Secretariat

By: William Nack

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest champion in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. The only horse to ever grace the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated in the same week, he also still holds the record for the fastest times in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. He was also the only non-human chosen as one of ESPN's "50 Greatest Athletes of the Century". The tale of "Big Red" is an enduring and inspiring classic, more than 30 years after its initial publication.

©1975 William Nack. New Preface copyright 2010 by William Nack (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

" Secretariat is an elegantly crafted, exhilarating tale of speed and power, grace and greatness, told with such immediacy that the reader is lost in the rush of horses and the clatter and ring of the grandstand." (Laura Hillenbrand, best-selling author of Seabiscuit)

sensational, spectacular, horse racing at its best

this was an exceptional story not only up Secretariat, also the other horses threw out the ages, however, I didn't hear anything about the very first horse, Sir Barton, the first horse to win all three Steak Races prior to 'The Triple Crown' . The horse that created, The Triple Crown.

Bill Knack won the authors Triple Crown

Disney messed up big time! They took a tiny portion of this book, capitalized on the fact that a woman was the heroine of the story and missed what was probably the most detailed and in-depth piece of literature I've ever read about the 'sport of kings.' Anyone who is interested in blood horses and thoroughbred racing needs to read this book! Mr. Knack puts you in the race, in the irons, pounding down the final stretch at the eighth of a mile pole until your heart is literally pounding at the finish line. The history that comes through in this book is beyond imaginable. Thank you, Bill Knack!

Interesting bits and pieces about Secretariat

Not the best written book I've ever listened to and the reader fails miserably on some pronounciations that should have been so easy -- Keeneland, Lexington's track, for one. But, the story is interesting, sidebars fit in nicely. Insight into the owners' lives and relationships is amusing. If you lived in Lexington or followed Thoroughbred racing anytime in the last century, the names of the social gentry and places will fit together.

Can't stop going back to it ♡

This is a well written & well narrated story about one of the (if not the) greatest racing thoroughbreds in the history of the sport. The story draws the reader into the smallest details of the lives of the team that supported Secretariat to & through the successful capture if the Tripple Crown of 1973. This is my third time enjoying this book & loving horses like I do....it might not be the last lol!

Slow Start with a Quick in Pace

Started slow and a bit boring but the racing made up for it. Really love Grover Gardner on the narration.

Unlike Secretariat, this biography was BORING

Bogged down by too many statistics and background , this audiobook was WAY TOO LONG AND PROTRACTED. I wanted to give up on it at least 4 times. But because it was Secretariat, I soldiered on to the finish line.

Great story once it gets going

The first six chapters are just history and can get a little tedious. After that it’s a great book.

Historical facts

From a gentleman who was there with Big Red. Insight no one else could possibly know.

Extraordinary animal!! Exclamation

I remembered when I was a little girl watching secretariat races on TV. You couldn't help but fall in love with this horse even if you knew nothing about horses.

I'm so glad that I read this book, because it gave me so much more information about the horse itself. I love the movie but of course it was nothing like the book with all its facts and background.

If you like horses you'll love this book. Thank you Audible for making this available to listen to!

Great when it's the story, not the stats

This is a wonderful story, especially so when it sticks to the horse, the racing, and the people. Occasionally the author gets a little bogged down in lists of how much each horse won and the pedigree of various other horses. All in all, however, it's definitely worth the listen. The author can make a prose description of a horse race pretty exciting!