I want to share with you a very special letter that I received from my father while I was living in Venezuela at the time. The letter is a story about the race horse Secretariat of 1973. It came to me at a time that I really need to be uplifted and motivated. This is just the story to do that. Stay the course!
Here is the letter from my father:
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Well, Millward, down the stretch you go. Will you be like the horse that no one knows of, kicking back, enjoying nature, keeping up with the crowd, not pushing, just hanging in there waiting for the end? Huh, Millward! Are you going to be one of those to come back and say, yeah I had a good time – I gave it about 80%. I was better than most, so why not just stay with the crowd, it’s comfortable, no one notices and no one bothers you – it is as they say ‘playing it safe.’
Or Millward, how about being like Secretariat, the race horse? The first to win the Triple Crown in 1973 in over 28 years. He was a big brown stallion. Huge by comparison to others in his arena (the finest race horses in the world) he would start out dead last and move to the outside. Most jockeys would try and move him inside, it is shorter distance, but you have to fight to get in there and fight to stay there. No, Secretariat didn’t want anything to do with the inside, he wanted to run, and run at his own pace. Start dead last, move to the outside and go.
You have 3 races in the Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes & The Belmont Stakes. In the Kentucky Derby, the jockey didn’t know what to do, dead last and on the outside. He was riding a horse that was huge but seemed not to follow the book, go inside. He didn’t know that the horse could outrun anything alive and he was running out of time. Finally, he did what only a few jockeys in the world would do, he let him go. He let the reins go limp in his hand and whispered in his ear, “It’s all yours big fella – go for it!” Secretariat lunged forward and it almost knocked the jockey off his back, the power & the grace with which he moved. The majesty…from dead last to winning by a nose! Wow, how could he do that and from the outside!
In the Preakness Stakes the race was the same, poor start, dead last but not quite outside, in the middle. The jockey kept hold of the reins and maneuvered the horse so he could run without being interfered with. He let the reins go earlier and the same result occurred, won by a nose over the same horse he beat in the first win. Now, the jockey knew his horse and the horse knew his jockey.
The last race for the triple crown is the Belmont Stakes the longest of the bunch, I think it is over 2 miles long. Since it is the last race, the horses are tired and since it is the longest, it is the biggest test of any horse of any era. The distance has not changed and the track has not changed since 1878. Horses, son are measured by the guts they show on this last race. They are sore, battered, exhausted and still running against the best horses of their era, some who have not run the prior two. You can see, with the distance and placing as the last race, it is the true measure of something that all animals and humans have in common, how much heart does he really have?
The gate opened, the horses took off. Secretariat was dead last, on the outside. Afterward, the jockey said he was moving so quickly he was holding him back so he could finish the race. No horse was going to last. 2 miles is one hell of a long ways going at full speed. Many a horse has started out way too fast and died at the end. But Secretariat would not let up; he just kept moving forward, telling the jockey to let him run his race. After about a quarter of a mile and still dead last, the jockey let him go, the reins went limp. Secretariat lunged, pulled, heaved and gathered himself. He not only pulled to within a hair of the leader, the same horse he had beaten 2 races previously, he just barely pulled ahead. He didn’t stop son, he didn’t let up, he didn’t quit & he didn’t look back. He pulled and pulled and pulled.
The jockey said afterward he actually thought Secretariat would kill himself. Full out, full sprint. The leader of the pack stayed with Secretariat for awhile. Sides heavy, air coming in – in great gulps, so he pulled ahead. His closest competitor gathered himself and gave chase, to no avail. Secretariat pulled and pulled and pulled. Some say to this day it was the most magical & spiritual experience in sports history, human or animal. To most, me included, when you see it on TV, you have tears come to your eyes as you see about halfway to the finish line, not 10, not 5, not 3 but one horse in the lead. He doesn’t slow down, he doesn’t look back, he doesn’t waiver, he doesn’t flinch & he doesn’t do anything but one thing. He wanted to be the best at what he was doing for all time. He wanted to set an unprecedented record that would stand for all time. He wanted to set a standard that no one ever, could ever break.
It was almost inhuman to watch this horse pull so hard, for so long while so long in front. Son, the camera had to back up the lens as far as it would go to get in the whole picture of Secretariat and the other horses. The announcer, at ¾ of the race gone, was announcing the jockey was crazy for letting Secretariat run so hard so early, it would kill him. Records were being torn down and no one could believe what they were seeing. On the film the horses looked like ants. Because son, you see Secretariat was 31 horse lengths in front of his nearest competitor, the finest race horses in the world, in the last race of the season, in the longest track of the Triple Crown. He won in a world record time that will stand forever, it seems, as no horse has come close to it since. When he passed the finish line, the rest of the horses were almost a quarter of a mile away and pulling for all that it was worth. They were giving it all they had.
What makes a horse do that? No one else in the history of racing has ever pulled for so long, so far ahead and not eased up, no one, not before, not since. What is that essence, Trav that makes Secretariat and humans give everything they have for a cause? What is it deep down inside that makes athletes perform above their capabilities for that one shining moment in time? How about a horse? Where did that come from? It was one of the most awe inspiring and majestic moments I have ever witnessed on TV. It puts tears in my eyes and others at that track, on that day, were crying and when they recall what they have witnessed, they cry, full on. That son, is effort, that is dedication, that is keeping your eyes fixed to the goal ahead of you. That is not giving up. That is finishing what you started, no matter how tired you are, no matter how beat up you are, no matter how lousy you feel. You don’t give up, ever, ever, ever!
