Secretariat's Kentucky Derby-worn shoe sells for world record
In the days that followed Secretariat’s record-setting win
in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, trainer Lucien Laurin presented to the Chenery
family one of the very shoes that had carried Big Red to victory in his chase
for the Triple Crown. An artifact that still boldly recounts an unforgettable
Run for the Roses, Secretariat’s shoe has once again made history, selling for
a world-record $80,736 in a Lelands.com
sports memorabilia auction that ended late Friday night.
Secretariat’s time of 1:59 2/5 minutes stands as the fastest Kentucky Derby on record, and his remarkable feat, yet to be replicated, of running each fraction in the 1 1/4-mile race faster than the one before is one that continues to astonish and attract new generations of fans 45 years later.
The auction opened for Secretariat’s Derby shoe on July 15 and continued for a month with almost 6,400 views and 18 separate bids before closing Friday, Aug. 16, near midnight.
RELATED: Get your own Secretariat merchandise here!
“We anticipated a high level of interest in Secretariat’s Derby shoe,” said Mike Heffner, president of Lelands.com. “The previous world record of nearly $37,000 was set in an auction we conducted a few years ago. Given the provenance of this particular shoe and historical significance of the 1973 Kentucky Derby, we expected it to do well. However, watching it more than double the previous record was a wonderful surprise. We suspect this impressive price will attract more interest from sports memorabilia collectors to any original Secretariat-related artifact as well as to the sport of racing in general.”
Lelands.com is working with the Chenery-Tweedy
family to offer additional items from the Meadow Stable archives and personal
collection of Penny Chenery in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, the Secretariat
Summer Auction on Secretariat.com is currently open for bidding
through Aug. 26, featuring other significant items, including the Chenery-Tweedy family’s
original track-used 1973 Kentucky Derby clubhouse box ticket stub, official
program, and admission bracelet; an archival photograph containing the
extremely rare hand-signed signature of Secretariat's renowned deceased groom
Eddie Sweat as well as his late exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney; and Ms. Chenery’s
original and official Jockey Club membership pin that represents the 1983
breaking of a gender barrier in horse racing when she became one of the first
women elected membership into the century-old organization.
Proceeds from the Secretariat Summer Auction will benefit the Secretariat Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization created by Ms. Chenery to assist the Thoroughbred industry in the areas of research, rehabilitation, retirement and recognition. Ms. Chenery named the foundation after her great champion to use his enduring appeal to bring greater awareness to the many causes found within the equine-related community. Secretariat Foundation revenue is raised through donations, signing appearances, and the sales of memorabilia and officially licensed products on Secretariat.com.