There is nobody who stood taller in the racing world than Ron Turcotte, the Hall of Fame jockey who passed away today at age 84, one month after celebrating his birthday.
The news was announced by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in a statement that read, “Ron was a legendary rider and also an inspiration for all he achieved and overcame during his incredible life. Although best known for sweeping the Triple Crown with Secretariat, culminating with a 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, Turcotte’s Hall of Fame career spanned 18 years and more than 3,000 wins. As an ambassador for both the sport and the legacy of the great Secretariat, Ron made countless people into fans of racing through his kindness and the time he gave to all, whether telling stories about Big Red, signing autographs or posing for pictures. He was a fierce competitor on the track and a gentleman off of it. He will forever be remembered as one of the game’s greats.”
It’s a time to recall the talent, courage, and inspiration Turcotte displayed as he rose to stardom in the saddle, suffered a spill in a race that left him a paraplegic, and became an advocate for the physically disabled, including the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF).
“Although I had a racing spill in 1978, that put an end to that part of my life, I am now a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair,’’ Turcotte said in a response to a young fan’s question. “But I don’t consider my life to be over by any means. I was lucky to have the full support of my family and was able to come back to Canada and lead a rich, fulfilling life with my wife and four daughters.”
Born on July 22, 1941, in the village of Drummond, New Brunswick, Canada, Turcotte was one of 12 children, including five brothers who also became jockeys.
Ron became the best, not only the best of his brothers, but one of the best of all time. In 1973, he piloted Secretariat to a sweep of the Kentucky Derby (G1), the Preakness Stakes (G1), and the Belmont Stakes (G1) by a mind-boggling 31 lengths. Each win set a track record that still stands.
Secretariat became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years (ninth overall), and to this day -- even after four other horses swept the three races–– Turcotte’s ‘tour de force’ with Secretariat remains the most memorable. And the race call by Chick Lang was classic.
“They’re on the turn, and Secretariat is blazing along! The first three-quarters of a mile in 1:09 and four-fifths. Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine!
Turcotte said: “I still get goose pimples when I see the race.”
On the secretariat.com website, Turcotte shared his own words recalling what it was like to ride “Big Red.’’
“I don’t know how to explain how it felt when he would kick into that ‘extra gear,’ as they say, except to compare it to the feeling you get when you really press down on the accelerator and feel that immediate surge forward. You could really feel it.
“The beauty of it is that when he was right, he was always so generous and manageable, and that I could do it at any time in the race, then get him to relax and do it again, depending on how the race was developing. It allowed me to make whatever move was needed to get position, and I knew that I still had enough to finish the race.
“It made it hard for other riders because he was so versatile that they never knew what to expect. There was no way to plan a strategy around his style of running. His stamina was also unbelievable.”
In 1972, Turcotte won his first Kentucky Derby (and Belmont Stakes) aboard a stablemate of Secretariat’s named Riva Ridge, who in 1971 had been voted champion 2-year-old. At the time, he was only the third jockey and the first in 70 years to win back-to-back Derbies, a feat later accomplished by Eddie Delahoussaye in 1982-83; Calvin Borel in 2009-10, and Victor Espinoza in 2014-15, the latter with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
Turcotte won his first race at Fort Erie in 1962 and won 3,031 more before his career was cut short, including victories aboard Hall of Famers Damascus, Northern Dancer, Arts and Letters, Fort Marcy, Dahlia, Dark Mirage, and Tom Rolfe, aboard whom he won his first Triple Crown race in the 1965 Preakness.
In 1979, Turcotte was voted the recipient of the George Woolf Memorial Award, which honors a jockey whose career and personal conduct exemplify the highest standards in the sport of thoroughbred racing. The same year, he was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1979 and into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame the following year.
In 2015, a statue of Secretariat and Turcotte crossing the finish line in the Belmont Stakes was unveiled in Turcotte’s hometown of Glen Falls, New Brunswick.
Five years after his Triple Crown triumph, on July 13, 1978, Turcotte was aboard Flag of the Leyte Gulf in a race at Belmont Park. Just after the start, Turcotte's mount clipped heels with another horse and stumbled, throwing Turcotte to the ground headfirst.
Turcotte suffered a partially crushed spine and a fractured sternum and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. He has been a motivational speaker for decades and has attended many Triple Crown races over the years, including the 2018 Belmont Stakes win by Justify that completed a Triple Crown sweep.
In 2015, Turcotte broke both legs when the van he was driving flipped after hitting a snowbank in New Brunswick. He requested one blue cast and one white cast, the same colors as Secretariat’s silks.
Turcotte was the last surviving member of Secretariat’s team.
“I thought I’d be the first one to go,” he said.
Owner Penny Chenery died in 2017 at age 95. Trainer Lucien Laurin died in 2000. Groom Eddie Sweat died in 1998, and exercise rider Charlie Davis followed in 2018.
“Charlie and Eddie were very good horsemen,” Turcotte said. “Sweat was beautiful with horses.”
Secretariat died in 1989. He was euthanized after developing laminitis, a painful and debilitating hoof disease.
“When it came to running, he could fly,” Turcotte said. “He was everything. Those memories never leave you.”
Details of Turcotte's death, as well as services and memorials, are unavailable.
