Maritime Traveler, the last surviving offspring of the all-time great Triple Crown winner, is 34 and still going strong. Patricia McQueen brings us right up to date with the last of the line
In a sun-splashed field at Bridlewood Farm in Florida, a blaze-faced chestnut stallion reigns supreme. He is revered not for his accomplishments as a racehorse or in the breeding shed, but for his mere existence in 2024, 51 years after his illustrious sire swept the Triple Crown. You see, Maritime Traveler is the only known remaining offspring of Secretariat, and he celebrated his 34th birthday on May 15.
Maritime Traveler has lived on the farm since he was a yearling, except for a few attempts at being a racehorse. To long-time farm manager George Isaacs, he’s a living reminder of what Bridlewood is all about, under original owners Arthur and Martha Appleton as well as current owners John and Leslie Malone.
Appleton established Bridlewood in the mid-1970s to make sure the horses he and his wife raced would have a safe place for retirement. “They loved taking care of horses. If you were a horse that belonged to the Appletons, you had a home for life,” says Isaacs.
That was a blessing for Maritime Traveler, who could have easily slipped through the cracks under other ownership. Although he was a good-looking member of Secretariat’s last crop, born in 1990, bred by the renowned Windfields Farm from a female family that included champions Storm Bird and Northernette, the colt couldn’t run a lick. Unplaced in five starts for Appleton, who had purchased him as a yearling for $55,000, he was sent home to Bridlewood with a new career in mind.
Not just another retiree
For more than two decades, Maritime Traveler served admirably as the farm’s teaser, a stallion whose only purpose is to help determine when mares are ready to breed. Advancing age dictated that he retire from that duty, and he became just another retiree on the farm.
That is, until late summer of 2022. Bridlewood had a new administrative assistant, Christina Clary (below right), and as she perused the farm’s equine roster, she noticed that one resident was by Secretariat. The rest is racing history – Bridlewood quickly found itself at the center of attention among Secretariat fans.
Isaacs, who describes himself as old-school, took a long time to understand the importance of social media in the horse racing business in general. His son Blaine helped in that regard, but Maritime Traveler gets a lot of the recent credit. “I’m blown away by the idea that social media brought this horse to light, and suddenly we started having visitors showing up from everywhere. It’s cool!” he says.
Like visiting Grandpa
Both the farm and the horse have been accommodating to those visitors, although Clary recalls that Maritime Traveler was a bit aloof at the beginning of his newfound celebrity. Now, however, he seems to really enjoy his visitors.
“Maybe the steady stream of carrots and people willing to rub him changed his mind,” she says, amused at the thought. She likens him to a grandpa in a retirement home. “Overall, he is a very sweet old man, and loves the visits.”
People of all ages, from all over the US, have made the pilgrimage to Bridlewood, from older folks who saw Secretariat race to those who never saw the Triple Crown winner in person. Some families come with their youngest generation so the children can see a living piece of history. There have also been several repeat visitors, and Clary loves that many of them come attired in their Secretariat shirts or other commemorative gear.
“They explain to him about who his dad was. I don’t think he really cares – he’s just there for the carrots,” she says. And the scratching and rubbing, of course – he welcomes eager hands.
He’s an ancient 34 but his teeth can still chomp through all those carrots, although they have to be baby carrots or small slices, and he can’t be fooled if you tell him that’s all there is. “He knows I put them in my pockets, so he’ll nudge me until I give them up,” adds Clary.
Clary estimates that some 150 people have visited Secretariat’s son since his story first appeared. Many are overcome with emotion when they meet him. “It’s not uncommon for people to give him hugs and cry from being so happy to see him,” she says. “It makes me happy that it makes them very happy.”
One such visitor is Florida resident Barbara O’Brien, a lifetime horse lover. She has never followed racing on a regular basis, but watches the Triple Crown telecasts each year. “Secretariat is frequently mentioned, and as I get older, I want to know more about things that interest me,” she says.
She reads everything she can find about Secretariat, and particularly appreciates the bond between the horse and his owner Penny Chenery. She is fascinated by Secretariat’s story, including that “mesmerizing” Belmont Stakes victory, and admits: “You do not want his story to end.”
Such a gentleman
O’Brien recently read Maritime Traveler’s story on this website, and was thrilled to learn that he was still alive several months after that article was published last September. She quickly arranged a visit to Bridlewood.
“I wanted to let him know how important he is and what an honor it is to meet him,” she says. “He was such a gentleman during our visit, friendly and such a pleasure to be with; it was hard to leave him. The time I spent with Maritime Traveler, the last son of Secretariat, will stay in my heart and in my memories for the rest of my life.”
The old boy has also been a star attraction for students in the Equine Studies Program at College of Central Florida. Groups of a dozen or more students might visit the farm to learn such things as reproductive management in the broodmare division, and they like to detour to see Maritime Traveler.
One recent student visit coincided with a larger group of agricultural educators from all over Florida, many of whom didn’t realize there were any Secretariats left. There were at least 40 people between both groups.
“They took turns taking pictures with him,” says Clary. “He loved it. He got lots of carrots and lots of attention.”
Living his best life
Perhaps carrots, attention and the beautiful horse country of Ocala combine to provide something of a fountain of youth for the 34-year-old. He still enjoys a good roll, and is quite attentive to his surroundings. If something catches his eye, he’ll often jog off to investigate. He’s more active when the mornings are cool, and he enjoys the afternoon rain showers. Another hot Florida summer is in store, but he’s smart and finds the shade of a big tree or his run-in shed.
Maritime Traveler’s biggest challenge is keeping weight on. He can’t really eat hay any longer but he enjoys his current feed, Purina Omolene 400. He’s only been on that food for a few months, and it seems to be helping him regain a little weight.
“We are lucky to have an amazing feed specialist who comes to the farm regularly to check in on him (and the rest of the equine population, of course), to help us meet all his ‘old man’ needs,” explains Clary.
There was an incident last fall in which Maritime Traveler injured his right eye. While it was being treated and through the healing process, he was moved to the main stallion barn from his long-time pasture next to the woods. Although his vision in that eye is now impaired, it doesn’t seem to bother him, and when he was ready to be turned out 24/7 again he was permanently moved to a paddock near that barn.
“He seems happier in this paddock, more content,” says Clary. “He’s maintaining well for an older gentleman. He’s living his best life here in the Sunshine State.”
That may be because of closer proximity to other horses. He enjoys seeing neighbors along the fence-line and can be a little more social with the farm’s active breeding stallions Chitu and Valiant Minister.
Isaacs credits Clary, as well as the reach of social media and the articles here on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary about other old Secretariats, for opening his eyes to the fact that there was a “national treasure” living right there on the farm.
“I always knew who he was, but I just really hadn’t thought much about how many sons or daughters of Secretariat could be left,” he says.
“It’s been cool to be a small part of this story as it unfolds. Now he’s the last living Secretariat, that makes it even more neat.”
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Last of the family line: catching up with Maritime Traveler, the only living son of Secretariat
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