Best of 2019: Interview with Ron Turcotte
Our Best of 2019 series revisits the stories, interviews, and videos that our readers — or our editors — loved most last year. Here, our June interview with Secretariat’s jockey, the Hall of Fame rider Ron Turcotte.
Turcotte joined us on our June 8, 2019 edition of Off to the Races Radio to talk about his career and the magical ride he and Secretariat shared to Triple Crown glory in 1973.
A native of New Brunswick, Canada, Turcotte began his career in horse racing as an 18-year-old hotwalker in Ontario in 1959. Within just a couple of years, he was winning major races in Canada and, soon, the United States.
Turcotte won his first American Classic race in 1965, when he piloted Tom Rolfe to a win in the Preakness. Seven years later, in 1972, he guided Riva Ridge to wins in the Kentucky Derby — his first Derby win — and Belmont Stakes, but that runner was a well-beaten fourth over a sloppy Pimlico surface in the Preakness.
The following year, Turcotte hooked up with another Meadow Farm-owned runner trained by Lucien Laurin, and he and Secretariat would enter the racing record books with the first Triple Crown sweep in 25 years, setting stakes records in all three events along the way.
Turcotte’s career ended in 1978, when he was rendered a paraplegic after falling from his mount during a race at Belmont Park. He lives with his wife Gaëtane in New Brunswick, and the couple has four daughters.
RON TURCOTTE INTERVIEW
SECRETARIAT WINS THE PREAKNESS
LATEST RACING NEWS
Chelsey Moysey readying for Delaware Park season
Trainer Chelsey Moysey will return to Delaware Park and attempt to build on a solid 2023 campaign in which she finished fourth with 19 wins there.
Mid-Atlantic Three Stars: April 29
Your five-minute read to catch up on all the Mid-Atlantic racing action you may have missed over the weekend…
Overnight Pow Wow turns tables in Its Binn Too Long
A stumbling start left Overnight Pow Wow at a rival’s mercy last time out, but the 3-year-old filly turned the tables in Saturday’s Its Binn Too Long.
Jamie Ness to seek 12th Delaware Park trainer title
Trainer Jamie Ness, a winner of near 4,300 races and (so far) 11 Delaware Park training titles, will return to that track in a bid for a record-tying 12th.
First horses arrive at Monmouth Park for 2024 season
Horses for trainer Mike Dini, who ultimately expects to have as many as 60 horses at Monmouth Park this summer, were the first to arrive at the Shore track.
Sophomore sprinters set for It’s Binn Too Long
Eight 3-year-old fillies are slated to contest this evening’s It’s Binn Too Long Stakes at Charles Town Races, including Overnight Pow Wow and Jlodiamond.
