To the Finish Line: Famous Racehorses Quiz
Instructions: From Secretariat's legendary 31-length Belmont Stakes win to Seabiscuit's great comeback, relive the stories of history's most celebrated racehorses.
- 1.
Which horse won the 1973 Triple Crown, becoming one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time?
ASeattle SlewBSecretariatCCitationDMan o' War - 2.
Who was the jockey aboard Secretariat for all three of his 1973 Triple Crown victories?
AEddie ArcaroBWillie ShoemakerCRon TurcotteDSteve Cauthen - 3.
Which trainer prepared Secretariat for his record-breaking 1973 Triple Crown campaign?
ALucien LaurinBD. Wayne LukasCMax HirschDSunny Jim Fitzsimmons - 4.
Man o' War had a nearly perfect career but suffered one defeat. What was the name of the horse that beat him in 1919?
ASir BartonBGallant FoxCWar AdmiralDUpset - 5.
Which Depression-era racehorse inspired a popular 2003 film starring Jeff Bridges and Tobey Maguire?
AMan o' WarBSeabiscuitCWar AdmiralDCitation - 6.
Which horse made history in 1977 by winning the Triple Crown while still undefeated, a feat no previous Triple Crown winner had accomplished?
AAffirmedBSpectacular BidCSeattle SlewDCount Fleet - 7.
Which horse won the 1978 Triple Crown in what is remembered as the most competitive Triple Crown series ever run?
AAffirmedBAlydarCFoolish PleasureDSpectacular Bid - 8.
Which horse finished second to Affirmed in all three legs of the 1978 Triple Crown, making it the closest rivalry in Triple Crown history?
ASpectacular BidBSeattle SlewCFoolish PleasureDAlydar - 9.
Which set of three races makes up the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred racing in the United States?
AKentucky Derby, Travers Stakes, and Belmont StakesBKentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont StakesCKentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Arlington MillionDPreakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders' Cup Classic - 10.
Secretariat was owned by which woman, who inherited the family's Meadow Stable in Virginia and became one of racing's most beloved figures?
AMarylou WhitneyBHelen Hay WhitneyCPenny CheneryDElizabeth Arden - 11.
By how many lengths did Secretariat win the 1973 Belmont Stakes, setting a world record for the mile-and-a-half distance that still stands today?
A31 lengthsB20 lengthsC14 lengthsD25 lengths - 12.
Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro won the Triple Crown twice — with Whirlaway in 1941, and again in 1948 aboard which horse?
AAssaultBGallant FoxCCount FleetDCitation - 13.
In which American city is Pimlico Race Course, the home of the Preakness Stakes, located?
ALouisville, KentuckyBElmont, New YorkCBaltimore, MarylandDLexington, Kentucky - 14.
In what year did Seabiscuit defeat the heavily favored War Admiral in their famous head-to-head match race at Pimlico?
A1936B1938C1940D1934 - 15.
Which famous racehorse was the original holder of the nickname 'Big Red,' having won 20 of his 21 career starts in 1919 and 1920?
AMan o' WarBSecretariatCWhirlawayDCitation
Answer Key
Secretariat swept all three Triple Crown races in 1973, setting track records at all three venues and earning Horse of the Year honors.
Canadian jockey Ron Turcotte was Secretariat's regular rider and was aboard for all three legs of the 1973 Triple Crown, guiding the chestnut champion to victory.
Lucien Laurin was the trainer responsible for conditioning Secretariat at Meadow Stable, overseeing the horse that many consider the greatest of the 20th century.
Man o' War lost only once in 21 career starts, to a horse fittingly named Upset in the 1919 Sanford Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Seabiscuit, the undersized bay who became America's comeback symbol in the late 1930s, was the subject of the acclaimed 2003 film in which Jeff Bridges played owner Charles Howard.
Seattle Slew won the 1977 Triple Crown as an unbeaten horse, the only time in racing history that a colt entered and completed all three races without a career loss.
Affirmed won the 1978 Triple Crown with rival Alydar finishing second in all three races — the only time in history the same two horses dueled through all three legs.
Alydar, bred and raced by Calumet Farm, finished second to Affirmed in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes — a heartbreaking but historic runner-up performance.
The Triple Crown consists of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in New York.
Penny Chenery took over Meadow Stable from her ailing father, Christopher Chenery, and guided Secretariat's career, becoming an icon for women in horse racing.
Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by a breathtaking 31 lengths in a world-record time of 2:24 flat — a record for the mile-and-a-half on dirt that has never been broken.
Eddie Arcaro won his second Triple Crown on Citation in 1948, making him the only jockey ever to ride two Triple Crown winners; Citation was the eighth horse to achieve the feat.
Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland has hosted the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, since 1873 — making it one of the oldest racetracks in the United States.
On November 1, 1938, Seabiscuit beat War Admiral by four lengths in a nationally broadcast match race at Pimlico, one of the most celebrated upsets in American sports history.
Man o' War, the great chestnut stallion, was the original 'Big Red' — the nickname later applied to Secretariat as well, but it belonged first to the horse many experts still call the greatest of all time.