucleus that is orbited by electrons at a fixed distance from the nucleus. He also came up with the revolutionary principle of complementarity: that things like light or electrons can have a dual nature — as a particle and a wave, for example — but we can only experience one aspect of their nature at a time.

06-09-2010, 08:29 AM	#1
Liam Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Guy Preferred Pronoun?: He, Him, His Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: The Evergreen State Posts: 2,269 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 14,865 Thanked 6,875 Times in 1,860 Posts Rep Power: 21474854	Jun 9, 1973: Secretariat wins Triple Crown With a spectacular victory at the Belmont Stakes, Secretariat becomes the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win America's coveted Triple Crown--the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. In one of the finest performances in racing history, Secretariat, ridden by Ron Turcotte, completed the 1.5-mile race in 2 minutes and 24 seconds, a dirt-track record for that distance. Secretariat was born at Meadow Stables in Doswell, Virginia, on March 30, 1970. He was sired by Bold Ruler, the 1957 Preakness winner, and foaled by Somethingroyal, which came from a Thoroughbred line known for its stamina. An attractive chestnut colt, he grew to over 16 hands high and was at two years the size of a three-year-old. He ran his first race as a two-year-old on July 4, 1972, a 5 1/2-furlong race at Aqueduct in New York City. He came from behind to finish fourth; it was the only time in his career that he finished a race and did not place. Eleven days later, he won a six-furlong race at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York, and soon after, another race. His trainer, Lucien Laurin, moved him up to class in August, entering him in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, which he won by three lengths. By the end of 1972, he had won seven of nine races. With easy victories in his first two starts of 1973, Secretariat seemed on his way to the Triple Crown. Just two weeks before the Kentucky Derby, however, he stumbled at the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, coming in third behind Angle Light and Sham. On May 5, he met Sham and Angle Light again at the Churchill Downs track in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. Secretariat, a 3-to-2 favorite, broke from near the back of the pack to win the 2 1/4-mile race in a record 1 minute and 59 seconds. He was the first to run the Derby in less than two minutes and his record still stands. Two weeks later, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, Secretariat won the second event of the Triple Crown: the Preakness Stakes. The official clock malfunctioned, but hand-recorded timers had him running the 1 1/16-mile race in record time. On June 9, 1973, almost 100,000 people came to Belmont Park near New York City to see if "Big Red" would become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown. Secretariat gave the finest performance of his career in the Belmont Stakes, completing the 1.5-mile race in a record 2 minutes and 24 seconds, knocking nearly three seconds off the track record set by Gallant Man in 1957. He also won by a record 31 lengths. Ron Turcotte, who jockeyed Secretariat in all but three of his races, claimed that at Belmont he lost control of Secretariat and that the horse sprinted into history on his own accord. Secretariat would race six more times, winning four and finishing second twice. In November 1973, the "horse of the century" was retired and put to stud at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Among his notable offspring is the 1988 Preakness and Belmont winner, Risen Star. Secretariat was euthanized in 1989 after falling ill. An autopsy showed that his heart was two and a half times larger than that of the average horse, which may have contributed to his extraordinary racing abilities. In 1999, ESPN ranked Secretariat No. 35 in its list of the Top 50 North American athletes of the 20th century, the only non-human on the list. From: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history __________________ <3 Love is weird.

10-07-2012, 10:16 AM	#6
DanieClarke Timed Out How Do You Identify?: 14 yrs post op Preferred Pronoun?: Hey you Relationship Status: single Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: central pa Posts: 35 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5 Thanked 53 Times in 23 Posts Rep Power: 0	two yrs ago i bought my farm .. Last edited by Jackhammer; 10-08-2012 at 07:24 AM.

09-03-2012, 11:56 PM	#2
Hollylane Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: . Preferred Pronoun?: . Relationship Status: . Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: . Posts: 11,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 34,694 Thanked 26,362 Times in 5,875 Posts Rep Power: 21474862	This day in 1666 was the most destructive day of the Great Fire of London, which began a few days before. People had spent the previous couple of days scurrying to get their prized possessions out of the path of the fire, and diarist Samuel Pepys wrote about how chaos and confusion filled the streets, with people running and riding around, pushing carts full of their belongings, and "the fire coming on in that narrow street, on both sides, with infinite fury." He wrote: "Only now and then walking into the garden, and saw how horridly the sky looks, all on a fire in the night, was enough to put us out of our wits; and, indeed, it was extremely dreadful, for it looks just as if it was at us; and the whole heaven on fire. I after supper walked in the dark down to Tower-street, and there saw it all on fire, at the Trinity House on that side, and the Dolphin Tavern on this side, which was very near us; and the fire with extraordinary vehemence." The system of firefighting basically involved demolishing houses in the path of the fire in the hopes of creating a firebreak. He said that "practice of blowing up of houses next to the Tower ... at first did frighten people more than anything, but it stopped the fire where it was done." The following day, September 5, the Great Fire was officially over. It had all started on September 2, when the king's baker, located on Pudding Lane, had neglected to turn the ovens off all of the way. Historians estimate that the Great Fire destroyed the homes of 70,000 of London's 80,000 residents, as well as almost 90 churches, most of the city's official buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral, and all of medieval London located within the old Roman city wall.

09-04-2012, 05:22 AM	#3
Daktari Guest Tournaments Won: 1 Posts: n/a My Photo Gallery	Awww s'almost like being in the where I was doing ...this day in history for quite a while there.

09-04-2012, 07:00 AM	#4
Hollylane Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: . Preferred Pronoun?: . Relationship Status: . Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: . Posts: 11,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 34,694 Thanked 26,362 Times in 5,875 Posts Rep Power: 21474862	1888 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.

09-05-2012, 02:34 AM	#5
Hollylane Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: . Preferred Pronoun?: . Relationship Status: . Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: . Posts: 11,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 34,694 Thanked 26,362 Times in 5,875 Posts Rep Power: 21474862	1957 "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac, the defining novel of the Beat Generation, was published. 1958 "Doctor Zhivago" by Russian author Boris Pasternak was published in the United States. 1975 President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life in Sacramento, Calif., by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson. 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87.

10-07-2012, 12:04 PM	#7
Hollylane Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: . Preferred Pronoun?: . Relationship Status: . Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: . Posts: 11,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 34,694 Thanked 26,362 Times in 5,875 Posts Rep Power: 21474862	Today is the birthday of Nobel Prize-winning Danish physicist Niels Bohr, born in Copenhagen (1885). Bohr theorized that atoms were composed of a small, dense nucleus that is orbited by electrons at a fixed distance from the nucleus. He also came up with the revolutionary principle of complementarity: that things like light or electrons can have a dual nature — as a particle and a wave, for example — but we can only experience one aspect of their nature at a time.