Was it Secretariat or Dr. Fager? Or maybe Spectacular Bid? Geir Stabell delves into the history books to identify a fascinating Top Ten (plus one) of the longest-standing track records at North America’s major venues.
Which are the longest standing track records at premier tracks in North America? For our purposes, we needed a few rules, so a major venue is deemed to be one that has staged G1 races – and still exists today. (With one notable exception, included because it remains a national record.)
Then there are the distances themselves, where we count only times established at distances that are still being run today. For this reason, Kelso’s two-mile mark at Aqueduct misses the cut.
What comes out in our 'top ten plus one' is an eclectic list comprising both racing legends and runners most of us might not readily associate with any claim to even a small slice of US racing history. Can you, for example, identify the holder of a Del Mar sprint record that has survived 49 years of racing?
Editorial note: all these longstanding records were timed in fifths of a second.
1. Carry Back July 14, 1962
Monmouth Park 1m2f (dirt) 2:00⅖
Monmouth Hcap
Trainer: Jack Price
The fourth Thoroughbred to become a millionaire (after Citation, Nashua and Round Table), late-running Carry Back was one of the most popular horses of his era, winning 21 of his 61 career starts. Notable victories included the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Florida Derby, Met Mile and the Whitney – but it was at Monmouth Park that he was to establish the oldest track record still extant in US racing.
In winning the Monmouth Handicap as a four-year-old in July 1962, Carry Back lowered Round View's record set in 1947 by four-fifths of a second. His jockey Johnny Rotz produced him to take the lead halfway down the stretch and score by three lengths from none other than the great Kelso in a brilliant performance.
Although the ten-furlong trip is used only sparingly on the main track these days, 61 years means a lot of racing action since then and Carry Back's time must have been nothing short of exceptional.
Incidentally, Kelso also still holds a vintage track record with his mark of 3:19⅕ for two miles at Aqueduct in 1964. That won’t ever be beaten as the distance is no longer raced at the New York track.
2. Windy Sands Aug 4, 1962
Del Mar – 1m½f (dirt) 1:40.00
San Diego Hcap
Trainer: J. M. Phillips
Blue Stripe earned respectable speed figures winning last year's Clement L. Hirsch over 8½ furlongs at Del Mar in 1:42.97 – and she confirmed the form when she was pipped at the Breeders' Cup. Her time at Del Mar was considered to be good.
Still, it was almost 15 lengths slower than a rather stubborn record for the Hirsch distance, set by Windy Sands way back in 1962 when he beat Typhoon II by three-quarters of a length in the San Diego Handicap.
His mark has never been bettered, although it was equalled three years later in the same race by Native Diver, who carried 9lb more. The latter performance may have been even better but time is all that matters when it comes to track records so Windy Sands keeps his spot.
3. Dr. Fager Aug 24, 1968
Arlington Park – 1m (dirt) 1:32⅕
Washington Park Hcap
Trainer: John Nerud
Okay, admittedly this is a bit of cheat as Arlington closed for good in 2021, but which self-respecting list of records could omit Dr. Fager’s storied record mile mark? Especially as his time for the dirt mile isn’t just a record for the Chicagoland venue, but a record still on the books for North America as a whole?
Dr. Fager’s win under 134 pounds in the 1968 Washington Park Handicap was jaw-dropping. As he pulled up, having outclassed Citation Handicap winner Racing Room (116lbs) by 10 lengths lengths while simply cruising home under a hand ride, race caller Phil Georgeff commented: “May we draw your attention to the running time, the mile in 1.32 and one, which is a new world record.”
Dr. Fager's time was indeed outstanding and has survived 53 years of racing in North America. He beat Buckpasser's record set two years earlier by two-fifths without ever coming off the bridle, and could easily have run even faster had Braulio Baeza given him his head.
4. Fort Marcy May 9, 1970
Pimlico – 1m4f (turf) 2:27⅖
Dixie Hcap
Trainer: J. Elliott Burch
The Fort Marcy Stakes is run over nine furlongs at Belmont, but Fort Marcy's 52- year-old track record is for 12 furlongs at Pimlico, a distance he tackled when winning the 1970 Dixie Handicap in 2:27⅖.
Ironically, the Dixie – renamed the Dinner Party – is now an 8½-furlong event. Be that as it may, Fort Marcy remains the only turf runner to have managed to hold a record at a premier track for decades?
Fort Marcy was clearly one of the best on the lawn in his time. After winning the 1970 Dixie, he took the Bowling Green and ran second in the Hollywood Turf Cup, before capturing three top-level events on the bounce; the United Nations, Man O'War and Washington D.C. International. He won 21 of 75 career starts altogether.
5. Secretariat May 5, 1973
Churchill Downs – 1m2f (dirt) 1:59⅖
Kentucky Derby
Trainer: Lucien Laurin
Secretariat's clock-busting exploits have long since become the stuff of racing legend, so it comes as little surprise that he is a regular feature on our list given that he holds time records for all three legs of the Triple Crown, starting at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
His Kentucky Derby-winning time was the first time any horse had gone under two minutes – Northern Dancer had clocked two minutes flat in 1964 – and it was never seriously threatened until Monarchos did the same in 1:59.90 in 2001. Authentic’s time of 2:00.61 counts as the fastest Derby time of recent years, but it is not ideal for race comparison purposes, as he was four months older than other Derby winners when landing the Covid version in September 2022.
