Do You Have Secretariat's Saddle? Dark leather, iron stirrups, a few hidden pockets beneath the flaps. Inside those pockets, lead weights. On each one, hand-engraved: R. Turcotte. Ron Turcotte had it built in the spring of 1972 by master saddler Lee Wincher, to precise technical specifications: it had to distribute the lead weights evenly across the big races. He called it his "Big Race" saddle. (Secretariat) The big races came immediately. In 1972, Turcotte used it aboard Riva Ridge, winning both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. (Thoroughbred Daily News) It was already a saddle that knew glory when, twelve months later, a chestnut from Meadow Stable walked onto the track. Kentucky Derby. Preakness Stakes. Belmont Stakes. Turcotte was on that same saddle while Secretariat rewrote the record books beneath him. Two missed Triple Crowns and one conquered, all stitched into the same leather. Then fifty years of silence, in a house in New Brunswick. Then it passed into the hands of Jim Irsay. Then Irsay died. Then Turcotte died. The saddle remained alone. On March 12th, at Christie's in New York, it sold at auction for $1,524,000 — an all-time record for a piece of racing memorabilia. (Thoroughbred Daily News) It came with the four original engraved weights, an autographed photo of the Belmont victory, and a letter of authenticity signed by Turcotte himself. The name of the buyer has not been disclosed. Someone, somewhere, owns a saddle with a name carved into it. And inside that leather, there is still a June afternoon in 1973🐎
