Secretariat's Kentucky Derby race-worn shoe up for auction
Bids are piling up for one of four shoes worn by Triple Crown winner Secretariat during his record-setting 1973 Kentucky Derby now at public auction.
Lelands displays seven bids on the plate, part of late owner Penny Chenery's estate, with the price rising to $23,581 from its opening $10,000 as of Tuesday morning. Bidding will go one for three-plus more days.
Secretariat famously defeated Sham and future Horse of the Year Forego by running to a final time of 1:59 2/5 at Churchill Downs, where each of his fractions was faster than the one previous before hitting the wire.
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Per Lelands, "The historic shoe exhibits a variety of race-worn scuffs, marks, and track remnants, and most important, the tell-tale rivet holes that secured the distinctive felt pads Secretariat typically wore during his racing performances on dirt. Interestingly, the shoe exhibits the embossed casting marks of 'Made in Canada' found in the shoes of the Canadian Racing Plate Co.
"A much scarcer shoe than its domestic counterparts, Canadian Racing Shoe Co. sales constituted only about 10 percent of the U.S. market in 1972 and 1973. Secretariat wore Canadian Racing Plate shoes on at least two racing occasions as determined by (trainer Lucien) Laurin, who was a native Canadian."
The shoe is displayed in an accessible shadowbox and comes with a card proving its authenticity. According to Lelands, it has remained in "protective storage" as part of the Meadow Stable collection for 45 years.
"To put this offering into perspective," the Lelands listing reads, "of the nearly 1,900 horses who ever participated in the Kentucky Derby during the course of its 144-year history, this treasured artifact was worn in the electrifying racing performance that remains the fastest of them all. The rarity and significance of this shoe along with the magnitude of its offering simply cannot be overstated."