  Secretariat.com is proud to offer a rare and limited opportunity to sports collectors and racing fans alike – the chance to own one of the few remaining authentic and documented race-worn items from this legendary champion. A memorabilia visionary of sorts, Meadow Stable exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney realized early on that anything connected with Secretariat might someday be of historic value. A key member of the mighty Meadow Stable racing team who was intimately involved with the day-to-day activities of Secretariat during those crucial and formative early years in 1972-1973. Known for his great hands and the ability to get the best out of a young horse, Jim was one of the first to recognize the talent and potential greatness in the Bold Ruler colt he affectionately called “the big red machine.” It was Gaffney who first clued famed sports author William Nack in on Secretariat's phenomenal speed and power on the track. His relationship with the colt is chronicled in Nack's, “Secretariat, The Making of A Champion,” as well as Raymond Woolfe’s book, “SECRETARIAT” detailing how Gaffney worked to hone the horse's incredible ability and share the invaluable communication between horse and rider. The original nails from any of Secretariat's races should be considered historically significant not only because of their connection to the world's greatest racehorse but also because they wear the indisputable provenance of one man's admiration and belief in him. While he modestly referred to himself as only “one of the spokes in the wheel” in Big Red's career, Jim Gaffney was certainly much more in his tireless efforts to protect and contribute to Secretariat's great legacy. "The first time I got on Secretariat in mid April of 1972, I felt a power in him I had never felt in another horse and had a feeling he was headed for greatness...." Jim Gaffney |
| ||||
 | |  | |  |
| | | | |
|
|
