Secretariat — The Legend · Famous Racehorses Nº 1

Original Artwork — One of a kind

Soft pastel on Pastelmat paper

24 × 30 cm

2026

HISTORY:

Secretariat was born in 1970 in Virginia, USA. At first, he was nothing more than potential — like so many young racehorses, full of promise but with nothing guaranteed. Even his early path into racing wasn’t straightforward, and it would have been easy for him to disappear into obscurity.

They called him “Big Red”, and over time he began to reveal what he truly was. Not just speed, but effortless power, near-perfect balance, and a stride that stayed smooth even at full throttle. Under the management of Penny Chenery, the training of Lucien Laurin, and with Ron Turcotte as his jockey during his defining moments, everything about him began to come together.

Then came 1973, and the Belmont Stakes. A race expected to be close and hard-fought, especially against strong rivals like Sham, but it turned into something entirely different. Secretariat didn’t just win — he completely broke the field apart, crossing the finish line 31 lengths ahead. He ran the 1.5 miles in a record time of 2:24, a record that still stands untouched to this day.

And yet, when I started this portrait, I wasn’t thinking about records or history. What stayed with me was his face — that calm, focused expression, almost human in the way it holds itself, as if he already understood what he was part of.

Because this art collection (Famous Racehorses) isn’t just about famous racehorses, but about those rare moments when something stops being possible and simply happens.

This is Secretariat. Some legends don’t arrive… they appear.