538's Ben Morris: "Where Have You Gone Secretariat?"
 

Ben Morris, who handles the heavy-lifting of 538's Sports Department, has an interesting examination of why no one comes close to Big Red.. Thoroughbreds plateaued a while ago in terms of how fast they can go.. There's no training or nutrition advances that are going to move them up any further.. as opposed to human athletes. Before you ask about Harness, the sulky set has 'gone faster' thanks to innovations in the buggy.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/...38twitterchart

But what do we make of this? How is it that even the best horse this era has to offer — with a stride so smooth that it borders on poetic — would still finish 13 lengths behind Big Red?

With no offense to AP this article really puts things into perspective.......I can say that since I was around for the 70's.......:o

Thanks Steve!