6. Secretariat June 9, 1973
Belmont Park – 1m4f (dirt) 2:24.00
Belmont Stakes
Trainer: Lucien Laurin
Without question, the most celebrated time record on the books anywhere on the planet. Think about it: twelve seconds a furlong for a full mile and a half in that incredible 31-length romp that became an immediate part of racing folklore half a century ago as the ‘tremendous machine’ pulverised his rivals to become the first Triple Crown winner for 25 years.
Intriguingly, the second-best time at this distance at Belmont was achieved by Prove Out, who covered the trip in 2:25⅘ when upsetting Secretariat in the Woodward later that summer. That's about a length better than the time recorded by the second-fastest Belmont winner of all time, Easy Goer.
Other Triple Crown winners' Belmont times: American Pharoah (2015) 2:26.50, Affirmed (1978) 2:26⅘, Seattle Slew (1977) 2:29⅘, Justify (2018) 2:28.18.
Secretariat also holds the stakes record for the Preakness, though his time of 1:53.00 for the Baltimore Classic has been the subject of some controversy, having never been officially recognised until 2012. His official time in 1973 was originally listed at 1:53⅖ – but the clock malfunctioned.
Using new technology, the Maryland Racing Commission conducted a forensic review 11 years ago resulting in the 1:53 flat being recognised. Mind you, while this is a Preakness record, it isn’t a Pimlico record as Farma Way covered the same distance in 1:52.55 in the Pimlico Special in May 1991.
7. Riva Ridge July 4, 1973
Aqueduct – 1m1½f (dirt) 1:52⅖
Brooklyn Hcap
Trainer: Lucien Laurin
Secretariat's stablemate Riva Ridge holds two track records at Aqueduct, both set in 1973. He clocked 1:52⅖ when taking the 9½-furlong Brooklyn Handicap by a head from Suburban winner True Knight – a fine effort considering he was shouldering 127 pounds and spotting his foe 10lb, and hailed as a world record for the distance.
Admittedly, a mile-and-three-sixteenths is no longer commonly used at Aqueduct (just one race written in the current conditions book) but Riva Ridge's oldest track record stands and fits our criteria for a place on this list.
8. King Of Cricket Aug 22, 1973
Del Mar – 6f (dirt) 1:07⅗
Allowance race
Trainer: Noble Threewitt
King Of Cricket has held the six-furlong record at Del Mar for almost 50 years – a remarkable feat as there's been no shortage of good sprinters in action at the San Diego venue. None, though, has ever been able to run faster than this largely forgotten speedball, although Lord Nelson clocked 1.07.65 in the Bing Crosby in 2016.
So who was this King Of Cricket? A true product of sunshine state breeding and racing, he won 20 of his 65 races, most notably the Malibu and the Palos Verdes, and he ran second in the 1973 Bing Crosby, beaten by Bobby Frankel's win machine Pataha Prince, who completed the six-furlong trip in 1:08 dead. Fast forward 11 days and King Of Cricket turned out again in allowance company, zipping the same distance two-fifths faster.
His trainer Noble Threewitt, reportedly North America's youngest trainer when taking out his license aged 21 in 1932, retired on his 96th birthday and died aged 99 in 2010.
9. Secretariat Sept 15, 1973
Belmont Park – 1m1f (dirt) 1:45⅖
Marlboro Cup Hcap
Trainer: Lucien Laurin
Secretariat makes his third appearance via his victory in the Marlboro Cup, an invitational handicap offering $250,000 to the winner – making it North America's most valuable race at the time at twice the value of that year’s Kentucky Derby.
The victory came at the chief expense of Riva Ridge, giving trainer Lucien Laurin and Meadow Stables a one-two as Secretariat ran what was lauded as a world record at the time for nine furlongs.
He won by 3½ lengths, while Riva Ridge held second by a couple from the previous year's turf champion Cougar II. Riva Ridge was a year older than Secretariat, but it says a lot about handicaps at the time that he was asked to give the Triple Crown winner 3lb in the Marlboro.
10. Riva Ridge Oct 15, 1973
Aqueduct – 1m1f (dirt) 1:47.00
Stuyvesant Hcap
Trainer: Lucien Laurin
Three months after setting the track record over 1m1½f in the Brooklyn at Aqueduct, Riva Ridge repeated the dose over a half-furlong shorter in the Stuyvesant with 130 pounds on his back. That record has also stood the test of time – and it's well worth mentioning that Riva Ridge equalled Whirlaway's 31-year-old track record when winning the Massachusetts Handicap over nine panels at Suffolk Downs earlier in the season. Clearly the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner was just as fast at four.
Bubbling under…
Spectacular Bid Feb 3, 1980
Santa Anita – 1m2f (dirt) 1:57⅘
Strub Stakes
Trainer: Bud Delp
If we were allowed a #11, then it would be the brilliant Spectacular Bid, who established several track records in a 30-race career including just four defeats. Still standing is his 10-furlong mark of 1:57 ⅘ set in the Strub Stakes at Santa Anita in 1980 and hailed – like most US records, as we have learned, as a world-record time.
The Strub was shortened in 1998, but that matters not as we are dealing with a 43-year-old record over a trip used for the Santa Anita Handicap, and Spectacular Bid's time has fended off any number of serious runners such as 'Big Cap' winners John Henry, Alysheba, Tiznow, Lava Man and Accelerate. None of them could equal, never mind better ‘Bid’.
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