Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989) was an American
Thoroughbred racehorse who, in 1973, became the first Triple Crown
winner in 25 years. Secretariat set speed records in all three Triple
Crown races. His time of 1:592⁄5 in the Kentucky Derby still stands
as the Churchill Downs track record for 1 1⁄4 miles. His disputed
time in the Preakness Stakes was recognized as a stakes record in 2012.
He won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths, setting an American record for
1 1⁄2 miles on dirt that still stands. He also set a world record
in the Marlboro Cup, and proved his versatility by winning two major
stakes races on turf. His 1972–1973 racing career resulted in five
Eclipse Awards, including American Horse of the Year honors both years.
Of The Blood-Horse's Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century,
Secretariat ranks second only to Man o' War. After siring several major
stakes winners, Secretariat died at age 19 of complications from
laminitis.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_%28horse%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
U.S. secretary of state William H. Seward negotiated the
purchase of Alaska from Russia for US$7.2 million.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase>
1950:
Usmar Ismail began shooting Darah dan Doa, widely recognised as
the first Indonesian film.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darah_dan_Doa>
1972:
Vietnam War: North Vietnamese forces began the Easter Offensive
in an attempt to gain as much territory and destroy as many South
Vietnamese units as possible.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Offensive>
1981:
Trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, obsessed fan John
Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded U.S. president Ronald Reagan and three
others outside the Washington Hilton hotel (immediate aftermath
pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ronald_Reagan>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pseudopatient:
1. (dated) A person who pretends to be ill, especially to gain some
benefit.
2. (medicine) A person who poses as a patient so that research may be
conducted or staff trained.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pseudopatient>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Wealth often takes away chances from men as well as poverty.
There is none to tell the rich man to go on striving, for a rich man
makes the law that hallows and hollows his own life.
--Seán O'Casey
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Se%C3%A1n_O%27Casey>