What Makes a Champion?
Thoroughbred Racehorses are the same size as cows, however they can reach speeds of 45mph. In the racing season champions can win millions of pounds between them. Even though these animals have strangely thin legs they can weigh an average 1200 pounds and run on these legs at great speed. For the owners and trainers, it’s about finding great champions like, Red Rum, Yeats, Desert Orchid, Man o’ War and Secretariat etc.
What plays a big part in thoroughbred racehorses? What gives them the tools to run for great lengths and at great speed? All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three founding stallions. Despite their big bodies they have unusually thin legs, however, their muscles in the legs can be put under extreme pressure whilst at full speed, but this can leave to really bad injuries and sometimes if an owner decides that they are too severe they may have the horse euthanised.
Two centuries ago the chance of finding out why such an average looking racehorse was able to win all his races by such lengths became available. Eclipse, who started and won 18 races, was one of the first major racehorses in the 1700’s, (although he only won 2149 guineas, which is slightly different to today winnings.) He is attested to have covered 83 feet per second at top speed, which would equate to 25 feet in a single stride. Eclipse died at the age of 24 in 1789 and after a dissection they found out why Eclipse was so special. Although his measurements were strangely average he was found to have an abnormally large heart weighing a staggering 14 lbs when the average is 9 lbs, his opponents didn’t stand a chance. This is known in thoroughbreds as ‘The X Factor’ and has been since in descendants, most notably Phar Lap and Secretariat. Eclipse’s skeleton is now housed at The Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire.
Eclipse is still known and remembered for the phrase,
‘Eclipse first and the rest nowhere’
These two descendents of Eclipse were also known for their abnormally large hearts. Secretariat is widely believed among most to be one of the greatest racehorses ever as is Phar Lap. The latter was a racehorse in Australia and New Zealand, although he was later shipped to America to race. Phar Lap won 37 of his 51 races he entered. Phar Lap had a strange death in 1932, although healthy, it appeared his stomach and intestines were inflamed. Leading to the suggestion that he had been deliberately poisoned with arsenic. Although is what common for racehorses to have arsenic in the system as it was known as a solution. Many theories have been suggested surrounding Phar Lap’s death, one being that American gangster’s ordered the death, fearing the Melbourne Cup winning racehorse would affect their illegal bookmakers. However as early as 2007, Phar Lap’s mane was tested and it was found that he had repeated doses of arsenic, which would support accidental poisoning as the result of horse’s death. Again, after a dissection he was found to have a large heart weighing at 13.6 lbs, which is a similar size to Eclipse’s. Phar Lap has been given many honours in Australia including a life size statue at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
However, the biggest shock has to be Secretariat, he was the first racehorse to win The Triple Crown (which is, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in America) in 25 years in America. When Secretariat died, again a dissection took place. However this time his heart was not weighed. The Doctor who performed the necropsy was Dr. Thomas Swerczek didn’t weigh the horses heart but is famous for saying this, “We just stood there in stunned silence. We couldn’t believe it. The heart was perfect. There were no problems with it.” The same doctor dissected the racehorse Sham after the horse’s death and he did weigh this heart, it came to 18 pounds, the fact that this Doctor had performed both dissections meant that he could estimate the weight of Secretariat’s heart. He estimated that the horses heart weighed 22 pounds, which is a phenomenal size. The woman who bred Secretariat fammoulsy said, “As Penny Chenery wrote on Secretariat.com, “It did not seem right to separate Secretariat from his heart.” (Graham, 2013)
(Graham, Jennifer, Equus Nov 2013, Issue 434, p32 9p.)