This day in Lexington history, on May fifth, nineteen seventy-three, a chestnut colt with three white socks made racing history just seventy-five miles northwest of here at Churchill Downs. Secretariat didn't just win the Kentucky Derby that Saturday afternoon — he obliterated the field and the record books, crossing the finish line in one minute, fifty-nine and four-tenths seconds.

That time still stands as the fastest Kentucky Derby ever run, more than fifty years later. What made it even more remarkable was that Secretariat actually ran each quarter-mile faster than the last, something horses aren't supposed to be able to do in a mile-and-a-quarter race. While the crowd of over one hundred thousand watched in amazement, Big Red was just getting started on what would become the Triple Crown.

For Kentucky horse racing fans, it remains the gold standard of Derby performances. Every first Saturday in May since, that time gets mentioned as the benchmark that no horse has been able to touch.

That's your history for today.

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