Or Millward, how about being like Secretariat, the race horse? The first to win the Triple Crown in 1973 in over 28 years. He was a big brown stallion. Huge by comparison to others in his arena (the finest race horses in the world) he would start out dead last and move to the outside. Most jockeys would try and move him inside, it is shorter distance, but you have to fight to get in there and fight to stay there. No, Secretariat didn’t want anything to do with the inside, he wanted to run, and run at his own pace. Start dead last, move to the outside and go.
You have 3 races in the Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes & The Belmont Stakes. In the Kentucky Derby, the jockey didn’t know what to do, dead last and on the outside. He was riding a horse that was huge but seemed not to follow the book, go inside. He didn’t know that the horse could outrun anything alive and he was running out of time. Finally, he did what only a few jockeys in the world would do, he let him go. He let the reins go limp in his hand and whispered in his ear, “It’s all yours big fella – go for it!” Secretariat lunged forward and it almost knocked the jockey off his back, the power & the grace with which he moved. The majesty…from dead last to winning by a nose! Wow, how could he do that and from the outside!
In the Preakness Stakes the race was the same, poor start, dead last but not quite outside, in the middle. The jockey kept hold of the reins and maneuvered the horse so he could run without being interfered with. He let the reins go earlier and the same result occurred, won by a nose over the same horse he beat in the first win. Now, the jockey knew his horse and the horse knew his jockey.
The last race for the triple crown is the Belmont Stakes the longest of the bunch, I think it is over 2 miles long. Since it is the last race, the horses are tired and since it is the longest, it is the biggest test of any horse of any era. The distance has not changed and the track has not changed since 1878. Horses, son are measured by the guts they show on this last race. They are sore, battered, exhausted and still running against the best horses of their era, some who have not run the prior two. You can see, with the distance and placing as the last race, it is the true measure of something that all animals and humans have in common, how much heart does he really have?
The gate opened, the horses took off. Secretariat was dead last, on the outside. Afterward, the jockey said he was moving so quickly he was holding him back so he could finish the race. No horse was going to last. 2 miles is one hell of a long ways going at full speed. Many a horse has started out way too fast and died at the end. But Secretariat would not let up; he just kept moving forward, telling the jockey to let him run his race. After about a quarter of a mile and still dead last, the jockey let him go, the reins went limp. Secretariat lunged, pulled, heaved and gathered himself. He not only pulled to within a hair of the leader, the same horse he had beaten 2 races previously, he just barely pulled ahead. He didn’t stop son, he didn’t let up, he didn’t quit & he didn’t look back. He pulled and pulled and pulled.
The jockey said afterward he actually thought Secretariat would kill himself. Full out, full sprint. The leader of the pack stayed with Secretariat for awhile. Sides heavy, air coming in – in great gulps, so he pulled ahead. His closest competitor gathered himself and gave chase, to no avail. Secretariat pulled and pulled and pulled. Some say to this day it was the most magical & spiritual experience in sports history, human or animal. To most, me included, when you see it on TV, you have tears come to your eyes as you see about halfway to the finish line, not 10, not 5, not 3 but one horse in the lead. He doesn’t slow down, he doesn’t look back, he doesn’t waiver, he doesn’t flinch & he doesn’t do anything but one thing. He wanted to be the best at what he was doing for all time. He wanted to set an unprecedented record that would stand for all time. He wanted to set a standard that no one ever, could ever break.
It was almost inhuman to watch this horse pull so hard, for so long while so long in front. Son, the camera had to back up the lens as far as it would go to get in the whole picture of Secretariat and the other horses. The announcer, at ¾ of the race gone, was announcing the jockey was crazy for letting Secretariat run so hard so early, it would kill him. Records were being torn down and no one could believe what they were seeing. On the film the horses looked like ants. Because son, you see Secretariat was 31 horse lengths in front of his nearest competitor, the finest race horses in the world, in the last race of the season, in the longest track of the Triple Crown. He won in a world record time that will stand forever, it seems, as no horse has come close to it since. When he passed the finish line, the rest of the horses were almost a quarter of a mile away and pulling for all that it was worth. They were giving it all they had.
What makes a horse do that? No one else in the history of racing has ever pulled for so long, so far ahead and not eased up, no one, not before, not since. What is that essence, Trav that makes Secretariat and humans give everything they have for a cause? What is it deep down inside that makes athletes perform above their capabilities for that one shining moment in time? How about a horse? Where did that come from? It was one of the most awe inspiring and majestic moments I have ever witnessed on TV. It puts tears in my eyes and others at that track, on that day, were crying and when they recall what they have witnessed, they cry, full on. That son, is effort, that is dedication, that is keeping your eyes fixed to the goal ahead of you. That is not giving up. That is finishing what you started, no matter how tired you are, no matter how beat up you are, no matter how lousy you feel. You don’t give up, ever, ever, ever!
Be Secretariat son, give it all you have. You are at the prime of your life.
I love you, Dad
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For your viewing pleasure and as proof to the story above is true:
1 comment:
Great Post Travis, Just what I needed today.
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